Time Magazine Names Bernanke Person of the Year

Time Magazine Names Bernanke

Person of the Year

联准会主席柏南奇获选《时代》年度风云人物

On Wednesday, Time magazine named US Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke its 2009 Person of the Year. "The recession was the story of the year," Time managing editor Richard Stengel said in a statement. "Without Ben Bernanke, Time's 2009 Person of the Year, it would have been a lot worse. We've rarely had such a perfect revision of the cliché that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it," Stengel said. "Bernanke didn't just learn from history; he wrote it himself and was damned if he was going to repeat it."

Time said the runners-up for the award were General Stanley McChrystal, "the Chinese worker," Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, and Jamaican sprint champion Usain Bolt. President Barack Obama, last year's winner, and Apple chief executive Steve Jobs were also on a shortlist of finalists revealed by Time on Monday.

Time senior writer Michael Grunwald said the main reason Bernanke was selected is that he is "the most important player guiding the world's most important economy. His creative leadership helped ensure that 2009 was a period of weak recovery rather than catastrophic depression, and he still wields unrivaled power over our money, our jobs, our savings, and our national future." The 56-year-old Bernanke, in an interview with Time, said the financial crisis had brought the United States "very, very close to a depression. The markets were in anaphylactic shock. I'm not happy with where we are, but it's a lot better than where we could be. Of course there were things we could have done better, but this was a perfect storm."

1.  Why was Bernanke chosen as Time's Person of the Year?

(A) He helped the US recover from a recession.

(B) He created more jobs than any other US Federal Reserve chairman.

(C) He rewrote history books that are used in US high schools.

(D) He did what President Obama told him to do.

2.  Who was not on the shortlist for Time's Person of the Year?

(A) A banker.

(B) The leader of the US House of Representatives.

(C) The CEO of Apple.

(D) A writer from Time magazine.

3.  Bernanke's attitude is _____ when he talks with Time magazine.

(A) arrogant    (B) humble

(C) proud   (D) inappropriate

　　星期三《时代》杂志将美国联准会主席柏南奇膺选为 2009 年的年度风云人物。《时代》杂志总编辑理查德．史登格在一项声明中表示：『今年的年度新闻是经济衰退，若是没有 2009年的年度风云人物柏南奇，情况会更糟。我们很少能有这么完美重新诠释陈腔滥调的例子，那就是不从历史中汲取经验的人将注定重蹈覆辙。柏南奇不仅谨记历史的教训，他还写下自己的历史，如果还重蹈覆辙，那他就真的该受指责。』

　　《时代》杂志表示其他的候选人有麦克克里斯托将军、『中国劳工』、国会众议院议长裴洛西和（奥运）金牌得主牙买加短跑健将波特。去年的得主美国总统欧巴马，以及苹果计算机执行长史帝夫．贾伯斯也名列在《时代》杂志星期一公布的最后决选名单中。

　　《时代》杂志的资深编辑葛伦瓦德指出，柏南奇被票选为年度风云人物是因为他身为『世界最重要经济体系中最重要的领导人物。他深具创意的领导才能确保 2009 年是个缓慢复苏的一年，而不是灾难性的大萧条。他对我们的财富、工作、存款及国家的未来都具有无与伦比的影响力。』56岁的柏南奇接受时代杂志采访时表示，这场金融危机让美国『几乎濒临大萧条，金融市场近几瘫痪。我并不满意我们现在身处的状态，但这比原本可能的情况好很多。当然有些事我们能做得更好，不过这可是场完美的金融风暴。』

标准答案: 1. (A)　2. (D)　3. (B)

For Your Information

根据时代杂志指出，专门研究 1930 年代经济大萧条的柏南奇曾撰文表示，若当时联准会没有紧缩货币供给、放手让三分之一的美国银行倒闭，然后告诉美国民众勒紧裤带过苦日子，这场大萧条原有可能避免。这次换他掌管联准会，面临这波可能重演经济大萧条的金融危机，他采取和当年相反的作法，砸大钱救市、利率降低到史上低点的零利率，让经济不致继续恶化下去，联准会职权也在他手下史无前例的大幅扩张。（数据源：自由时报）