When the right person is holding the right job at the right moment, that person’s influence is greatly expanded. That is the position in which Janet Yellen, who is expected to be confirmed as the next chair of the Federal Reserve Bank (FeD. in
January, now finds herself. If you believe, as many do, that unemployment is the major economic and social concern of our
day, then it is no stretch to think Yellen is the most powerful person in the world right now. Throughout the 2008 financial
crisis and the recession and recovery that followed, central banks have taken on the role of stimulators of last resort, holding
up the global economy with vast amounts of money in the form of asset buying. Yellen, previously a Fed vice chair, was one of the principal architects of the Fed's $ 3.8 trillion money dump. A star economist known for her groundbreaking work on labor
markets, Yellen was a kind of prophetess early on in the crisis for her warnings about the subprime (次级债) meltdown. Now it will be her job to get the Fed and the markets out of the biggest and most unconventional monetary program in history without derailing the fragile recovery. The good news is that Yellen, 67, is particularly well suited to meet these challenges. She has a keen understanding of financial markets, an appreciation for their imperfections and a strong belief that human suffering was more related to unemployment than anything else.
Some experts worry that Yellen will be inclined to chase unemployment to the neglect of inflation.
But with wages still relatively flat and the economy increasingly divided between the well-off and the long-term
unemployed, more people worry about the opposite, deflation (通货紧缩) that would aggravate the economy’s problems.
Either way, the incoming Fed chief will have to walk a fine line in slowly ending the stimulus. It must be steady enough to
deflate bubbles and bring markets back down to earth but not so quick that it creates another credit crisis.
Unlike many past Fed leaders, Yellen is not one to buy into the finance industry's argument that it should be left alone to
regulate itself. She knows all along the Fed has been too slack on regulation of finance. Yellen is likely to address the issue
right after she pushes unemployment below 6%, stabilizes markets and makes sure that the recovery is more inclusive and
robust. As Princeton Professor Alan Blinder says, “She’s smart as a whip, deeply logical, willing to argue but also a good
listener. She can persuade without creating hostility.” All those traits will be useful as the global economy’s new power player
takes on its most annoying problems.
11【单项选择题】
What do many people think is the biggest problem facing Janet Yellen?
ALack of money.
Subprime crisis.
Unemployment.
DSocial instability.
答案及解析：本题考查细节。NN-PO的many people和the biggest定位句指出，很多人都认为problem定位到首段第三句。失业是这个时代主要的经济和社会关注点，综上，C选项正确。
