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For the first time in 22 years, the U.S. Federal Reserve is raising interest rates by half a percentage point.
美联储22年来首次将利率上调0.5个百分点。
That's what we're breaking down first today. I'm Carl Azuz.
这就是我们今天首先要讨论的内容。 我是卡尔·阿祖兹。
Interest is what banks get paid for loaning people money.
利息是银行贷款给人们所得到的报酬。
If the Federal Reserve, America's central bank raises interest rates, it means people have to pay back a higher percentage of the money they borrow.
如果美联储，美国的中央银行提高利率，这意味着人们必须偿还更高比例的借款。
Why would the Fed want to do that? Inflation.
美联储为什么要这么做? 通货膨胀。
The cost of living in America has gone up significantly over the past year as prices on the things we buy have risen.
在过去的一年中，随着我们所购买的商品价格上涨，美国的生活成本大幅上升。
The thinking goes that if interest rates are higher and it's more expensive for people and businesses to borrow money, they'll spend less of it and inflation will settle back down.
他们的想法是，如果利率更高，个人和企业借钱的成本更高，他们就会减少支出，通胀就会回落。
It's not an exact science.
这不是一门精确的科学。
If the Fed raises interest rates too much too quickly, it can be like slamming the brakes on economic growth and that could contribute to a recession.
如果美联储加息太多太快，就像给经济增长踩刹车，可能会导致经济衰退。
So, the central bank is trying to find a balance between managing decades-high inflation but without hampering economic growth.
因此，美国央行正试图在控制数十年来居高不下的通胀、同时又不妨碍经济增长之间找到平衡。
That's what's behind its decision on Wednesday to raise interest rates.
这就是美联储周三决定加息背后的原因。
Half a percentage point doesn't sound like much, but the Fed usually makes smaller adjustments like the quarter-point rate hike it issued in March.
0.5个百分点听起来不算多，但美联储通常会做出较小的调整，比如3月份宣布的加息0.25个百分点。
The last time the Fed raised the rate by half a point was in 2000, and it says more raises like this are possible in the months ahead.
美联储上一次加息0.5个百分点是在2000年，该机构表示，未来几个月可能会有更多类似的加息。
The Fed says the U.S. labor market, the jobs picture, is strong.
美联储表示，美国劳动力市场，即就业形势强劲。
But consumer prices have risen at their highest rate in almost four decades and the Fed doesn't think inflation's likely to go away on its own anytime soon.
但消费者价格已升至近40年来的最高水平，美联储认为通胀不太可能在短期内自行消失。
It says the war in Ukraine is contributing to elevated food and energy prices and those had risen last year before Russia invaded.
美联储表示，乌克兰的战争导致食品和能源价格上涨，而这些价格在俄罗斯入侵前就已经上涨了。
With all these economic pressures in place, the Fed is hoping its interest rate increases will slow down price increases.
在这些经济压力都存在的情况下，美联储希望其加息将减缓物价上涨。
New data on inflation itself is also expected soon.
有关通胀本身的新数据预计也将很快公布。
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