【4分リスニング&クイズ】BBC News: What is a recession?

Quiz　答えは下にあります

1. In this video, how does it define "recession"?

2. How long did the recession last in UK, during the global financial crisis?

3. What country did the 1997 crisis start?

4. The great depression lasted for ________ years?

全文書き出し
We’ve heard it mentioned more and more during the corona-virus pandemic.
Experts think that many countries including the UK and the US are in the midst of the worst recession seen in decades. But what exactly does that mean and how could affect you?
When a country’s economy is healthy it grows over time. The value of the goods and services it produces its gross domestic product increases and economic growth is good for most people. But an economy can also shrink. A recession is usually defined as when this happens for two-three-month periods or quarters in a row. The last time this happened in many countries was during the global financial crisis which started in 2007. In the UK, that recession lasted longer than a year and GDP fell by an estimated six percent over that time.
So why do recessions happen? There are lots of reasons and debt is one of them. It was the trigger for the global financial crisis. When lots of people in the United States couldn’t keep up with payments on their homes. It led to huge problems for banks which effectively ran out of money to lend, crippling businesses and banking systems not just in America but eventually around the world.
A recession can also take place when an economy suffers a sharp shock like the corona-virus pandemic. Because of lock-down measures and consumer confidence taking a hit, spending, travel, and investment have ground to a halt in a number of countries including Germany, Europe’s biggest economy.
And the impact of a recession in one country can quickly spread. Let’s take a look at the 1997 crisis in East and Southeast Asia. It started out in Thailand. When the value of their currency the Baht collapsed. Investors and businesses lost confidence in the country and that spread to the rest of the region.
So, what could recession mean to you? Companies are more likely to cut jobs and people staying in work might have to accept pay cuts or reduced hours leaving them worse off financially. The negative impact on job prospects and pay can last for years. And governments themselves can get into a debt crisis in a recession. As businesses and people pay less tax pressure can build to cut public spending and services. If a recession carries on for a long time or it’s particularly bad it’s known as a depression. It’s a bit harder to define and it’s often associated with what’s known as the great depression. In the 1930s, it started with a stock market crash in the United States and spread. It lasted for about 10 years and its impact was felt globally. Now as economies suffer in countries around the world. Governments are preparing for what some have called the crisis like no other. But we’re in unknown territory and nobody knows how strong or how quick a bounce back could be.

effectively　事実上
cripple　ダメにする
consumer confidence　消費者マインド、消費意欲
take a hit　損害を被る
grind to a halt　急停止する
in a number of　多くの～で

Answer

1. e.g. Economy shrinking happens for two-three months or quarters.

2. Longer than a year.

3. Thailand

4. The great depression lasted for 10 years.