双语新闻：美国经济比预期增长缓慢

US Economy Grows a Bit Slower Than First Thought

美国经济比预期增长缓慢

The U.S. economy grew strongly in the last three months of 2009, but new figures show the expansion was a bit slower than first thought. Friday's report from the Commerce Department says the gross domestic product grew at a 5.6 percent annual pace in October, November and December of last year.That is three-tenths of a percent slower than initial estimates, but still the fastest rate in about six years.

美国经济2009年最后三个月增长强劲。但是新的数据显示，增长速度稍微低于预期。美国商务部星期五的报告说，去年10月、11月和12月国内生产总值以年速率5.6%速度增长。这一速度比最初的预期慢了0.3%，但仍然是六年来增速最快的。

Experts made this routine revision of the growth figures as more complete information became available. The latest studies show less business investment and consumer spending than expected.Economists interviewed by news organizations say U.S. economic growth has probably slowed down in the first few months of 2010.

随着信息越来越完备，专家对增长数据进行例行修正。最新的研究表明，商业投资和消费支出要少于预期。接受媒体采访的经济学家说，美国经济增长在2010年最初几个月也许会放缓。