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Deutsche Bank Warns That The U.S. Economy Could Slip Into Recession; A Solar Storm Arrives On Earth; More Companies Attempt To Harness Tidal Energy.

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: It makes sense that around the time of spring break, we would have stories of sun, sand and squid on today`s show. That`s
 

squid [skwɪd] n. 【动】乌贼; 鱿鱼

coming up in just a couple minutes. I`m Carl Azuz.

And we begin with a warning sign. A major international bank is predicting that a recession could be on the horizon for the United States. What, when

and why is how we`ll break this down.

The "what" is a potential recession itself. It`s defined as a period of decreased economic activity when a nation`s gross domestic product

contracts or shrinks. The effects of a recession might include fewer retail sales, less manufacturing, lower income and more people without jobs.

The organization predicting this is Deutsche Bank. It`s a corporation based in Germany that has a network in 58 countries from Europe to America to

Asia. It`s the first major financial institution that`s predicting a recession in the U.S. though some other economic groups have said chances

are growing for one.

When would this hit? Deutsche Bank says probably between late next year and early 2024, though it adds there`s, quote, considerable uncertainty about

the timing and how bad the recession might be.

So is this doom and gloom? Not necessarily. The bank thinks the potential recession will be mild, lasting a relatively short time. It may be a matter
 

doom and gloom 前景暗淡，无望

of months with an unemployment rate of more than 5 percent hitting in 2024. For perspective, the current rate, the percentage of American workers who

don`t have jobs is 3.6 percent.

Why would any of this happen? Inflation, the rapid rise in prices for the things we buy has grown by its fastest pace in 40 years. Economic experts

think prices will probably stay high for the foreseeable future.

There is a tool that America`s central bank has to try to reduce inflation. The Federal Reserve can raise interest rates which makes it more expensive

to borrow money and that can help lead to price decreases.

But there are side effects to that. Deutsche Bank says because inflation is so high, it thinks the Fed will raise interest rates so quickly, that it`ll slam the brakes
 

slam the brakes: to press down hard on the brakes of a car to make it stop suddenly

on economic growth and put the U.S. into recession.

Again, none of this is certain, but the bank thinks all of these events will align in the years ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So, what`s the difference between a recession and a depression? It comes down to how long

the economy contracts.

A recession is typically defined as two negative quarters of economic growth and as part of the normal business cycle. The U.S. economy has

fallen into recession more than 30 times since 1854.

A depression is something vastly different. It happens when the economic decline is sustained and might potentially go on for years. That`s only

occurred once in American history in 1929, and it lasted 10 years. Because it lasts so long, a depression is more severe.

A decade ago, unemployment hit 10 percent during the worst of the Great Recession. But during the Great Depression, the jobless rate peaked at

nearly 25 percent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

Which word can describe a thread-like object or a plasma extension on the sun?
 

thread [θrɛd] n. 线

Firmament, fragment, filament or figment?

 

firmament [ˋfɝməmənt] n.【文】天空；苍天

filament [ˋfɪləmənt] n.（电灯泡的）白热丝，灯丝

figment [ˋfɪgmənt] n. 臆造的事物；虚构的事

Filament is the answer and it factors into a recent solar storm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Regardless of what the weather outside is like where you`re watching, we are all being hit by a solar storm. A coronal mass ejection

from a filament lifted off the sun on March 3rd, according to the U.S. government and the effects of this were predicted to hit the Earth on

Wednesday and Thursday.

So what does that mean? Hopefully not much. Even though solar storms can cause problems on Earth by disrupting GPS, satellites and the power grid,

the one hitting now is relatively minor. It`s classified as a G1 on a scale from G1 to G5 with the "G" standing for geomagnetic and the one being the
 

geomagnetic [͵dʒiomægˋnɛtɪk] adj. 地磁气的

weakest classification on the NOAA Geomagnetic Storm Scale.

So why and how are scientists keeping up with these events?
 

keep up with 跟上(形势)；和...保持联系

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Solar storms have been known to cause all kinds of trouble disrupting flights and power grids sounds kind of scary.

So how worried should we actually be?

The weather on the sun is a little different than the weather here on earth. It consists of solar wind, solar flares and coronal mass ejections,
 

coronal mass ejection 日冕物质抛射

which are these giant bubbles of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun that send high-speed particles into space. These storms can last a few

minutes or several hours. And even though they`re happening over 90 million miles away, they`re so powerful that their effects can linger in our magnetosphere
 

linger [ˋlɪŋgɚ] v. 徘徊[（+on）]；持续，缓慢消失[（+on）]

magnetosphere [mægˋnitə͵sfɪr] n. 磁气圈

and atmosphere for days or weeks.

If directed at earth, these flares and CMEs create geomagnetic storms that then dazzle us with spectacular auroras. But that`s the fun part. Beyond a
 

aurora [ɔˋrorə] n. 极光

light show, these solar storms can harm most modern-day technology, like satellites communication systems, power grids and airplanes. They can make

airplanes disappear from radar detection and cause major blackouts.
 

blackout [ˋblæk͵aʊt] n. 熄灯；停电

In 1989, a solar storm caused a blackout in Canada that left 6 million without power for 12 hours. While our technology is at the mercy of these

solar storms, our bodies are not. That`s because the Earth`s atmosphere shields us from harmful radiation.

But astronauts who are traveling through space won`t be as lucky. Shielding astronauts from the space weather is something NASA is working on right now
 

shield [ˋʃild] v. 保护；保卫

to make sure our astronauts are safe and shielded on future deep space missions.

But back here on Earth, there`s a facility in Boulder, Colorado, that monitors the sun`s forecast. It`s called the Space Weather Prediction Center.

So by getting ahead of the space weather, we can better protect our technology.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: The second of two reports from CNN`s Rachel Crane today takes us out to sea. Tidal energy is a relatively new form of power production. The

publication `NS Energy" says it`s possible it could damage marine life or change shorelines and it has to be built close to land because it relies on

powerful currents to generate energy.

Also, not everyone supports using taxpayer dollars to subsidize or support green energy, but the technology is moving forward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CRANE (voice-over): For decades, wind and solar have been the centerpieces of green energy. But the ocean`s ever constant waves and tides are also

rich with renewable power that has remained largely untapped.
 

untapped [ʌnˋtæpt] ad. 未利用的，未开发的

Off the coast of Scotland, Orbital Marine Power is one of the companies trying to change that. Its jumbo jet size floating platform called the O2

has two giant rotors that sit 60 feet below the surface of the water and can harness the energy of the ocean`s tides.

ANDREW SCOTT, CEO, ORBITAL MARINE POWER: It`s kinetic energy. So the bits of technology that generate the power look not too different to a wind turbine.
 

kinetic energy【物】动能

kinetic [kəˋnɛtɪk] adj.【物】运动的；运动引起的

 

CRANE: But unlike wind turbines that have to accommodate for wind coming from all directions, the O2 only needs to capture energy from two.
 

accommodate [əˋkɑmə͵det] v. 考虑到；使相符

SCOTT: You have a flood time when the tide comes in, you have an ebb time when the tide goes out.

CRANE: And tides are far more reliable than wind.
 

reliable [rɪˋlaɪəb!] adj. 可信赖的；可靠的

SCOTT: You can predict those motions years and decades into advance.

CRANE: This is orbital`s third tidal turbine system to be connected to the U.K. national grid for testing since 2012. This latest design features

rotors that can lift out of the water for easier access for repairs. The company says one O2 unit generates up to 2 megawatts which it says is enough

to power around 2,000 homes a year.

TREY TAYLOR, FOUNDER, VERDANT POWER: Think of what Verdant Power`s doing at Roosevelt Island in New York City is what the Wright Brothers did at Kitty Hawk.

CRANE: In the U.S. Verdant Power`s tri-frame system operates at the bottom of the East River, which is actually a tidal strait. It`s in a pre-
 

tidal strait 潮汐海峡

commercial phase but actively delivers power to New York City`s electric grid.

TAYLOR: The potential for marine energy is something like 250 gigawatts around the world and that`s just tidal. Doesn`t include rivers or large

canals. So you can see the potential for the applications not only our technology but competitors as well. I mean, there`s lots of room and we

really hope our competitors succeed too for the sake of the industry, but we`ve got to get our costs down.

CRANE: Right now, the high cost of building, operating and maintaining tidal power technology means that tidal energy comes at a premium. But
 

premium [ˋprimɪəm] n.【商】加价，溢价

government investment could play a vital role in driving the price tag down.

TAYLOR: In the U.K., there are economic incentives. We`re counting on those for our first commercial projects as we start mass producing the

technology we`re going to pivot from the U.K. and right back to North America, Alaska, New York, Canada, tremendous water currents everywhere to harvest.
 

pivot [ˋpɪvət] v. 转动

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: Squid have been known to change color in the wild, likely to avoid being seen and eaten. But could they be observed doing this in captivity.
 

captivity [kæpˋtɪvətɪ] n. 被俘; 囚禁

The answer as you can see is yes.

Scientists at a lab in Japan noticed that while they were cleaning out the squid tank, the cephalopods appeared to be different colors depending on
 

cephalopod [ˋsɛfələ͵pɑd] n.【动】头足类动物

whether they were near the algae. One experiment later, a climactic chameleon color conversion was quickly confirmed.
 

climactic [klaɪˋmæktɪk] adj. 顶点的；高潮的；形成高潮的

chameleon [kəˋmiljən] adj.【动】变色龙；善变的人；轻浮的人

Some of you might be hoping I`ll just squid while I`m ahead. You know, squidaddle before I start squiding around. Just because I love puns doesn`t

mean I`m calimarried to them. But whether you`re streaming the show or watching the cephalopodcast, you know I like to drop a few or a plankton of
 

plankton [ˋplæŋktən] n.（总称）浮游生物

them because they`re totally tubular and tasteful to a wide array of palate.
 

tubular [ˋtjubjəlɚ] adj. 管状的

palate [ˋpælɪt] n. 味觉；口感

Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut -- shout-out to you for subscribing and leaving a comment on our YouTube channel.

I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.

END