我们都知道08年由美国次贷危机引起的全球金融危机远远还没停止，美国的经济大萧条也是社会经济的热点问题，所以也是四六级英语考试的重点话题，不管是听力，阅读还是写作，都要重视。

通过下面的文章我们来了解一下美国的经济大萧条、

Great Depression in the U.S.
　　In 1929, the bills started to come in. American industry had produced too many goods. Americans could not afford to buy all of them. So factories had to cut down on their production. Many workers lost their jobs. Investors tried to get their money back. But businesses did not have enough money to pay them. Banks tried to get their money back from investors. But the investors could not pay, either. Too many people owed money. And few of them could pay their bills.
　　During the next few years, business got worse and worse. By 1932, banks all over the country were closing.
　　People without money could not buy goods. So more businesses closed. More and more people lost their jobs. By 1932, more than 12 million Americans were jobless. Millions more were earning barely enough to live on. The country was in a great depression they had never experienced before.
　　Useful Words and Expressions:
　　bill 帐单，票据
　　foot the bill付账，负责
　　cut down on 减少
　　depression 沮丧，萧条
　　Great Depression大萧条

I think we can sum up the cause of our current economic crisis in one word — GREED. Over the years, mortgage lenders were happy to lend money to people who couldn’t afford their mortgages. But they did it anyway because there was nothing to lose. These lenders were able to charge higher interest rates and make more money on sub-prime loans. If the borrowers default, they simply seized the house and put it back on the market.

      On top of that, they were able to pass the risk off to mortgage insurer or package these mortgages as mortgage-backed securities. Easy money! and what went wrong with our financial system? The whole thing was one big scheme. Everything was great when houses were selling like hot cakes and their values go up every month. Lenders made it easier to borrow money, and the higher demand drove up house values. Higher house values means that lenders could lend out even bigger mortgages, and it also gave lenders some protection against foreclosures..

       All of this translates into more money for the lenders, insurers, and investors. Unfortunately, many borrowers got slammed when their adjustable mortgage finally adjusted. When too many of them couldn’t afford to make their payments, it causes these lenders to suffer from liquidity issue and to sit on more foreclosures than they could sell. Mortgage-backed securities became more risky and worth less causing investment firms like Lehman Brothers to suffer. Moreover, insurers like AIG who insured these bad mortgages also got in trouble. The scheme worked well, but it reverses course and is now coming back to hurt everyone .