In this section, you will hear a passage which will be read only
once. You are required to fill in the blanks with the exact words you have
just heard. Remember to write the answers on the answer sheet.
Central bank independence has to do with monetary policy’s
effects in the shot run and the long run. In the short run, an " (21)
" monetary policy can stimulate the economy to grow faster and to
lower the (22) rate. In the long run, output and
unemployment depend on real factors such as population growth and improvements
in technology, and (23) . One way to insulate
monetary policy from day-to-day political (24) is to give
the central bank greater independence. In this respect, the Federal Reserve or
Fed ranks toward the top among the world’s central banks. First,
the Governors on the Board are appointed to (25) year terms.
They are nominated by the U.S. President and confirmed by the (26)
. Second, the Reserve Bank Presidents are selected by
our Reserve Bank’s Board of Directors and approved by the Board of Governors.
This provides further insulation from (27)
politics. Third, the Fed covers its own operating expenses, so
it isn’t dependent on Congressional (28) . However, Fed is
not free of (29) to the government. In fact, the phrase
usually used to describe the Fed is "independent within government. "
There is a way beyond such (30) means to make monetary
policy even more independent of political pressure to inflate, because the
Congress gives the Fed a clear statement that low inflation is its goal. In
fact, a number of other countries recently gave their central banks specific
low-inflation goals.