CHRISTINA Romer, one of President Barack Obama's top economic advisers, said yesterday she was stepping down, an exit that comes as the White House is struggling to keep the recovery on track with congressional elections looming in November.

Romer said she was quitting her post, effective September 3, to return to her former job as a professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

As chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Romer helped oversee the Obama administration's response to the economic crisis and has been one of Obama's most prominent voices promoting his policies to the American public.

Her departure marks the second big change in Obama's economic team. White House budgetdirector Peter Orszag left earlier in the summer.

Romer's resignationannouncement comes as Obama and his aides are having to cope with stubbornly high joblessness and signs of a slowing recovery from the deepest recession in decades. July unemployment numbers are due out on Friday.

Voter anxiety over the stumbling economy could translate into big losses for Obama's Democratic Party in the pivotal mid-term elections.

There was no immediate word on Romer's successor. Among those who could be considered are Austan Goolsbee, a member of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Vice President Joe Biden's chief economist Jared Bernstein.

"Christy Romer has provided extraordinary service to me and our country during a time of economic crisis and recovery," Obama said in a statement released by the White House announcing the move.

"The challenges we faced demanded more of Christy than any of her predecessors, and I greatly valued and appreciated her skill, commitment and wise counsel."

Romer, 51, will continue to advise Obama as a member of his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, he said.

Obama said Romer had made clear her preference to return to California. Her son will be starting high school there in the fall, the White House said.

Romer, an expert on the Great Depression, had often joked that her academicbackground made her ideal to help pull the United States back from the brink of what many had feared would become a second depression.

Even before Obama took office in January 2009, Romer had co-authored the administration's economic recovery plan.

"While I look forward to returning to research and teaching, the opportunity to help shape economic policy these past 20 months, and to work with the other members of the economic team and my colleagues on the CEA, is one I will always cherish," Romer said in the statement.

• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• effective [i´fektiv] a.有效的；有力的 (初中英语单词)
• california [,kæli´fɔ:njə] n.加利福尼亚 (初中英语单词)
• prominent [´prɔminənt] a.突起的；凸出的 (初中英语单词)
• departure [di´pɑ:tʃə] n.离开，出发 (初中英语单词)
• director [di´rektə] n.指导者；....长；导演 (初中英语单词)
• anxiety [æŋ´zaiəti] n.挂念；渴望；焦虑的事 (初中英语单词)
• economy [i´kɔnəmi] n.经济；机制；组织 (初中英语单词)
• extraordinary [ik´strɔ:dinəri] a.非常的；额外的 (初中英语单词)
• advise [əd´vaiz] vt.忠告；建议；通知 (初中英语单词)
• expert [´ekspə:t] n.&a.专家；内行 (初中英语单词)
• depression [di´preʃən] n.沮丧，抑郁；萧条 (初中英语单词)
• background [´bækgraund] n.背景；经历；幕后 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• recovery [ri´kʌvəri] n.重获；获得；恢复 (高中英语单词)
• response [ri´spɔns] n.回答；响应 (高中英语单词)
• crisis [´kraisis] n.转折点；危机 (高中英语单词)
• budget [´bʌdʒit] n.&vi.(做)预算；安排 (高中英语单词)
• resignation [,rezig´neiʃən] n.辞职(书)；放弃；顺从 (高中英语单词)
• announcement [ə´naunsmənt] n.通告；宣布；言谈 (高中英语单词)
• unemployment [,ʌnim´plɔimənt] n.失业；失业人数 (高中英语单词)
• translate [trænz´leit, træns-] v.翻译；解释；说明 (高中英语单词)
• successor [sək´sesə] n.继承人，接班人 (高中英语单词)
• preference [´prefərəns] n.优先选择；偏爱(物) (高中英语单词)
• congressional [kɔŋ´greʃənl] a.会议的；国(议)会的 (英语四级单词)
• economist [i´kɔnəmist] n.经济学家；节俭的人 (英语四级单词)
• academic [,ækə´demik] a.学术的 n.大学学生 (英语四级单词)
• policy [´pɔlisi] n.政策；权谋；保险单 (英语四级单词)
• stubbornly [´stʌbənli] ad.顽固地，倔强地 (英语六级单词)