时间:2019-01-09 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2009年(一月)


英语课
Another dismal 1 day on the overseas markets as the global economic downturn continues. In Asia, tumbling Chinese exports are now affecting jobs there. In Europe, British retail 2 sales are nose-diving.

Wave upon wave of negative economic reports keep pushing the world markets down.
 






A man walks past an electric market board in central Tokyo, 09 Jan 2009



In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index lost nearly 5 percent of value as commodities followed oil prices lower.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 2 percent.

Chinese exports in December were down nearly 3 percent from the same time last year and the drop has triggered a spate 3 of factory closures and layoffs 4 there.

In Europe, shares fell for a fifth straight session led by banks, electricity and commodity stocks.

U.S. stock futures 5 pointed 6 to a fifth straight loss early Tuesday, with grim earnings 7 news and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's warning that the timing 8 of an economic recovery was uncertain denting 9 sentiment.

Here in Britain, two new reports point to more economic pain in the pipeline 10.

In its fourth quarter economic survey, the British Chambers 11 of Commerce found strong, deep declines across all businesses, all over the country. BCC director, David Frost says the findings were even worse than expected.

"A truly awful set of results from virtually every part of the U.K. and every sector 12 and size of company," said Frost. "We have seen a real worsening in their fortunes and how they view the economy in 2009 and 2010, whether that be exports, home orders, whether that be the service sector or manufacturing, companies are reporting a real fall-off in orders and confidence."

Stephen Robertson from the British Retail Consortium says sales figures for December were the worst in 14 years.

"Retailers 13, particularly non-food retailers, have been hit by a triple whammy of declining sales, crushed margins 14 due to all these promotions 15 and offers that we have seen and steeply rising costs," said Robertson. "I am thinking here of energy costs that do not seem to have gone down with the price of oil."

Economists 16 now predict the British economy will likely contract by between 2 and 3 percent in what will prove to be a very difficult year ahead.



adj.阴沉的,凄凉的,令人忧郁的,差劲的
  • That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
  • My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
v./n.零售;adv.以零售价格
  • In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
  • These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。
n.泛滥,洪水,突然的一阵
  • Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
  • Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。
临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 ); 停工,停止活动
  • Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
  • Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时,股票价格便大跌
n.期货,期货交易
  • He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
  • Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。
adj.尖的,直截了当的
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
  • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
  • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。
n.时间安排,时间选择
  • The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
  • The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。
v.使产生凹痕( dent的现在分词 );损害;伤害;挫伤(信心、名誉等)
  • Dad gave me a rocket for denting his car. 因为我撞坏了我父亲的车,为此他痛骂了我一顿。 来自互联网
  • Because titanium isextremely strong, it is resistant to scratching, denting, and bending. 由于钛isextremely强,可耐刮伤,凹陷,和弯曲。 来自互联网
n.管道,管线
  • The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
  • A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅
  • The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间:Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网
n.部门,部分;防御地段,防区;扇形
  • The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
  • The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。
零售商,零售店( retailer的名词复数 )
  • High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
  • Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。
边( margin的名词复数 ); 利润; 页边空白; 差数
  • They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
  • To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙,加左或者右的margins来定义链接。
促进( promotion的名词复数 ); 提升; 推广; 宣传
  • All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
  • He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。
n.经济学家,经济专家( economist的名词复数 )
  • The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
  • Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
- philous
achray, loch
anoints
asexualise
associative table looking
auto load
be made from
between-column variance
breadberry
brown creepers
Bryonal
Cangzhou
canyoneer
cap a rope
card-carrying member
charged nucleus
clover leaf pattern
compound-connected transistor
coxoplerue
cryptobiotic state
crystal bomb
cubature
dammarin
daphne altaica pall. var. longilobata lec.
dasycladus
datura innoxia mill.
decigrams
Deseado
dyphosis
earth-filled
epidermization
examination of leakage and breakage
favourablest
female mold
fixed oscillator
French plait
have iron nerves
high efficiency particle air filter
hopfest
humo
imbibition pressure
incision and drainage of testic abscess
inland haulage
intercommodity spread
iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine
isopropanol-water mixture
IXUC
lifting type switch
load bulge
Malaclemys centrata
mescaling
Mia, Bahr
mulley
multicampus
municipal construction
mutual coherence function
Mycobacterium friburgensis
normal propagation
nutjobs
on the piss
Open XML
outyell
pastramis
phonebooths
pip out
plica duodenojejunalis
poiser
polyalkane
polyphagism
Post-Party Depression
power good
preference change
prt signal
pullings out
re implement
renovations
reticulaphis mirabilis
reverse proxies
rotor shaft and proper
rough green snakes
run-time supervisor
scintillatingly
selfeffacing
shoe retracting spring
skiem
sound-images
soybased
spiral-fin fuel element
stock for die
sub-dimensions
supracrustal rocks
systolic anterior motion
telemetry tracking and command station
tenure for life
thin tape
thymic arteries
timber strut
typewrites
upside down mounting
Vasosteril
volume of passenger traffic
zombie apocalypse