美国4月零售额增长0.1%

　　WASHINGTON, May 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. retail¹ and food services sales edged up 0.1 percent in April, slowing sharply after strong gains in the prior two months, official data showed on Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday that the combined retail and food services sales braked sharply following an upwardly revised growth of 1.5 percent in March, the biggest gain in four years.
The April figure, missing the market's expectation of 0.4 percent, is mainly held back by declines in electronics and appliance stores. Economists² said that a later than usual Easter that caused seasonal³ adjustments might explain the sharp swing from March to April, and some said it indicated personal consumption is still curtailed⁴ by the adverse⁵ weather.
Auto⁶ sales increased 0.6 percent in April and department store sales jumped robustly⁷ by 1.6 percent. Sales of building materials and garden equipment also saw moderate rise. But excluding autos and gasoline, sales contracted 0.1 percent last month.
The retail sales started to pick up in February following a harsh winter that had dampened shopping demand. Personal consumption accounts for about 70 percent of the total economic activities.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• 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。

2 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 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》

3 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

4 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

6 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

7 robustly   

adv.要用体力地，粗鲁地

参考例句：

• These three hormones also robustly stimulated thymidine incorporation and inhibited drug-induced apoptosis. 并且这三种激素有利于胸（腺嘧啶脱氧核）苷掺入和抑制药物诱导的细胞凋亡。 来自互联网
• The economy is still growing robustly, but inflation, It'seems, is back. 经济依然强劲增长，但是通胀似乎有所抬头。 来自互联网