澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-05-08

US President Barack Obama says authorities are probing yesterday's unusual stock market plunge¹. Stocks fell sharply worldwide amid investor² fears that Greece's debt crisis could halt the economic recovery. President Obama says he will work with European leaders to prevent any more market turmoil³.

 

"I also spoke⁴ this morning with German Chancellor⁵ Merkel regarding economic and financial developments in Europe. We agreed on the importance of a strong policy response by the affected⁶ countries and a strong financial response from the international community." He says US regulators will evaluate the stock market falls closely and will recommend an appropriate action.

 

Meanwhile US stocks continue to slide as questions linked about the causes of yesterday's dramatic dip. The Dow fell about 1.3 percent. European markets suffered too, closing at their lowest in six months. The FTSE dropped 2.6 percent while the Germany's Dax plummeted⁷ 3.2 percent. Turning to currencies, and the Australian dollar is steady against the US dollar buying about 89 US cents.

 

Leaders of eurozone countries have given the green light to a deal that will provide financial aid to Greece. According to European Union sources, the aid package's expected to total about 140 billion Australian dollars has been agreed to by 16 leaders at a summit in Brussels.

1 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》