澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-07-31

The US President Barack Obama has welcomed the latest economic growth figures, but he says more action is needed to get unemployed¹ Americans back to work. The US economy grew 2.4 percent in the second quarter of this year, but that's a slower pace than the previous three months. President Obama has toured car factories in Detroit, claiming his administration's bailout of the industry has saved one million jobs.

The head of Coles says he doesn't think the Coalition's paid parental² leave scheme would push prices up for consumers. The government has argued the 1.7% levy³ on large businesses would be passed on to consumers, but the Managing Director of Coles, Ian McLeod, says the levy wouldn't have a major impact⁴.

A senior official in Beijing says that China has overtaken⁵ Japan to become the second biggest economy in the world. China's chief currency regulator made the claim on a government website although he gave no new figures to support it.

And to the market numbers, Wall Street finished the session⁶ fairly flat. The Dow Jones closed just one point lower. There were mixed results in Europe. London's FTSE finished more than one percent weaker, but the DAX made modest gains.

And checking currencies, the Australian dollar is buying around 90 US cents.

1 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

2 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

3 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

4 impact   

n.冲击，碰撞；影响；vt.装紧，压紧

参考例句：

• The computer had made a great impact on modern life.计算机对现代生活产生了巨大的影响.
• How will the war impact on such a poet?战争对这样一个诗人会产生什么影响？

5 overtaken   

v.追上，赶上，超过( overtake的过去分词 )；（不愉快的事情）突然发生；突然降临；（在数量或重要性方面）大于

参考例句：

• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Exports have already overtaken last year's figure. 出口量已超过了去年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 session   

n.会议，开庭期，市盘，学期；adj.短期的

参考例句：

• This matter will go over until the next session.这件事将留待下次会议讨论。
• Congress is now in session.国会现在正在开会。