澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-09-04

Local stocks ended only slightly high today, but they kept their best weekly performance in the year. The All Ordinaries finished up 15 points. The ASX 200 put on just nine points but it put on about four per cent for the week. Fortescue Metal Shares fell today, the miner is being sued by one of its major shareholders¹ over efforts to raise funds. Sigma pharmaceuticals² also closed lower after saying it was facing possible class action in relation to capital raising. Shares in Telstra, however, gained ground after its Chinese subsidiary filed for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Elsewhere in the region, Japan's Nekkei ended the session up just over half a percent. And the Australian Dollar is buying almost 91 US cents.

Well, the Australian service sector³ was sluggish⁴ in August, contracting for the fourth month in a row. A survey of about 200 companies by the Australian Industry Group and the Commonwealth⁵ Bank found the fading effects of stimulus⁶ measures and Federal election uncertainty⁷ impacted on demand.
However, there was a big rise in new vehicle sales during the month. Figures from the Federal Chamber⁸ of Automotive Industry showed that just over 82,000 vehicles were sold in August. That's up four per cent on same time a year ago.

1 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

2 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• 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。

4 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

5 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

6 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。