澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-10-16

The Australian dollar has hit parity¹ with the US dollar for the first time since the Australian currency was floated. The new post-float high comes after a rally over recent months that's been fueled by growing expectations the Federal Reserve will pump more cash into the US economy. That's been weakening the US dollar and sending the Australian dollar higher.

In a speech in Boston, Chair of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke has given strength to some of those expectations. He made strong hints of possible further action by the central bank to stimulate² the economy.  He acknowledged it's growing less vigorously than he'd like, and he said the recovery in the labor³ market is painfully slow, and there would appear to be a case for further action.

"Despite these challenges, the Federal Reserve remains⁴ committed to pursuing policies that promote our dual⁵ objectives of maximum employment and price stability." Ben Bernanke.

Into the market numbers now. In the US, the Dow Jones has fallen about 40 points. In Europe, the FT, uh, the FTSE 100 is also down. Back home, and Australian shares ended the session low yesterday. The ASX200 was also down. On the commodities market, gold is down, and the Australian dollar is currently buying almost 99 US cents and around 62 pence.

1 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。

2 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。