CNN Marketplace 2006-05-05

Rachel Lee : With the average price of gasoline near three dollars a gallon, Americans are buying less. A government report shows gas and oil stockpiles increased in the last week, and demand for gas hasn't grown at all in the past month. Mark Routt with Energy Security Analysis Inc. says people are changing their driving.

Mark Routt : We are getting some anecdotal evidence that discretional driving trips are being trimmed back.

Rachel Lee : Crude oil futures¹ fell more than 2 dollars a barrel on the day to 72.28 a barrel. The service sector² expanded last month while the nation's factory saw orders increase by the largest amount in nearly a year, some good signs for the economy. President Bush agrees:

George Bush : Our economy's growth in 2005 was faster than Japan, more than twice as fast as France and more than 3 times as fast as Germany. The American economy is the fastest growing of any major industrialized nation in the world.

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Rachel Lee : Pilots at Northwest Airlines have approved deep pay cuts to help keep the bankrupt airline flying. Some union leaders had called on the 4800 pilots to reject the contract and hold out for a better deal.

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Rachel Lee : If you feel like you can't take your job any more, you are not alone. Michael Jones has more on a new survey.

Michael Jones : More than half of all workers are under a great deal of stress and 77% said they are burned out according to a nationwide survey by Careerbuilder.com. The top cause of job stress is difficult co-workers, followed by an unrealistic workload³, tight deadlines, last minute projects and an overbearing or interfering⁴ boss. Careerbuilder.com suggests putting priorities on tasks and getting enough sleep and good nutrition. Michael Jones, CNN.

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Rachel Lee : He brought wit and plain talk to financial journalism⁵, former Wall Street Week host Louis Rukeyser has died, after a long battle with a rare bone marrow⁶ cancer. CNN Radio Marketplace, I'm Rachel Lee.

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WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
stockpile: a reserve supply of something essential accumulated within a country for use during a shortage
discretional: =discretionary 任意的

1 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

2 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。

3 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

4 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

5 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

6 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。