VOA标准英语10月-Concern Grows as Steep Decline Marks End of Tumul

Despite a raft of government interventions¹, markets in Europe have ended a tumultuous week with a steep decline Friday as fears of a worldwide recession start to take hold. For VOA, Tom Rivers in London has been talking to average Britons about the financial problems and gauging² their mood.

Following the lead in Asia, a shock wave of heavy declines hit all of the European markets Friday. And after weeks of extreme volatility³, worries are spreading from the global financial centers to the average man and woman on the street.
　

Gordon Brown, 08 Oct 2008

In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown tried to shore up sentiments by urging other countries to adopt a financial rescue package similar to the one he unveiled two days ago.

"What we need now as I said this morning, is other countries doing similar things because this is a global financial system," he said. "We have got problems that have come out of America. I'm trying to persuade others leaders to do exactly the same as we have done so we can get the whole system moving again."

Mr. Brown is calling for a summit of world leaders to build a unified⁴ approach to what is now a firmly established global problem.

Market Analyst⁵ at BGC Partners in London, David Buik, says that cannot happen soon enough because the pain is just starting to be felt in the real economy of everyday life.

"The fabric⁶ of society is seriously damaged, old people, pensions, schools, all these sort of things," he said. "I sound like a politician, I can assure you I am not but you can feel it around you. So, unless people get a grip on this banking⁷ sector⁸ and restore this confidence that all these areas that are so dear to everybody's hearts in terms of their futures⁹, is severely¹⁰ under pressure."

Here on a busy, bustling¹¹ street in west London I spent the afternoon talking to average Britons about their concerns and worries. From senior citizens to teenagers the story was the same. People feel they are in a situation they do not control.

"I am worried, obviously," said a man. "I think everyone is worried. When it comes to finances, if you are not worried about your finances, there is something wrong with you. Things are changing all the time but it is never for the good. It is always for the bad at the moment. You know, things are going down so, I do not know really, it is definitely worrying you know, you are downsizing everything at the moment."

This man works for an airline at Heathrow airport. He says job security there is becoming a big concern. "We work for a firm at the moment where they are cutting back," he said. "You know, everything is being cut down and trying to go towards, cut back."

This week, the Bank of England, in concert with a number of other key central banks, cut interests rate by a half point in a coordinated¹² move. So, what does the man on the street here think about that?

"Half a percent is a drop in the ocean to be honest," he said. "[Let us] see what happens in the next week, two weeks and take it from there."

"Well, every little helps but a little is not enough really," said another man.

At the other end of the age scale, young university students I spoke¹³ with are feeling the tightening¹⁴ financial squeeze as well.

"I would say we are cutting down on a how much we spend but purely¹⁵ because we have to," said a student. "We have no choice. We have no money. Like, I am constantly a poor student and so therefore everything else kind of goes with that like. I spend far less on things that I want to spend it on and I have to kind of manage my money a lot more so I can afford to live rather than just buy nice clothes and stuff."

One thing everyone seems to agree on is that this problem will not be going away anytime soon and there will be more pain is store before things turn around. And no one here seems to know just when that might be.

1 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

2 gauging   

n.测量[试]，测定，计量v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的现在分词 )；估计；计量；划分

参考例句：

• The method is especially attractive for gauging natural streams. 该方法对于测量天然的流注具有特殊的吸引力。 来自辞典例句
• Incommunicative as he was, some time elapsed before I had an opportunity of gauging his mind. 由于他不爱说话，我过了一些时候才有机会探测他的心灵。 来自辞典例句

3 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

4 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 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。

9 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。

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

11 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

12 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 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。

14 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

15 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。