voa标准英语2008年-Asian Markets Tumble Over Lingering Concerns Ab

Concerns about prospects¹ for the global economy sent Asian shares falling, reversing gains made after Barack Obama became the U.S. president-elect. Markets in South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan all fell, although in Australia, a senior member of the government said the worst of the financial crisis has passed. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

The share market euphoria that greeted Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election did not last long.

Asian markets tumbled Thursday, a day after celebrating the Illinois senator's historic win, because of lingering concerns about fundamental flaws in the global economy. Most Asian markets had risen Wednesday on the election results.
　

A pedestrian walks past a board displaying the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong, 06 Nov 2008

South Korea's main Kospi index lost more than seven percent, and steel and auto² exporters were the big losers - a sobering reversal after five sessions of gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell almost as much and Japan's Nikkei also slumped³ by more than 6.5 percent.

Japanese carmakers suffered. Shares in Toyota plunged⁴ more than 10 percent on worries about sliding earnings⁵. The company cut its profit forecast for the current year by more than half to 550 billion yen⁶. Shares in rival Isuzu Motors also fell.

The global gloom followed the release of economic data in the United States that showed deep cuts in employment in October.

Despite such widespread pessimism⁷, Australian Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner thinks the worst of the global financial crisis is over.

"Nobody can predict what these international pressures will do. I'm optimistic that things have improved and that we've have seen the worst of these circumstances in the United States and in Europe," said Tanner. "But we will be doing everything we can to push back against these very powerful economic forces."

Australia's main stock index closed down more than four percent Thursday after post-election jitters⁸ about the American economy sent Wall Street into a nosedive overnight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than five percent because of renewed concerns over a deep recession in the United States.

1 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

4 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

7 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

8 jitters   

n.pl.紧张(通常前面要有the)

参考例句：

• I always get the jitters before exams. 我考试前总是很紧张。
• The whole city had the jitters from the bombing. 全城居民都为轰炸而心神不宁。