VOA标准英语2009年-Recession Woes Again Batter World Markets

Following Asia's lead, European markets are down Thursday due to persistent¹ worries about the length and depth of the unfolding global recession. In Britain, yet another large central bank interest rate cut was announced to combat the downward economic trend.
　

Bank of England seen in City of London, 08 Jan 2009

Given the scale of the economic problem, the Bank of England has been spurred into yet another base rate cut, its fourth in as many months. This one, half-a-percentage-point drop, brings interest rates here down to 1.5 percent. That is the lowest level seen in the 315-year history of the Bank of England.

Senior economic advisor² Ian McCafferty from the Confederation of British Industry welcomes the confidence-building move, but he says other tools must also be used to get money moving again in the economy.

"We do need to cut the cost of borrowing in order to help stimulate³ the economy, but I think there is a growing recognition that we actually need other measures as well, what is known in the jargon⁴ as quantitative⁵ easing, as a way of helping⁶ getting credit flows going again. And it is not only the cost of credit, but also the availability of credit that needs to be addressed," he said.

David Buik from the London investment firm BGC Partners agrees interest rate cuts alone cannot solve the problem of a lack of cash flow in the system.

"It is not about interest rates anymore, the bank will also want to leave a little bit left in their locker," he said. "The banks at the moment are frozen. There is no money coming out, there is a limit to how much interest rates can help people."

In London, Paris and Frankfurt the markets were all down for the second day running.

Earlier, the Asian markets all posted falls. Announced job cuts added to the economic woes⁷ there. The electronic component⁸ manufacturer TDK plans to shed some 8,000 jobs worldwide amid what is expected to be its largest ever annual loss.

Tokyo's Nikkei average lost nearly 4 percent. A similar drop was seen on Hong Kong's main index.

In Europe, unemployment continues to rise. In Spain, it jumped more than expected in December to top the three million mark for the first time in a dozen years.

Under this backdrop of economic gloom, analysts⁹ say pressure is mounting for a deep European Central Bank rate cut next week.

1 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 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。

4 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

5 quantitative   

adj.数量的，定量的

参考例句：

• He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。
• We need to do some quantitative analysis of the drugs.我们对药物要进行定量分析。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

8 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。