VOA标准英语2009年-World Markets End Rough Week on Down Note

World markets were all off sharply at the end of the week after a drop on Wall Street Thursday that saw the Dow index hit a six-year low. Grim corporate¹ news in Asia and Europe kept the negative pressure on. In Sweden, carmaker Saab has filed for bankruptcy² protection and is hoping to spin off from its U.S. parent company, General Motors.

The overseas markets keep probing new depths and that is a clear sign that investors³ do not see a quick end to this deep global downturn despite unprecedented⁴ government intervention⁵ efforts so far, around the world.

In export-driven Asia, more bad news. In Thailand, January exports showed a 26.5 percent drop. That is the steepest fall in a dozen years.

The Tokyo index lost nearly two percent Friday while Hong Kong dropped 2.5 percent.

In Europe, the Swedish automaker Saab, which is owned by General Motors, has gone to court and filed for bankruptcy protection. Saab is seeking to create a fully⁶ independent business.

A similar move may be made by the GM-owned German carmaker Opel in the coming days.

Here in Britain, new figures show that car sales for January were down 58 percent compared to a year ago.

Under that backdrop, more layoffs⁷ in the British industry seem inevitable⁸, but union chief Tony Woodley says trying to keep workers on the payroll⁹ makes good economic sense in the long term.

"Is it sensible to sack people and put them on the dole¹⁰ costing the taxpayer¹¹ tens of billions of pounds when we can spend the same or less to keep them in employment, in training and keep them ready in skilled jobs that will disappear forever if they go, ready for when the upturn¹² in the market takes place? Everybody knows in our industry that it will take some time to get back to the level of sales of 2007 but the market will pick up. We have efficient plants, productive plants and good workers," said Woodley.
　
Britain's PM Gordon Brown (file photo)

Meanwhile, new figures show that home foreclosures in Britain shot up by 54 percent last year. Prime Minister Gordon Brown says his government is listening.

"We are determined¹³ that this will not become as high a feature as it has been in previous downturns in the country and so the measures we are putting in place are coming in and I believe that we are able to see an impact on the rate of repossession," he said.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, home repossessions are predicted to nearly double this year in Britain, to around 75,000.

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

9 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

10 dole   

n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给

参考例句：

• It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
• Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来，许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。

11 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

12 upturn   

n.情况好转

参考例句：

• Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。
• The economy is experiencing an upturn.经济正在好转。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。