Dow breaks through 12,000 amid optimism

    NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The blue-chip Dow broke through the psychologically（心理的） important 12,000 mark on Wednesday for the first time in two and a half years, but edged lower in afternoon trading.
    The U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors¹ digested the Fed meeting, President Barack Obama's State of the Union address and another round of corporate² earnings³.
    The Federal Reserve said that the economy was not growing fast enough to lower unemployment, and vowed⁴ to press ahead with its 600 billion dollars Treasury⁵ bond-purchase program.
    Obama said in his State of the Union address late Tuesday that he wanted to close corporate tax loopholes and use the additional revenue（税收） to lower corporate tax rates for the first time in 25 years. That change would be popular with business leaders, as the United States has some of the highest corporate tax rates in the industrialized world.
    The market was also boosted by a jump in new home sales in December. The optimism offset⁶ the weak profit forecasts from Boeing Co., Xerox⁷ Corp. and other big names.
    Boeing Co. reported that its 2011 profit would be hurt by delays to its new 787 model and higher pension expenses.
    Eastman Kodak Co. said its fourth-quarter net income tumbled 95 percent as results were undermined by weaker camera revenue, sharply lower royalties⁸ from digital-imaging inventions and a large gain a year earlier.
    ConocoPhillips said its fourth-quarter earnings jumped 54 percent despite a drop in production, as crude prices increased. United Continental⁹ Holdings Inc. reported it lost 325 million dollars in the fourth quarter because of expenses from combining United and Continental airlines.
    The Dow Jones industrial average increased 8.25 points, or 0.07 percent, to 11,985.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.46 points, or 0.42 percent, to 1,296.64 and the Nasdaq was up 20.25 points, or 0.74 percent, to 2,739.50.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 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

2 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。

3 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%。

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

7 xerox   

n./v.施乐复印机，静电复印

参考例句：

• Xerox and Lucent are two more high-tech companies run by women.施乐和朗讯是另外两家由女性经营的大科技公司。
• You cannot take it home,but you can xerox it.你不能把它带回家，但可以复印。

8 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

9 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。