澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-12-18

 Moody's Investors¹ Service has slashed² Ireland's credit rating by five notches³. Moody's says the downgrade reflects the problems in the country's banking⁴ system and increased uncertainty⁵ regarding the country's economic outlook. Ireland recently had to seek a $115 billion rescue package from the EU and the IMF to help tackle its debt crisis.

 

Santos has signed an agreement with a South Korean company to buy 3.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas from Queensland each year. KOGAS will take a 15 per cent stake in the Gladstone LNG project and French company Total has also increased its stake by 7.5 per cent. The project will source gas from the Surat and Bowen basins and pipe it to central Queensland for processing.

 

And to the market numbers now, Australian shares ended the week lower. The All Ords lost 16 points. The ASX 200 was down about 21 points. Elsewhere in the region, Japan's Nikkei was down, the Hang Seng was up. In the US, stocks are flat. The Dow Jones is slightly lower. And on the commodities market, gold is trading higher. And a quick check of the currencies, the Australian dollar is buying around 99 US cents and almost 64 pence.

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 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 notches   

n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级

参考例句：

• The Indians cut notches on a stick to keep count of numbers. 印第安人在棒上刻V形凹痕用来计数。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They cut notches in the handle of their pistol for each man they shot. 他们每杀一个人就在枪托上刻下一个V形记号。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。