澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-12-25

 An Australian expert on consumer behaviour has warned that this year's slow Christmas sales marked the beginning of a changing retail¹ climate. Dr Paul Harrison from Deakin University says for the last five years, Australian retailers² have enjoyed a sales boom, but he says his research shows that high growth is unsustainable. He also says consumers are running out of space in their homes so aren't replacing items such as laptops as readily as they have in the past.

 

The operator of London's Heathrow Airport says it's launched an inquiry³ into the handling of the snow chaos⁴, which left thousands of passengers stranded⁵. Spanish-owned operator BAA announced the inquiry as Heathrow beginning to get back on track with around 90% of flights operating after days of cancellations.

 

To the market numbers, shares on Wall Street have risen for a fourth consecutive⁶ week. The Dow Jones is up 14 points. European stock markets were mixed. London's FTSE closed up slightly, but the DAX slipped 0.1%. Local shares closed lower on Christmas Eve with the All Ords slipping 20 points, and the ASX 200 shedding 22 points. And in currencies, the Aussie dollar remains⁷ at parity⁸ with the US dollar.

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

3 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

4 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

5 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

6 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 parity   

n.平价，等价，比价，对等

参考例句：

• The two currencies have now reached parity.这两种货币现已达到同等价值。
• Women have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields.女性在很多领域还没能争取到薪金、职位方面的平等。