澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-01-16

 Rio Tinto says its iron ore expansion plans are on track. The company has exceeded its expectations with a record annual production rate of 253 million tons. It's set an ambitious target to churn out 360 million tons a year in the Pilbara. Iron ore prices have rebounded¹ to above 140 dollars a ton after plunging² to 80 dollars a ton last year.

 

Europe's biggest economy has had a sharp slowdown. The lastest quarterly figures for Germany show a growth rate of just 0.7 per cent. Germany has so far avoided Europe's economic crisis, but some analysts³ now fear the German economy will fall into recession.

 

The Crazy John's mobile phone dealership⁴ brand is expected to disappear next month. Vodafone Australia has confirmed its plans to dump the brand from its group and rebrand the stores under its own name. Vodafone hasn't said how many staff could be affected⁵.

 

 

Let's take a quick look at the markets now.

 

 

The Dow's gained 23 points. The Nasdaq fell 9 points. The S&P 500 edged up slightly. And London's FSTE closed 9 points higher overnight. 

 

 

To commodity price.

 

 

West Texas Crude is 93 US dollars a barrel. Tapis Crude is at 117 US dollars a barrel. And gold is worth 1679 US dollars an ounce.

 

 

The Australian dollar is buying 106 US cents, 79 Euro cents and 66 pence sterling⁶.

1 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

2 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。