澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-02-06

 And the US government has begun legal action against Standard&Poor's. It's the first time charges have been brought against one of the credit rating agencies, widely blamed for contributing to the global financial crisis. Standard&Poor's denies claims that it deliberately¹ played down the risk of investing in toxic² mortgage bonds. 

 

French President Francios Hollande has foreshadowed a tough Europe Union summit this week. EU members will try for a second time  to agree on a new seven-year budget plan.

 

Mr Hollande has warned Britain not to hijack³ the summit with excessive demands for budget cuts while refusing to make its own concessions⁴. Last November's first attempt failed when Britain led opposition⁵ against the budget proposals.

 

To the markets.

 

The Dow Jones put on 132 points. Towards the close, the Nasdaq's risen 1.5 pre cent. The S&P 500 also made gains. And in London, the FTSE rose as well.

 

Checking commodities markets now.

 

West Texas Crude is trading at 97 US dollars a barrel. Tapis Crude is 123 US dollars a barrel. And gold is 1671 US dollars an ounce.

 

The Australian dollar is buying 104 US cents, 77 Euro cents and 66 pence sterling⁶. 

1 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

2 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

3 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

4 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

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。