澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-08-04

 And when the markets in Europe closed a couple of hours ago London's FTSE 100 was down 34 points. The Dax was also down, while the Euro was up two points. In the US, trading comes to a close shortly and the Dow Jones is up. The S&P 500 is also up.

 

And the Australian dollar is worth around 89 US cents this morning. It'll also buy you just over 58 British pence and 113 New Zealand.

 

Analysts¹ say the Western Australian premier² needs to face up to the likely prospect³ that natural gas from the Browse⁴ Basin won't be processed onshore.

 

Oil and gas company Woodside is considering the use of floating technology after it dumped plans for a processing hub at James Price Point, north of Broome. Yesterday, the federal resources minister approved changes to commonwealth⁵ retention⁶ leases, allowing the joint⁷ venture partners to move the project offshore⁸.

 

Spain's deep unemployment problem has eased a little, with the country's jobless numbers falling for a fifth straight month in July. The government attributes the positive trend to labour market reforms carried out in 2012. Spanish unemployment has soared to record levels since a property bubble burst in 2008. It is expected to remain relatively⁹ high for years to come, as the country's economy continues to struggle back from recession.

1 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。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

4 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

5 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

6 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。