英语听力：澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-12-11

 The key monthly business survey by National Australia Bank shows confidence remains¹ below the level which it hit post-election. Conditions remain weak with employment falling sharply and forward orders remaining down. NAB says it shows the economy is seeing lackluster growth. 

 

The number of new home loans taken out in October rose,boosted by investors². The Bureau of Statistics figures show the overall number of home loans was up, largely thanks to an 8.6 per cent surge in investment loans. 

 

Australia's biggest energy producer Woodside Petroleum³ has halved⁴ its outlook for investment. It now plans to spend 1.1 billion US dolllars, down from 2.3 billion this year. Woodside says that's because of delays at its planned joint⁵ venture in Israel. The company has also lowered its full-year production target slightly. 

 

Investors in Woodside has taken that news in their stride. Shares ended the day half a per cent higher. QBE fell another 10%. Qantas has closed at its lowest level ever. The broader Australian share market started the day on a positive note, but gains did fade throughout the session. By the close, the All Ords was flat. 

1 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。

2 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

3 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

4 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。