CNN Marketplace 2006-02-28

The Consumer Federation¹ of America is retooling² the way fuel economy is calculated on cars and releasing a new mileage³ rating scale. Says CFA director of public affairs, Jack⁴ Gillis:

There are wide variations within the size class of cars that consumers are considering. There are variations of up to 2,000 dollars in terms of annual fuel cost and almost all of them vary by over 100 percent.

Gillis says if you are buying a Pick-up Truck ,you could save close to 19 hundred bucks⁵ a year by knowing the correct MRS(Mileage Rating Scale).

The National Association of Business Economics says the economy should come roaring back this quarter. And President Stuart Hoffman says the job market will remain solid for the rest of the year.

We created about 2 million jobs over the course of this year, and should keep the unemployment rate below 5 percent in the opinion of our panel.

The pace of due home sales slow down last month for the second time in 3 months. The Census⁶ Bureau reported that new homes sold at an annual rate of 1.23 million homes and builders are reporting more unsold homes. Says National Association of Home Builder’s chief economist⁷ David Seiders : A level, it actually had a record over 500,000 units and there was the inventory⁸ sales ratio on month supply is up to 5.2. Despite those numbers Seiders says the housing market remains⁹ strong.

As Mardi gras celebrations continue in New Orleans, Louisiana secretary of Culture Recreation and Tourism A.Davis says the economic impact of the festivities will be both substantial and very helpful for the area:

Our tax base has pretty much been devastated¹⁰ as a result of the hurricanes, so our hotels right now are 100 percent occupied which is great. We know that about 2/3 of the hotels are occupied with FEMA workers and contractors¹¹, but the rest are open for visitors.

She says it’s also important for the tourism industry to continue its work and let the world know Louisiana is open for business.

With CNN radio market place, I’m Michel Right.



WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA):美国联邦紧急事务管理局
inventory/sales ratio :存货/销售,存货销售比率，指在一定时期内的存货与其销售额的比例
National Association of Home Builder :全美住宅建设商协会
Pick-up Truck:皮卡，一种小型货车。
Rating Scales: 指标体系
The Consumer Federation of America( CFA):美国联合消费立法协会
The Census Bureau of America:美国人口统计局
The National Association of Business Economics:美国商业经济协会

1 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

2 retooling   

v.（给…）更换工具， （给…）更换机械设备( retool的现在分词 )；改组，革新

参考例句：

• The factory is retooling to start making the new line of cars. 工厂正在重新装备以便开始制造新系列车型。 来自辞典例句
• Among her suggestions: retooling factories to focus on rebuilding America's transportation system. 她的建议包括围绕重新建设美国交通系统这个重心来重组汽车工业。 来自互联网

3 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

9 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。

10 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

11 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》