英语PK台 第215期:2015热点新闻回顾(1)

 1.Roller coaster stocks

Investors¹ were spooked by the Chinese stock market's volatile² swings.

The wildest ride in China this year wasn't at an amusement park, it was the country's stock exchange. A steady stream of local money fed an equity³ bubble that popped on June 12. Chinese regulators tried aggressively to stabilize⁴ the market but the Shanghai composite still plunged⁶ 34% between June and September. At one point, more than half of all listed companies had halted trading, and regulators suspended new market listings. Things seem to be going out on a high note though. Shanghai's main index is up more than 10% for the year.

Vocabulary:

Equity bubble, composite, plunge⁵

2.Death by escalator

Xiang Liujuan was able to push her son to safety when an escalator's top panel collapsed⁷ but herself was not so lucky.

A thirty-second clip from a security camera became the most haunting video from China in 2015. The footage showed a mother approaching the top of an escalator with her child when a panel suddenly gives way. Although she manages to push her child to safety, she falls to her death. While online commentators⁸ praised 31-year-old Xiang Liujuan for her quick thinking to save her young son, they also questioned why the accident happened in the first place at all. Even more unsettling? A similar incident occurred a week later when a Shanghai man's leg was amputated after it became trapped when yet another escalator panel collapsed. The accidents sparked numerous videos on social media of people tiptoeing on escalators or riding the handrails in fear of becoming the next escalator victim.

Vocabulary:

Give way, spark

1 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

2 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

3 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

4 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

5 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

6 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

7 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

8 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》