英语听力精选进阶版 6687

Coins being emptied on desk.

William: Hello and welcome to Authentic¹ Real English. My name is William Kremer.

Feifei: 50p... ￡2.50... ￡2.80... ￡3.20.

William: Er Feifei?

Feifei: Not now! ￡4.20... ￡4.50... ￡6.50.

William: What do you mean "not now"? It's time for the programme, Feifei. Our listeners are waiting...

Feifei: ￡6... ￡6 什么？多少来着？哎呀，我数到哪儿了，又忘了！听众朋友，大家好，我是冯菲菲。刚刚我在数我还有多少钱呢。

William: Yes, everyone in the UK is worried about money at the moment. They're worried about the possibility of a double-dip recession.

Feifei: A double-dip recession. 这个表达是什么意思呢？

William: Well you know what a recession is...

Feifei: A recession 经济衰退。

William: Double means twice. And dip means to go down. So double-dip recession describes a situation in which the economy goes into recession, then comes out of recession then goes back into recession again.

Feifei: A double-dip recession 的意思就是当一个国家的经济从衰退走出来后再次进入一个新的衰退期、萧条期，这时我们说 a double-dip recession 二次衰退。 William 输我直言，我觉得这个话题实在是挺无聊的。我一听关于经济方面的事情，就犯困。咱们能不能说个有趣儿的短语呢？

William: Well, I'm not really that interested in economics either. But this is a phrase that is very common at the moment because the UK was in recession last year and then we had a little bit of growth and now people are starting to worry about the possibility of a double-dip recession. So here are a couple of examples I heard on the radio recently:

Examples

And even the Mirror leads with the economy. It says on its front page David Cameron and George Osborne's bragging² over savage³ cuts has led us to the brink⁴ of a double-dip recession, the blundering Tory duo...

So are worried consumers spending less in the shops? Well, the managing director of John Lewis, Andy Street, says he doesn't foresee a double-dip recession and indeed he says sales are holding up in his stores, for the moment anyway.

Feifei: 其实大多数和经济有关的表达或者短语很少能像今天我们学的这个短语一样广为使用，那么这个 double-dip recession 为什么如此流行呢？

William: Well, I think it's very popular with journalists who want to soften⁵ hard economic news. The phrase sounds really quite friendly, doesn't it? Double dip... it reminds me a bit of a sherbet dip, which is an old-fashioned kind of sweet that I used to buy as a young boy!

Feifei: 啊，原来这样呀。用一个较通俗的表达来描述一个比较难懂的经济术语。

William: Yes, and I've heard the phrase quite a lot with the adjective dreaded⁶.

Feifei: Dreaded 可怕的，令人畏惧的。

William: And again, I think that's because of the way it sounds: dreaded double dip. The words have a rhythm and they sound quite nice, a bit like children's poetry: dreaded double dip.

Feifei: Hmm. 短语听起来不错，不过不是一个什么好的经济兆头。说到这儿，我想起来了我还有一个重要的工作要做。 50p... ￡2.50... ￡2.80... ￡3.20.

Feifei: ￡4.20... ￡4.50... ￡6.50...

William: Bye.

1 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

2 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

3 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

4 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

5 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

6 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》