VOA标准英语10月-British Leader Warns Global Downturn Could Turn t

In his first parliamentary question session since last week's European leaders' summit where economics took center stage, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned that many countries must brace¹ for recession in the real economy. For VOA, Tom Rivers in London reports.
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Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown leaves 10 Downing Street, London, to attend his first parliamentary question session, 22 Oct 2008

It is the first time Prime Minister Gordon Brown has publicly acknowledged what many average Britons have felt for months: that the global economic downturn is likely to cause a recession both here and elsewhere around the world. And as Mr. Brown underlined in parliament, it was serious.

"The Governor of the Bank of England said last night that not since the First World War has the international banking² system been so close to collapse and I agree with him," Brown said. "Having taken action on the banking system, we must now take action on the global financial recession which is likely to cause recession in America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and because no country can insulate itself from it, Britain too."

Mr. Brown said he looks forward to attending a summit of world leaders soon to discuss cooperative economic recovery measures. That gathering⁴ will be held in the United States sometime shortly after the November presidential election.

With the British economy shrinking, Mr. Brown is facing many of the same problems being felt elsewhere in the developed world, such as rising home foreclosures that have nearly doubled during the past 12 months.

In the House of Commons, the prime minister outlined new plans to combat that alarming trend.

"Mr. Speaker, I can announce today new guidance - new guidance for the judiciary to halt or adjourn⁵ court action on repossessions unless alternative options that help the homeowner including extending the terms of the mortgage, changing the mortgage type and deferring⁶ payment have been fully⁷ examined first of all. We are determined⁸ to do everything we can to help homeowners avoid repossessions," he said.

But the economic fight back will take time. Mortgage approval rates are down by more than 70 percent this year compared to 2007.

Unemployment is rising and that is expected to continue into 2009. And the pound has slipped to a five-year low against the U.S. dollar.

1 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 adjourn   

v.（使）休会，（使）休庭

参考例句：

• The motion to adjourn was carried.休会的提议通过了。
• I am afraid the court may not adjourn until three or even later.我担心法庭要到3点或更晚时才会休庭。

6 deferring   

v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的现在分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• Recently, the Supreme Court has focused on an additional reason for deferring to administrative agencies. 最近，最高法院强调了尊重行政机构的另一种理由。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Think of it as deferring part of the compiler's job to runtime. 可以认为这是将编译器的部分工作延迟到了运行时。 来自互联网

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。