voa标准英语2008年-Japanese Economy Now in Recession

World markets were mostly lower, amid news that Japan is the latest nation to slip into recession and projections¹ of continued negative economic growth and higher unemployment in the United States. From Washington, VOA's Michael Bowman reports.
　

Pedestrian walks past share prices board in Tokyo, 11 Nov 2008

Japan, the world's second-largest national economy, is in recession for the first time since 2001. Figures from Tokyo show the economy contracting at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the third quarter, after plunging² 3.7 percent in the second quarter of the year.

From 2002 to 2007, Japan had enjoyed an average growth rate of just more than 2 percent a year.

Japanese Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano says according to quarterly results, "we can understand the economy has continued in a recessionary phase." He added the global economy is expected to slow down and downward movement in Japan is expected to continue.

Analysts³ say Japan's export-oriented economy has been hurt by the global slowdown, but the country is no longer hobbled by deep-seated structural⁴ financial ills that ground economic expansion to a halt for much of the 1990s.

Last week brought news that Germany had officially entered a recession. The United States is almost-universally expected to show a second consecutive⁵ quarter of negative economic growth for the end of the year, meeting the technical definition of a recession.

In its latest forecast, the Washington-based National Association for Business Economics projects the U.S. economy will get worse before it gets better.

"Our panel expects the economy to contract at a 2.6 percent rate in the fourth quarter, and continue to decline heading into 2009," said NABE President Chris Varvares. "Our panel sees the unemployment rate rising to 7.5 percent, from the current 6.5 percent, by the end of next year; that overall consumer spending after adjusting for inflation will decline 0.2 percent next year. And that is the first time that we have seen an outright⁶ decline in consumer spending since 1980."

U.S. financial giant Citigroup announced major job cuts totaling more than 50,000 employees, reflecting continued woes⁷ in the American labor⁸ market.

Investor⁹ Mark Mobius of Franklin Templeton Investments says he is hopeful that aggressive steps taken by numerous governments and central banks to unfreeze credit and spur economic activity will ultimately succeed.

Speaking on Bloomberg television, Mobius was asked if he believes the worldwide economic downturn will be long lasting¹⁰.

"No, I do not think so, because of the measures that are being taken by the U.S, Europe, and other major countries around the world. I believe that with the amount of money that is being pumped into the global system, this [recession] will be rather short-lived."

Mobius said his firm is aggressively buying stocks at Monday's depressed¹¹ price levels in anticipation¹² of an eventual¹³ economic upswing.

Across Asia and Europe, most major financial markets were lower Monday.

Wall Street's Down Jones Industrial Average began the day with triple-digit losses, but crossed into positive territory in midday trading.

1 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

2 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

5 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

6 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

7 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

10 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

11 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

12 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

13 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。