voa标准英语2008-Economic Outlook Slides in Europe and Asia

European stock markets fell Friday after a mixed performance in Asia. A weak outlook for oil prices depressed¹ global markets as share of crude hits its lowest level in five years.

European stocks are generally down again as energy shares made investors² skittish³.
　

Man walks beneath Tokyo brokerage's financial news bulletin board reporting interest rate cut, 19 Dec 2008

Earlier in Asia, Japan's central bank slashed⁴ its key interest rate down to just a tenth of one percent. The Japanese government predicts the nation's economy will experience negative growth through 2010.

The economic storm there is badly affecting exports. Various media reports out of Japan say Toyota, the country's top-ranked automaker, will announce its first-ever operating loss next week.

Toyota sales have nosedived due to the soaring value of the yen⁵, which makes Japanese products more expensive overseas.

Here in Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown held his final monthly news conference of the year. While not ignoring the tough times ahead, he underlined that getting out of this downturn will only be accomplished⁶ through coordinated⁷, global action.

"So if 2008 was the year we confronted the global downturn, 2009 must be the year that the world comes together to invest and build a prosperous future while giving real help to families and businesses now. And the countries that continue to invest for the future through the downturn, will be the countries that emerge stronger in the future," he said.

Mr. Brown says in Britain and elsewhere, the right things are being done right now to combat this difficult recession but he stressed it will take time to see results work through the system.
　

British PM Gordon Brown (R) talks with Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband at Energy Meeting in London, 19 Dec 2008

"Yes, it is unfortunate that we have been the victim of a global downturn. It is unfortunate that it spread from being a financial crisis into affecting all the sectors⁸ of our economy. But we are in a strong position to deal with this because we have cut interest rates, we have injected money into the economy, we are a competitive economy and over the next few months you will see for many people a result of the fall in oil prices and the fall also in food prices that peoples' standards of living, for many, many people will go up," said Brown.

Although oil prices have tumbled from nearly $150 to $40 a barrel in the past six months, Mr. Brown warns that price volatility⁹ will remain a pressing challenge.

Adding to the gloom was a prediction by a top banking¹⁰ association that said the worst has yet to come for the world economy.

The Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents more than 375 of the world's major banks and financial institutions, said the global economy would shrink by 0.4 percent in 2009 after two-percent growth this year.

Charles Dallara, managing director of the IIF, called the current situation "the most severe, globally synchronized¹¹ recession in modern economic history" as he presented the report at a news conference in Washington on Thursday.

Powerhouse economies - including the United States, the 15-nation eurozone and Japan - that are now in recession were forecast to contract a hefty 1.4 percent amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

1 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。

2 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

3 skittish   

adj.易激动的，轻佻的

参考例句：

• She gets very skittish when her boy-friend is around.她男朋友在场时，她就显得格外轻佻。
• I won't have my son associating with skittish girls.我不准我的儿子与轻佻的女孩交往。

4 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

6 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

7 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

10 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。

11 synchronized   

同步的

参考例句：

• Do not use the synchronized keyword in Managed Objects. 不要在管理对象上使用synchronized关键字。 来自互联网
• The timing of the gun was precisely synchronized with the turning of the plane's propeller. 风门的调速与飞机螺旋桨的转动精确同步。 来自辞典例句