VOA标准英语2009年-Global Markets Finish 2008 on Positive Note

After a year of gut-wrenching losses, stock markets around the world recorded a positive day amid light trading to close out 2008.
　

A trader talks on the phone at the Shanghai stock market on New Year's Eve in Shanghai, China, 31 Dec 2008

Modest gains on the last day of 2008 cannot erase¹ the massive losses of the last 12 months. Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 35 percent of its value, while Germany and Japan's stock markets finished the year down roughly 40 percent. Many emerging markets from Latin America to Asia fared even worse, making 2008 the most painful year in decades for investors² and countless³ publicly traded companies across the globe.

The year decimated America's corporate⁴ financial landscape, with many of the nation's best-known investment firms, banks, mortgage insurers and insurance companies bankrupt, sold, taken over by the federal government, or continuing to exist thanks to the biggest taxpayer⁵ bailout in U.S. history.

"Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, Lehman [Brothers], major companies that were the cornerstone of our financial services business are no longer with us. That is just a big shock," said Hugh Johnson, who heads the New York-based financial firm Johnson Illington Advisors⁶.
　

Job seekers check employment offers in Miami

Over the last 12 months, U.S. unemployment has jumped by more than a percentage point as the nation weathered a deepening recession that has spread around the world. Many economists⁷ are predicting even higher rates of unemployment in 2009.

Wednesday, the U.S. Labor⁸ Department provided a glimmer⁹ of unexpected good news. New claims for unemployment benefits fell by more than 90,000 at the end of last week compared to the previous week. Overall, however, the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits remains¹⁰ at the highest level seen since 1982.

Having been battered¹¹ by a year of sour economic news, U.S. markets were little-impressed by the latest unemployment figure, according to Art Cashin of UBS Financial Services.

"To see a number down 92,000, particularly given the economic environment that we have, made the number look a bit suspicious [to investors]," said Cashin.

Oil prices traded just below $40 a barrel Wednesday, capping a wild year for energy prices that saw oil spike¹² to a record-high of nearly $150 a barrel in July. Oil prices have been on an almost-uninterrupted slide downward ever since, pushed lower by a global recession that has weakened demand for fuel.

1 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

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 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

6 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

7 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

12 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。