VOA标准英语2009年-Thailand's Stock Market Bucks Asian Turn-A

By Daniel Schearf
Bangkok
15 October 2009

 
A giant poster of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej is displayed in Bangkok, Thailand's China town Wednesday, 14 Oct. 2009
Thailand's stock market has bucked¹ an Asian turn-around because of concerns about the health of King Bhumiphol Adulyadej. The revered² king is considered a stabilizing³ force in Thailand and has been hospitalized for nearly a month.

Asian stocks rose, Thursday, after positive news from Wall Street.

In trading, Japanese stocks were up nearly two percent, while markets in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Australia were up about half a percent.

But Thailand's stock market fell for a second day, down more than five percent in trading, after rumors⁴ spread about the health of King Bhumiphol Adulyadej.

The 81-year-old king of Thailand has no formal political role but has been a unifying⁵ force in Thailand during periods of political uncertainty⁶.

David Cohen is the director of Asian economic forecasting at Action Economics in Singapore.

"I think he's been viewed as a source of political stability, given the considerable political turmoil⁷ that Thailand has experienced over the past few years," Cohen said. "So, I think that was a source of concern, maybe just a reflex sale."

King Bhumiphol Adulyadejhas is the world's longest serving monarch⁸. He has been in the hospital for more than three weeks, fighting what the royal palace calls a lung inflammation.

Thailand's royal palace has been issuing daily updates on the king's health that say it has gradually improved.

Wednesday the palace said his general condition was good, but that the king would need to remain in hospital until a full recovery.

Thai stocks closed down two percent, Wednesday.

Despite the dip in Thailand's stock exchange, Cohen says the country's gross domestic product has shown good signs of recovering, along with the rest of Asia, from the global down-turn.

"Most of the economies, including Thailand, showed a pick-up in the second quarter GDP, the Asian region was leading the turn around in the global picture," Cohen said.

Asian stocks rose after the DOW Jones industrial average passed the psychologically important 10,000-point mark, Wednesday.

Cohen says it is not clear how much longer markets can continue the strong gains, but says it is unlikely they will return to the crisis environment of the first quarter of this year.

1 bucked   

adj.快v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的过去式和过去分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• When he tried to ride the horse, it bucked wildly. 当他试图骑上这匹马时，它突然狂暴地跃了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The plane bucked a strong head wind. 飞机顶着强烈的逆风飞行。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

3 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

4 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

6 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

7 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

8 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。