VOA标准英语2010-Markets Tumble, European Financial Offici

Robert Raffaele 28 April 2010
 

From left: European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, the International Monetary¹ Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, following a meeting with German lawmakers in Berlin, 28 April 2010

 

European financial officials say they are moving as quickly as possible to prevent the debt crisis engulfing² Greece and Portugal from growing even worse. Those words of support came ahead of a scheduled meeting between the heads of the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund with German Chancellor³ Angela Merkel in Berlin.
Tuesday, ratings agency Standard and Poor downgraded Greek bonds to "junk" status, causing stocks worldwide to tumble.

Asian stock markets tumbled in early trading Wednesday following new fears about Greece's debt problems.

Investors⁴ were anxiously watching developments in Germany, where Berlin's response to the crisis has met political opposition⁵.

But Germany's ambassador to Greece, Wolfgang Schultheiss, pledged his nation's support. "We have now to concretize [make firm] the measure which have been agreed upon 11 April and we have to send a clear signal that we will not let down Greece, and I think that is the bottom line of everything," he stated. "Germany will help Greece and it will not let it down."

Greece has already asked to access a joint⁶ European Union-IMF aid package worth as much as $60 billion.

However, concerns about the stability of Greece , and other financially-troubled European countries, increased after the Standard and Poor's credit rating agency downgraded Greek bonds to speculative  or "junk" status Tuesday.

The agency also slashed⁷ Portugal's sovereign debt by two notches⁸. Analysts⁹ are keeping a close eye on Wednesday's trading.

"I think that today we will have a lot of pressure as well because there is this fear of contagion¹⁰. I think that Greece and Portugal are very small countries," Nicholas Skourias, with Pegasus Securities said. "But the crisis could spread to Spain which is a more important player in Europe."

Greece's financial woes¹¹ have already caused the value of the euro to slide. Investors fear European Union countries  could eventually see significant economic losses if Greece fails to pay back its massive debt.
 

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 engulfing   

adj.吞噬的v.吞没，包住( engulf的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house darkness. 一位摄影师把电灯的保险丝烧断了，使整栋房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A professional photographer had fused the lights,engulfing the entire house in darkness. 一位职业摄影师把保险丝烧断了使整所房子陷于黑暗当中。 来自辞典例句

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 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

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 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》

8 notches   

n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级

参考例句：

• The Indians cut notches on a stick to keep count of numbers. 印第安人在棒上刻V形凹痕用来计数。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They cut notches in the handle of their pistol for each man they shot. 他们每杀一个人就在枪托上刻下一个V形记号。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

11 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。