Business:The Financial Crisis 商业：金融危机

Stock Markets Tumble Across the World 全球股市暴跌
　　There is only one story in the European press this week – the turmoil¹ that has engulfed² world markets.
　　A few weeks ago everyone was talking about the credit crunch³. This rather cosy⁴ term has now been replaced in the press by ‘financial crisis’, reflecting the broadening and deepening of the emergency.
　　As stock markets opened on Monday, shares plummeted⁵ across the world. On Tuesday, US stocks hit their lowest levels in five years, while Japan's Nikkei closed down 952.58 points, or 9.4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 6.2% lower and markets in Australia, China and Taiwan all fell.
　　The sharp downturn in the markets has continued despite massive government interventions⁶ in the banking⁷ system.
　　On Saturday, the US Congress finally passed a $700bn (4.7 trillion Yuan) bail-out plan. The US government will buy the bad mortgage debts which triggered the crisis in exchange for a stake in the banks they rescue.
　　On Monday, the entire economy of Iceland came precariously⁸ close to bankruptcy⁹. The government introduced emergency legislation to allow them to effectively run banks’ operations.
　　Today it was the British government’s turn, offering banks that are interested a slice of £50bn (596 billion Yuan) in exchange for a stake. It is also offering loans of up to £250bn (2.98 trillion Yuan) which banks can use for a fee. Banks won’t lend to one another at the moment, so the hope is that this measure will increase liquidity¹⁰ – get money flowing again.
　　This is vital since the ripples¹¹ of the credit crisis are already reaching smaller businesses, who have seen their interest rates on loans increase. Consumer confidence is also down, affecting sales on the high street.
　　If the plans work and banks in the UK and US recover, tax-payers in both countries could make a profit from their governments’ interventions. If the plans fail, the banking system will simply collapse¹².
　　Either way, we should be prepared for another escalation¹³ in language, as the ‘financial crisis’ perhaps becomes a ‘severe economic recession’.

GLOSSARY 词汇表
turmoil
动荡
cosy
舒适的/容易的
plummeted
暴跌
downturn
下滑
bail-out
应急措施
stake
股份/股本
bankruptcy
破产
effectively
实际上
consumer confidence
消费者信心
escalation
加剧
 engulfed
吞没/把…卷入旋涡
financial crisis
金融危机
stocks
股价
interventions
干预
triggered
引发
precariously
危险的
emergency legislation
紧急立法
ripples
震荡/波及
the high street
商业街，销售行业
recession
萧条

1 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。

2 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

4 cosy   

adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的

参考例句：

• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
• It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

5 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 precariously   

adv.不安全地；危险地；碰机会地；不稳定地

参考例句：

• The hotel was perched precariously on a steep hillside. 旅馆危险地坐落在陡峭的山坡上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The phone was perched precariously on the window ledge. 电话放在窗台上，摇摇欲坠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

10 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

11 ripples   

逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moon danced on the ripples. 月亮在涟漪上舞动。
• The sea leaves ripples on the sand. 海水在沙滩上留下了波痕。

12 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

13 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句