VOA标准英语2008年-Global Financial Crisis Hits Banks in London, O

As the financial crisis claimed more victims this week on Wall Street, the rest of the world's markets and banks have been in turmoil¹. In Britain, 45,000 banking² jobs are now in jeopardy³. VOA's Mandy Clark looks at the global financial fallout of the American credit crunch⁴.
　
British bank Lloyds TSB announces it is taking over distressed⁵ rival Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), 18 Sep 2008

Another financial titan has fallen in Britain. This time, it is the ailing⁶ mortgage giant HBOS which owns Halifax Bank and the Bank of Scotland. Lloyds Bank has agreed to take over HBOS but, reports say, that has put 40,000 jobs on the line.

The buyout comes as fears of a global financial collapse⁷ following the heavy losses among some of the world's biggest financial institutions. Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers went into bankruptcy⁸ this week, and other large investment houses have been sold off or propped⁹ up by the U.S. government.

Central banks from the U.S., Japan and the European Union have pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into the banking system to stave off a collapse. Stock markets have suffered sharp losses.
　
MICEX (Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange) traders seen during a trading session, 19 Sep 2008

In Russia, trading on the country's main stock exchanges was halted two days this week because of the turmoil. When regulators suspended trading at mid-day Wednesday, Russia's RTS Index of leading stocks had fallen nearly 6.5 percent, adding to its 50 percent drop since June 1.

But Roland Nash, head of research, Renaissance¹⁰ Capital, says Russia should not worry. "It shouldn't have a longer term impact on the Russian economy," he said. "Russian economy is being driven by a lot of factors which is still very very much in place. In that sense Russia has one of the most healthy macro-economies in the world today."

The outlook is less rosy¹¹ for Britain after new figures show unemployment on the rise. The collapse of Lehman Brothers cost 5,000 jobs in London at its European headquarters.

Taine Randell works in London as a broker¹². He trades in oil and says while his job is safe, financial positions for others will be scarce.

"The repercussions¹³, I think, with the financial sector¹⁴ is going to be huge," said Randell. "There's not going to be as much money floating around and as a result there's not going to be as many people employed to get it."

But there are those who say that this is just another cycle. Business analyst¹⁵ Robbie Clayton says after the boom, now it is time for the bust¹⁶, and the world economy will recover.

"You know, for the last 10 years it's been a pretty good ride," he said. "Now things have obviously got to where they are, but it is a cycle and there will be new developments and the show will go on."

But with so much volatility¹⁷, experts say the final curtain is unlikely to drop on the global credit crunch any time soon.

Vanessa Rossi is an international economic expert and says the Asian economies are under threat.

"I think it is important to see this as a rather big rock that could drop in a pool in Asia and could cause massive ripples¹⁸ all across these economies so I think China will be working very hard so its own reasons to prevent such a slump¹⁹ but it will also be critical for many of these other economies," she said.

On the streets of London's financial sector, many say they have been left in shock and are simply waiting to see what will happen next.

 

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 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。

3 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

4 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。

5 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

6 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

7 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。

8 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。

9 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

10 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

11 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

12 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

13 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

15 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

16 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

17 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。

18 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。

19 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。