VOA标准英语2009年-US Retail Sales Down, Jobless Claims Up

One day after the U.S. central bank signaled a possible end to America's longest recession since World War II, new data suggest continued weakness in several economic sectors².
　
Shoppers move through the check-out line after a shopping trip to Wal-Mart in Tallahassee, Florida, 11 Aug. 2009

Less than 24 hours after the Federal Reserve proclaimed the recession to be easing, the United States has been hit with a quadruple batch³ of somber⁴ economic news, with retail⁵ sales down, business inventories⁶ cut, jobless claims up and home foreclosures hitting a new record high.

Instead of the modest gain economists⁸ had been expecting, U.S. retail sales dipped .1 percent in July. Lakshman Achuthan of the New York-based Economic Cycle Research Institute says even a slight drop in sales has consequences.

"You are talking about an [American] economy that is almost $14 trillion," Achuthan said. "And that is why even a fraction of a fraction is billions and billions of dollars in activity."

Automobile⁹ sales were a bright spot in the retail sector¹, recording¹⁰ a 2.4 percent jump last month amid a government program subsidizing the purchase of new, fuel-efficient vehicles. Achuthan says America's sudden car-buying frenzy¹¹ may have eaten up cash that would otherwise have gone to other sectors.

"It may be that the effort to buy a car made people hold off on buying other items like refrigerators and new dining room tables and things like that," Achuthan said.

Other economic data included a slight rise in the number of people filing initial jobless claims. The Labor¹² Department says 558,000 newly-laid off Americans applied¹³ for unemployment benefits last week, 4,000 more than the previous week. But the total number of people receiving benefits fell from 6.34 million to 6.2 million.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reports American businesses cut inventories 1.1 percent in June, the tenth consecutive¹⁴ monthly decline.

And, despite recent signs of a turnaround in America's battered¹⁵ housing industry, a private group reports the number of new home foreclosure filings rose 7 percent in July from the previous month, and are up nearly a third from a year ago.

Rick Sharga is vice¹⁶ president of RealtyTrac, which compiled the numbers.

"This month's report was particularly dismal¹⁷. We really do not see much good news in any part of the country as it relates to foreclosure activity," Sharga said.

It was a rash of home foreclosures after a prolonged period of lax lending standards that many economists blame for America's financial meltdown last year.

The day's economic data stand in contrast to Wednesday's encouraging assessment¹⁸ of U.S. economic conditions by the Federal Reserve. The central bank said it sees signs that the economy is "leveling out" after a prolonged downturn. Meanwhile, Europe's largest economies have returned to economic growth. Germany and France reported a .3 percent rise in second quarter gross domestic product.

Economist⁷ Lakshman Achuthan shares Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's oft-repeated belief that U.S. economic performance will improve by year's end.

"The fact that retail sales come in weaker than expected does not change the future expectation that this recession is actually drawing to a close," Achuthan said.

Even if the U.S. economy rebounds¹⁹, most economists expect the recovery to be slow, with unemployment rates remaining stubbornly high for months to come.

1 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。

2 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

4 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

5 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

6 inventories   

n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制

参考例句：

• In other cases, such as inventories, inputs and outputs are both continuous. 在另一些情况下，比如存货，其投入和产出都是持续不断的。
• The store must clear its winter inventories by April 1st. 该店必须在4月1日前售清冬季存货。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 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》

9 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

12 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。

13 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

14 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

15 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。

16 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

17 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

18 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

19 rebounds   

反弹球( rebound的名词复数 )； 回弹球； 抢断篮板球； 复兴

参考例句：

• V is the velocity after the gas particle rebounds from the wall. V是粒子从壁上弹开后的速度。
• In the former case, the first body rebounds with practically its original velocity. 在前一种情况下，第一个物体实际上以原来的速度弹回。