U.S. new home sales down 33% in May

    WASHINGTON, June 23 (Xinhua) -- New home sales in the United States plunged¹(投入) 33 percent in April to a seasonally² adjusted annual rate of 300,000 units, the Commerce Department（美国商务部） reported Wednesday.
    The new home sales, the lowest level on record, was much worse than the 410,000 units that analysts³ had expected. The sharp decline indicated that buyers left the market as the government's tax credits of up to 8,000 dollars expired（期满） in April.
    The median price of a new home, a typical market price where half of new homes are sold for more and half sold for less, fell to 200,900 dollars in May, down 9.6 percent from a year earlier.
    On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing home sales in the U.S. declined by 2.2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.66 million units.
    The collapse⁴ of the housing bubble triggered the global financial crisis that plunged the U.S. economy into recession in December 2007.
    Many economists⁵ believe the U.S. housing market remains⁶ in trouble.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

2 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 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。

5 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》

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。