澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2010-05-15

G7 finance ministers have held a telephone conference to discuss the Greek debt crisis in efforts to stabilize¹ the euro. Traders in the Asian market were unconvinced that Europe's economic problems have been laid to rest by one-trillion-dollar rescue package, put together by the EU and the IMF. This caused the euro to plummet² to an 18-month low against the US dollar.

 

The cement industry has become the latest group to express concern over the Federal Government's proposed mining tax.The Government wants to put a 40 percent levy³ on mining profits, while the Opposition⁴ has vowed⁵ to oppose it in the Senate. But there are concerns that some companies producing construction materials such as concrete and gravel⁶ will be forced out of the market by the new tax.

 

To the markets now, and stocks on Wall Street have finished the week in the red. The Dow shed 1.5 percent. And the NASDAQ plunged⁷ nearly 2 percent. European markets also took a pounding. The FTSE lost more than 3 percent. And the Euro Stoxx nosedived, close to 5 percent. The Australian market closed weaker with the All Ords and the ASX 200 both losing almost 1 percent.

 

And checking currencies, the Australian dollar is down slightly against the greenback buying 88.6 US cents.

 

And that's ABC Business News.

1 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

2 plummet   

vi.(价格、水平等)骤然下跌；n.铅坠；重压物

参考例句：

• Mengniu and Yili have seen their shares plummet since the incident broke.自事件发生以来，蒙牛和伊利的股票大幅下跌。
• Even if rice prices were to plummet,other brakes on poverty alleviation remain.就算大米价格下跌，其它阻止导致贫困的因素仍然存在。

3 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

4 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。

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

7 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。