英语听力：澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2013-10-09

 The share markets closed lower for the third session in a row. It's uncertain about political dramas in the US boost investors¹. The ASX 200 gave up around a quarter of a per cent. 

 

Taking a look across Asia, though. Markets are doing too badly. They’re mostly higher. That’s despite what we saw on Wall Street overnight. It fell as Washington remained in a deadlock² over the extending of the US borrowing limit. The Dow gave up almost one per cent. The gold price has been benefiting though as investors find a safe place for their money. So has the Australian dollar. It’s benefiting from the troubles in the US and it’s rising against all of the major currencies.

 

A key measure of Australian business confidence rose to a 3.5 year high last month as firms were cheered by a decisive election outcome. The National Australia Bank monthly survey shows businesses were also buoyed³ by lower borrowing costs and rising consumer sentiment, though actual conditions remained subdued⁴. It’s the second month in a row the survey of more than 400 firms has risen.

 

A key survey shows there’s been a slight improvement in the number of jobs being advertised in September. The ANZ report shows job ads on Newspapers and online increased 0.2 per cent last month. That reverses six months of negative readings. ANZ says the figures are consistent with its view that most of the increase in unemployment has already happened and it will only drift slightly higher. The official employment data for September is due on Thursday.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

3 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。