2006年VOA标准英语-Stock Market Climbs to New High

By Mil Arcega
Washington, DC
05 October 2006
 
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NY Stock Exchange   
  
The Dow Jones Industrial average hit a new high on Tuesday, beating the previous record set in 2000.  The index of 30 blue chip stocks ended the session at 11,727.34, breaking the old record by five points.  Analysts¹ attribute the record gains to falling oil prices and growing investor² confidence. 

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Tuesday's record setting pace came on the second straight day of sharply lower oil prices.  

Alec Young  
  
Alec Young is an Equity³ Market Strategist at the investment-rating firm Standard & Poor's. "After peaking in July at $78 a barrel, West Texas intermediate crude oil is currently trading at $59 a barrel -- down about 25 percent.  And we think one of the big drivers of that is an anticipation⁴ of slower growth, not only in the U.S., but globally."

And that's helping⁵ to ease inflation concerns among investors⁶.  It's also putting more cash back into consumer's pockets.

One woman is optimistic. "It's actually going to help with my holiday spending and I'm starting to think about the holidays."

Overall, Young says the economic picture looks favorable. "We have a more benign⁷ inflation outlook, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to be done raising rates now and people are looking ahead to possible easing of interest rates, so that tends to be better for the economy, help the economy continue to grow, albeit⁸ at a slower pace."

It has taken more than six years for the Dow Industrial index to make it back into record territory.  

 
Hugh Johnson
  
Hugh Johnson, the chief investment officer at Johnson Illington Advisors⁹ says that's how long it's taken to absorb the shocks of September 11th, the war in Iraq, the collapse¹⁰ of the dotcom bubble and a string of corporate¹¹ scandals that drove many investors away. "Once you kill of confidence, it takes a long time to rebuild confidence."

Johnson says earlier fears that high energy prices and rising interest rates might push the economy into recession have given way to optimism that the current economic slowdown will be mild. "No hard landing or recession.  That's what the Federal Reserve wants, that's what investors want.  And I think that's as much reason as any that the market is going higher and we're setting this new high"

Although the gains provide a psychological boost, analysts say the index of major stocks is a narrow gauge¹² of the stock market.  Some investors warn that it is still unclear which direction the U.S. economy is headed.

1 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。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

4 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 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

7 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

8 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

9 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。