英语听力：澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2014-01-22

 Official figures out today are expected to show inflation remains¹ well within the Reserve Bank's comfort zone. A Bloomberg survey of economists² predict that Consumer Price Index rose by 0.4 of a percent in the December quarter.

 

(说话前要吸气的伤不起）Now that would put the annual inflation rate at 2.4 percent. Economists say inflation will need to be  significantly lower for the Reserve Bank to consider another interest rate cut. 

 

The ABC's confirmed that Canadian dairy company Saputo has obtained a majority stake in Warrnambool Cheese&butter factory after protracted³ takeover battle. Fund Manager Jeoff Wilson from Wilson Asset Management agreed yesterday to sell his one per...1.1 percent stake to the Canadian firm.

 

Now that managed to lift Saputo's holdings to just over 50 percent,putting ahead of a rival bid by a local dairy cooperative.

 

The US stocks are having a rocky session after some major firms including Johnson. Johnson announced their latest profits a short... a short time ago. The Dow was trading about a third of a percent lower. The Nasdaq gained half a percent. The S&P 500 rose slightly. London's FTSE was relatively⁴ steady, shedding a few points. 

 

And commodity prices.

 

West Texas Crude is 92 US dollars and.... Tapis Crude is at 115 US dollars a barrel. And gold is trading at 1242 US dollars an ounce.

 

The Australian dollar is at 88 US cents, holding their 65 Euro cents and 53 pence sterling⁵. 

1 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。

2 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》

3 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。