VOA标准英语2008年-European Markets Rocked for Second Day

Major European stock indexes dropped for a second day amid worries about the fallout of the Lehman Brothers investment bank collapse¹ in the United States. For VOA, Tom Rivers in London reports.
　
A man reaches out for a copy of an evening newspaper with headlines on the stock market situation in London, 16 Sept. 2008

The front pages in London speak of the fears average citizens are feeling as this worldwide financial crisis deepens.

The Guardian's headline cries out, "Nightmare on Wall Street". Spread across The Independent, a single word, "Crash!" The Daily Mail asks, "How Much Worse Will It Get?" And the Daily Express speculates on the ultimate cost of the Lehman collapse with the headline, "500,000 Will Lose Jobs in Britain".

Trying to counter this negative mood, Britain's Treasury² Secretary Alistair Darling says everything is being done to lessen³ the impact.

"Uncertainly is affecting all countries in the world but I think on the positive side, governments, central banks and regulators have made it clear that we will do everything that we possibly can to maintain stability in the financial system," he said.

The European markets were all in a gloomy mood, but not quite as negative as they were on Monday.

European central banks pumped yet more billions in short-term credit into the markets Tuesday in an effort to raise liquidity⁴ in the wake of the Lehman collapse.

But there is still more pain to come. British Treasury Committee chairman John McFall says if anything, the credit crunch⁵ has now gotten even tighter.

"As a result of the weekend's excesses, you will find probably that credit is going to be even harder to get," he said."So, it does have an impact on the person on the street and people have got to realize that.

Meanwhile, Barclay's Bank here has confirmed it is interested in acquiring some assets of Lehman Brothers. Talks are said to be ongoing⁶.

 

1 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。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

4 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

5 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。