VOA标准英语2008年-European Markets Rocked for Second Day
时间：2019-02-08 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2008年（九月）
Major European stock indexes dropped for a second day amid worries about the fallout of the Lehman Brothers investment bank collapse 1 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 Treasury 2 Secretary Alistair Darling says everything is being done to lessen 3 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 liquidity 4 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 crunch 5 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 ongoing 6.
- 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。
- 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。
- 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。
- 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。
- 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。