澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2011-11-09
时间：2018-12-11 作者：英语课 分类：澳洲ABC新闻快递2011年
英语课
And US President Barack Obama is selling education reforms as a key measure to improve America’s sluggish 1 economy. He says investing in early childhood education will ensure the US remains 2 competitive.
“Right out of the gate, it helps prepare our kids for a competition that's never been tougher--a competition for good, middle-class, well-paying jobs. And we are competing now with countries like China and South Korea and Europe, all of which are serious about educating their children. So at a time when a company is able to move anywhere they want in the world-- and a lot of times will make the decision based on where they can find the most highly skilled workforce--it is absolutely imperative 3 that we make sure that the United States is the place where we've got the best-trained, best-educated young people.”
Barack Obama there
Let's go to the markets now. And the Dow Jones has just closed 102 points higher. The NASDAQ put on 32. The S&P 500 up 14. In London the FTSE put on 57 points.
Checking commodity prices, West Texas Crude is trading at 96 US dollars and 73 cents a barrel. Tapis crude is trading at 126 US dollars and 90 cents a barrel. And gold’s at 1,783 US dollars and 50 cents an ounce.
To the currencies, the Australian dollar is buying a dollar and four US cents, 75 euro cents and 64 pence sterling 4.
1 sluggish
adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的
- This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
- Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。
2 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
- 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。
3 imperative
n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的
- He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
- The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。