英語聽力小短文走遍全世界38: 美元低迷也有好處

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英語聽力原文：

The once all-powerful dollar isn't doing a Titanic against just the pound. It is sitting at a record low against the euro and at a 30-year low against the Canadian dollar. Even the Argentine peso and Brazilian real are thriving against the dollar.

無所不能的美元在兌換英鎊時(shí)，不再是龐然大物。美元兌換歐元的匯率創(chuàng)下新低，并在與加元的兌換中處于30年來的最低值。就連阿根廷比索和巴西雷亞爾都比美元有活力。

The weak dollar is a source of bumiliation (屈辱), for a nation's sell-esteem rests in part on the strength of its currency. It's also a potential economic problem, since a declining dollar makes imported food more expensive and exerts upward pressure on interest rates. And yet there are substantial sectors of the vast U.S. economy - from giant companies like Coca-Cola to mom-and-pop restaurant operators in Miami-for which the weak dollar is most excellent news.

疲軟的美元帶來了屈辱，因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)國(guó)家的尊嚴(yán)部分來源于本國(guó)貨幣的強(qiáng)度。這也是一個(gè)潛在的經(jīng)濟(jì)問題，因?yàn)橘H值的美元使得進(jìn)口食品價(jià)格上揚(yáng)，并施加加息的壓力。但對(duì)于龐大美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)中大量的產(chǎn)業(yè)部門——從可口可樂這樣的大公司到邁阿密的夫妻餐廳經(jīng)營(yíng)者——美元疲軟的消息對(duì)他們來說可是再好不過了。

Many Europeans may view the U.S. as an arrogant superpower that has become hostile to foreigners. But nothing makes people think more warmly of the U.S. than a weak dollar. Through April, the total number of visitors from abroad was up 6.8 percent from last year. Should the trend continue, the number of tourists this year will finally top the 2000 peak?

一些歐洲人視美國(guó)為一個(gè)傲慢的超級(jí)大國(guó)，并且認(rèn)為美國(guó)對(duì)外國(guó)人懷有敵意。但當(dāng)人們想起美國(guó)時(shí)，沒有什么比疲軟的美元更帶勁的了。整個(gè)4月的游客總數(shù)比去年同期增加了6.8%。如果這種趨勢(shì)延續(xù)下去，今年游客的人數(shù)將最終比2000年的峰值還多。

The money tourists spend helps decrease our chronic trade deficit. So do exports, which thanks in part to the weak dollar, soared 11 percent between May 2006 and May 2007. For the first five months of 2007, the trade deficit actually fell 7 percent from 2006.

游客的消費(fèi)幫助減緩了我們長(zhǎng)期以來的貿(mào)易赤字。出口也是如此，部分由于疲軟的美元，2006年5月到2007年5月的出口額飆升了11%。與2006年相比，2007年前5個(gè)月的貿(mào)易赤字居然下降了7%。

If you own shares in large American corporations, you're a winner in the weak-dollar gamble. Last week Coca-Cola's stick bubbled to a five-year high after it reported a fantastic quarter. Foreign sales accounted for 65 percent of Coke's beverage(飲料) business. Other American companies profiting from this trend include McDonald's and IBM.

如果你持有美國(guó)大公司的股票，那么你會(huì)是疲軟美元投機(jī)中的贏家。上周可口可樂發(fā)布了令人振奮的一季度數(shù)據(jù)后，其股價(jià)攀升至五年來的新高。海外銷售占據(jù)可口可樂65%的飲料業(yè)務(wù)。其他美國(guó)企業(yè)，包括麥當(dāng)勞和IBM在這種趨勢(shì)下也贏得了利潤(rùn)。

英語詞匯整理：

1. self-esteem n.自尊;自大;自負(fù)

eg: Poor self-esteem is at the centre of many of the difficulties we experience in our relationships.

缺乏自尊心是我們?cè)谏缃恢兴?jīng)歷的許多困難的核心所在。

短語：

self-esteem needs自尊需要

2. substantial adj. 大量的;實(shí)質(zhì)的

eg: The article is devoid of substantial matter.

這篇文章缺乏實(shí)質(zhì)性的內(nèi)容。

短語：

substantial evidence 確實(shí)證據(jù)

substantial shareholder 大股東;主要股東

substantial connection 密切關(guān)系

substantial step 實(shí)質(zhì)措施

3. mom-and-pop adj.小型的

eg: We began selling rice cookers from one small shop in Taipei. At that time, we were strictly a mom-and-pop operation.

公司最早在臺(tái)北以販賣電飯鍋起家，當(dāng)時(shí)只是小成本的家庭電器行。

短語：

mom-and-pop-business 小型商店;小型商鋪

mom-and-pop grocery 傳統(tǒng)雜貨店

4. arrogant adj. 傲慢的

eg: One should never be arrogant even when he is at his best.

一個(gè)人在最得意時(shí)也不應(yīng)傲慢。

短語：

arrogant toward sb 對(duì)(某人)傲慢無禮

arrogant to a person 對(duì)人傲慢

5. hostile adj. 敵對(duì)的，敵方的;懷敵意的

eg: I don't know why she is hostile to me.

我不知道她為什么對(duì)我抱有敵意。

短語：

be hostile to 反對(duì);對(duì)......懷有敵意的

go hostile 發(fā)怒，生氣

hostile takeover 惡性接收;敵意接管

hostile to one's suggestions 反對(duì)某人的建議

6. chronic adj. 長(zhǎng)期的，慢性的

eg: We finally won in this chronic war.

我們終于打贏了這場(chǎng)長(zhǎng)期戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。

短語：

chronic alcoholic 酒鬼

chronic case 慢性病

chronic unemployment 長(zhǎng)期失業(yè)

7. fantastic adj.極好的，難以相信的

eg: It is so fantastic that a child of 5 can speak so good English.

真難以置信,一個(gè)五歲的孩子英語竟然說得這么好。

短語：

fantastic job 干的太好了;好樣的

佳句采摘：

And yet there are substantial sectors of the vast U.S. economy - from giant companies like Coca-Cola to mom-and-pop restaurant operators in Miami-for which the weak dollar is most excellent news.

但對(duì)于龐大美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)中大量的產(chǎn)業(yè)部門——從可口可樂這樣的大公司到邁阿密的夫妻餐廳經(jīng)營(yíng)者——美元疲軟的消息對(duì)他們來說可是再好不過了。