VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：中東沖突及歐洲、中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)疲軟導(dǎo)致全球股市低迷

U.S. stock prices fell sharply Monday, following conflicts in the Middle East, and weaker economies in China and in Europe.

由于中東沖突、中國(guó)與歐洲經(jīng)濟(jì)疲軟。周一，美國(guó)股市大幅下跌。

U.S. stocks started the new year with the most selling of stocks and investments since September 2015, reported CBS News.

U.S. stock prices fell sharply on Monday. This photo shows a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

據(jù)CBS新聞報(bào)道，自2015年9月，美國(guó)股市以拋售股票與投資開(kāi)啟新的一年。

Stocks lost between 2 percent and 3 percent in trading.

在交易中，股市下跌2%到3%。

The weaker economy in China "reignited fears of a global slowdown," according to Reuters.

據(jù)路透社報(bào)道，中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)疲軟“再度引發(fā)全球經(jīng)濟(jì)放緩的擔(dān)憂”。

Chinese stocks fell about 7 percent Monday. This caused officials to halt trading for the day to stop the falls on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges. Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

周一，中國(guó)股票下跌約7%。這導(dǎo)致官員們停盤(pán)以阻止滬深交易所繼續(xù)下跌。

It was the first time China used a "circuit breaker," said CBS News. A "circuit breaker" in a stock exchange stops trading that happens when investors panic and sell too much in too short a time.

據(jù)CBS報(bào)道，這是中國(guó)首次采用“熔斷機(jī)制”。熔斷機(jī)制是指當(dāng)投資者出于恐慌，短時(shí)間內(nèi)過(guò)量拋售時(shí)，證券交易所停止交易。

Reports showed that Chinese manufacturers are not producing as much as before. Investors say China's economic growth is slowing.

報(bào)告顯示，中國(guó)制造商的生產(chǎn)大不如前。投資者表示，中國(guó)的經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)放緩。

China is the world's second-largest economy and a key market for many other nations.

中國(guó)是全球第二大經(jīng)濟(jì)體，也是其他許多國(guó)家的重要市場(chǎng)。

Japan's Nikkei index was down 3 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell more than 2 1/2 percent by the close of trading.

日本日經(jīng)指數(shù)下跌了3%，香港恒生指數(shù)在收盤(pán)時(shí)跌幅超過(guò)2.5%。

European markets followed Asia's lead. Germany's stock market was down more than 4 percent. The British stock market fell by more than 2 percent.

歐洲股市也跟隨亞洲股市下跌。德國(guó)股市下跌超過(guò)4%。英國(guó)股市下跌超過(guò)2%。

Meanwhile, crude oil prices increased. Analysts are concerned that tension between oil producers Saudi Arabia and Iran might reduce energy supplies.

與此同時(shí)，原油價(jià)格有所上漲。分析人士擔(dān)心石油生產(chǎn)國(guó)沙特與伊朗之間的緊張局勢(shì)可能會(huì)減少能源供應(yīng)。

I'm Mary Gotschall.

我是瑪麗·歌切爾。

Mary Gotschall adapted this story for Learning English from VOA News and other sources. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

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Words in This Story

slowdown – n. a decrease in the speed at which something is moving or happening

slump – n. a period of time when an economy is doing poorly

tension – n. a state in which people, groups, countries, etc., disagree with and feel anger toward each other

reignite – v. to cause (something) to suddenly occur again

mechanism – n. a process or system that is used to produce a particular result

tension – n. a state in which people, groups, countries, etc., disagree with and feel anger toward each other