1、标题：voa慢速英语讲解附字幕:圣诞来临,零售业迎来春天对应音频：1217a.mp3听力内容：Brighter Time for Stores This Christmas SeasonThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.The season for buying Christmas gifts is the busiest time for most stores and online retailers in the United States. Final numbers for the holiday season incl
2、uding after-Christmas sales will not be known for a while. But a report this week on retail sales in November suggested that economic growth may be gaining speed.The Commerce Department said sales increased for the fifth month in a row. They grew by eight-tenths of one percent over October.But Tuesd
3、ays report came the same day the central bank said the economy is not growing fast enough to reduce unemployment.So, policy makers at the Federal Reserve voted to continue a program of buying government bonds. That program, launched in November, could inject six hundred billion dollars into the econ
4、omy.The aim is to increase economic growth by lowering long-term interest rates. That would reduce borrowing costs for businesses and individuals.But long-term rates have risen since the Fed launched its latest program of so-called quantitative easing, known as QE2.The rates are up in part because i
5、nvestors are concerned about government policies. But experts say investors may also be more hopeful about the economy and looking for investments with higher returns than Treasury securities.One way to get a sense of how Americans feel about the economy is through retail sales. Consumer demand driv
6、es about seventy percent of the nations economic activity.The National Retail Federation says its members employ twenty-five million people in the retail and services industry. Those businesses reported almost two and a half trillion dollars in sales last year. APThe Monday after Thanksgiving is a b
7、ig day for Internet shopping. Online sales during Cyber Monday have grown since the day got its name in 2005Terry Lundgren is chief executive of Macys, the company that owns Macys and Bloomingdales department stores.TERRY LUNDGREN: Retail and restaurants represent one in five jobs in America. So if
8、we do well, we grow, than were going to be the ones that will start to lead us into a recovery and out of the difficulty that weve had in terms of job hiring, unemployment and all of those challenging issues that relate to that.The kinds of stores where sales are up also says something about the eco
9、nomy. Stores with the lowest prices do well in hard economic times. But the retail federation said at the end of November that discounters had fewer shoppers this year. Stores that sell jewelry and other higher-priced items have seen sales grow.Another change: Americans are less willing to buy on cr
10、edit. Over forty percent of holiday shoppers said they planned to mainly use debit cards instead of credit cards. Instead of borrowing money, debit cards take money directly from a bank account.And thats the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter and Mil Arcega. Im Steve Ember
11、.1.online adj.(计算机)联机的, (与计算机)联线的例句：We planned to build an online database.我们计划建一个联机数据库。Online security is being built in to the system, not tagged on.联机安全措施正被內置在系统中,不是外加的。2.gain vt.vi.获得, 赢得例句：The man gained a lot in the business, but he lost the respect of his friends.那个人做这买卖赚了很多钱, 但他却失去了朋友们对他的尊敬。
12、3.inject vt.注射,注入,注满例句：The boy was injected with penicillin.这个男孩被注入了盘尼西林。4.quantitative adj.数量(上)的;量化的；定量性的例句：He said it was only a quantitative difference.他说这仅仅是数量上的差别。5.discounter 【经】折扣商店6.mainly ad.主要地,大抵,大概1.Final numbers for the holiday season including after-Christmas sales will not be known f
13、or a while.for a while暂时例句：Bide here for a while.请在这儿等一会儿。2.The Commerce Department said sales increased for the fifth month in a row.在英语中，使用序数词时前面要加定冠词 the，但是，在下面的情况下则不加the： 1)当序数词前有形容词性物主代词或名词所有格修饰时，序数词前不用the。 Mother was my first teacher in my life.妈妈是我生命中的第一个老师。 Tom is Lilys third boyfriend. 汤姆是莉
14、莉的第三个男朋友。 2)当表达分数时，序数词前不用the。 One fifth of the students here are from the country. 这儿1/5的学生来自农村。 Three fourths of the students here are from the country. 这儿的3/4的学生来自农村。 3)当表达“又一，再一”时 ，序数词前不用 the，但可加不定冠词。 Please give me a second chance. 请再给我一次机会。 The poor woman had a third baby. 那个可怜的妇女又生了一个宝宝。 4)当表达
15、“年月日”时，尤其在朗读时，序数词前要加the；但当书写时，序数词前不用the。 He was born on June 6th, 1974. 他出生在1974年6月6日。 5)当序数词在句中作状语时，序数词前不用 the。 Who got there second? 谁第二个到那儿的？ I finished the work first. 我最先完成那项工作。 6)当表达考试（赛跑等）中获得的名次时，序数词前不用 the。 She stands first in his class. 她在班上成绩排名第一。 7)当用在一些习语中， 序数词前不用 the。 Business first and
16、 pleasure afterwards. 先做事而后娱乐。 First come, first served. 捷足先登/先到者优先。 at first sight 乍一看到 first and last 总计，一共 first of all 首先3.But the retail federation said at the end of November that discounters had fewer shoppers this year.at the end of在…结尾,在…末端例句：The senate recessed at the end of the afternoon.参议院午后休会。
