VOA慢速英语：中东冲突及欧洲、中国经济疲软导致全球股市低迷

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

由于中东冲突、中国与欧洲经济疲软。周一，美国股市大幅下跌。

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)

据CBS新闻报道，自2015年9月，美国股市以抛售股票与投资开启新的一年。

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.

据路透社报道，中国经济疲软“再度引发全球经济放缓的担忧”。

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，中国股票下跌约7%。这导致官员们停盘以阻止沪深交易所继续下跌。

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.

据CBS报道，这是中国首次采用“熔断机制”。熔断机制是指当投资者出于恐慌，短时间内过量抛售时，证券交易所停止交易。

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

报告显示，中国制造商的生产大不如前。投资者表示，中国的经济增长放缓。

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

中国是全球第二大经济体，也是其他许多国家的重要市场。

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.

日本日经指数下跌了3%，香港恒生指数在收盘时跌幅超过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.

欧洲股市也跟随亚洲股市下跌。德国股市下跌超过4%。英国股市下跌超过2%。

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

与此同时，原油价格有所上涨。分析人士担心石油生产国沙特与伊朗之间的紧张局势可能会减少能源供应。

I'm Mary Gotschall.

我是玛丽·歌切尔。

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