2012年商务英语中级阅读精选01

会计考友

美国2月份成屋销售量7个月来首次出现增长，但销售价格却创下至少40年来的最大跌幅。
! W4 e- P3 I& A2 s& z% @　　Sales of previously owned homes in the US rose for the first time in seven months in February, while sale prices fell by their most in at least 40 years.
) G' v% o$ o1 k- v! T! G  h5 @　　全美房地产经纪人协会(National Association of Realtors)的数据显示，经季节因素调整后，美国上月成屋销售量增加2.9%，折合成年率为503万套，但较上年同期减少了23.8%。  来自www.Examw.com
) |* P" D- o( o) I　　Figures from the National Association of Realtors showed that existing home sales rose by 2.9 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03m units last month, still 23.8 per cent lower than a year ago.  
　　此前，美国1月份成屋销售量折合成年率为489万套，创下自1999年有记录以来的最低水平。市场曾预计2月份的销售量将再次小幅下滑，至485万套。  
5 O6 y' W# ~1 h/ H' ^/ V. D　　The rise comes after sales fell in January to a level of 4.89m – the lowest since records began in 1999. Sales had been expected to fall modestly again this month to a level of 4.85m.  
( |/ G! ^; ]! U5 q) _* S　　经济学家们表示，成屋销售量的增加，对住宅和金融市场是一个积极信号，但并非住宅市场即将好转的明证。  
　　Economists said that the rise was a positive indication for housing and the financial markets but that it was not clear evidence that residential real estate was about to improve.  
　　雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)经济学家扎克·潘德尔(Zach Pandl)表示：“销售量的上升是重要的第一步，但我不会就此认为住宅市场的问题都已得到解决。”  
' U; N8 d' q4 e9 T! e2 _　　“The rise in sales is an important first step,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Lehman Brothers. “But I wouldn’t call it the end of the problems in housing.”  
　　美国2月份成屋销售价格下滑8.2%，价格中值为19.59万美元，创下全美房地产经纪人协会自1968年开始记录房价以来的最大单月跌幅。  
　　House prices fell 8.2 per cent – the biggest one-month drop since the NAR began keeping records in 1968 – to a median price of $195,900