U.S. stock prices fell sharply Monday, following conflicts in the Middle East, and weaker economies in China and in Europe.
由于中东冲突以及中国和欧洲经济疲软，美国股市周一大幅下跌。

U.S. stocks started the new year with the most selling of stocks and investments since September 2015, reported CBS News.
根据哥伦比亚广播公司新闻报道，美国股市以自2015年9月以来股票和投资最严重的抛售开始了新的一年。

Stocks lost between 2 percent and 3 percent in trading.
股价跌去了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了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.
中国股市周一下跌了7%左右。这导致官方停止了当日交易以阻止沪深股市继续下跌。

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.
哥伦比亚广播公司新闻表示，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，中国的经济增长正在放缓。

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，也是许多其它国家的重要市场。

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.
欧洲股市也在亚洲股市带领下下跌。德国股市下跌超过了4%。英国股市下跌超过了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和伊朗之间的紧张关系可能会降低能源供应。

I'm Mary Gotschall.
我是玛丽·歌切尔。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)

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

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

Stocks lost between 2 percent and 3 percent in trading.

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)

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

I'm Mary Gotschall.

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

Do you have an opinion about this topic? Let us know what you think in the Comments section below, or on 51VOA.COM.

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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