outbound travel：出境游Outbound travel by Chinese citizens started in 1997 with destinations consisting merely of Thailand， Singapore， Malaysia， the Philippines as well as China’s Hong Kong and Macao. Only 5.32 million Chinese citizens traveled abroad the same year， the official said.blockbuster：巨片、大片Hong Kong blockbusters swept the major prizes of Taiwan’s 42nd Golden Horse Film Awards， considered one of the top awards events of the Chinese-language film industry.money broker：货币经纪人China’s banking regulator on Friday published detailed rules for the implementation of provisions to manage money brokers.smooth over：消除The accord is aimed at smoothing over a rough spot in the US-China trade relationship before President George Bush visits Beijing in the middle of this month.reshuffle：改组；调整A financial reshuffle by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China， which was transformed into a joint stock company， is more or less finished.severence pay：解雇金“Laying of workers is a tough decision to make because of the strong relation with workers and the high severance pay，” he said.cutoff point：起征点China’s monthly personal income tax cutoff point was lifted to 1，600 yuan from 1，500 yuan after drawing on public opinions from the first-ever legislature hearing held on Sept. 27.write off：勾销债款Reform measures， including 2 billion yuan （US$246 million） in central bank bills to help write off bad loans as well as efforts to improve management， have already yielded results.upstart：暴发户；新贵Facing intense competition both from global rivals like General Motors Corp. and domestic upstarts like Chery Automobile Co.， VW has seen its market share drop to 18 percent， from well over 50 percent in the 1990s.buy into：买入股票Once finalized， the deal would mark the European firm’s first direct investment in China’s banking industry， after it lost a bid to buy into Bank of Beijing in March to Dutch rival ING and the World Bank’s International Finance Corp.liquidator：清算人Stephen Liu Yiu-keung and Yeo Boon-ann have been appointed as joint liquidators of the company， to implement the transactions outlined in the Settlement Deed.brisk：兴旺的；生机勃勃的It is estimated that the sales volume of gold and jewelry during the week-long holiday saw a year-on-year increase of around 35 percent as business was brisk throughout the countryat a discount：打折扣The valuation is at a discount to the country’s number-five lender， Bank of Communications （BoCom）， whose shares trade at about 2.2 times book.peak season：高峰期The first and last three days will be thepeak season of the National Day holiday. The aviation industry has entered into high season， with 400，000 passengers transporting everyday and load factor is close to 75 percent.headcount：职员总数“These headcount reductions are indispensable. They will contribute to significant improvements in the competitiveness of Mercedes-Benz through an increase in productivity，” the company said.bow out：由…退出Dozens of MP3 player manufacturers in Shenzhen are bowing outas fierce competition has severely squeezed their profit margins.market maker：做市商The People’s Bank of China may name banks including HSBC Holdings Plc.， Citigroup Inc. and Bank of China as market makers in the yuan， a step toward a freely traded currency， bankers and traders familiar with the situation said.tone up：增加“These firms make a decisive contribution to job creation. Our aim is to liberate their massive potential to improve competitiveness， tone up employment， boost economic growth and encourage social cohesion，” Sioufas said.gyration：波动Disruptions to oil and gas supplies may add to energy price gyrations，they said.wean off：使脱离China’s central bank pledged Monday to keep the newly unshackled yuan basically stable but urged fresh efforts to wean the economy off export-driven growth.curb：抑制；控制The physical and psychological damage caused by Hurricane Katrina is likely to reverberate across the global economy in ways that will curb growth well into 2006， economists say.perk up：振作起来There were no significant changes from prior quarters， and SupportSoft met revenue estimates. During the conference call， however， management raised an issue that made my ears perk up.cap：限制In an effort to gain some control over what motorists pay at the pump， Hawaii on Wednesday became the first state in the U.S. to set caps on the wholesale price of gasoline.mortgage：抵押贷款Rates on 30-year mortgages declined this week after posting increases for six consecutive weeks.proceeds：收益The Internet search leader said it will use the proceeds for “general corporate purposes，” including possible acquisitions. Google added that it currently has no agreements or commitments to make a material purchase.downturn：衰退“Six weeks after the July 7 attacks killed 56 people， including four suicide bombers， the Greater London Authority （GLA） accepts there has been some downturn，”the economic daily reported.inflation ：通货膨胀Consumer inflation shot up in July as rising gasoline prices pinched drivers’ wallets from coast to coast.Initial public offering：公开募股Now the startup founded by two Chinese veterans of American tech firms is preparing to follow Google’s example with an initial public offering in the United States， hoping to raise $45 million.Skew：曲解；歪曲However， that comparison is skewed because the sale of IBM’s personal computer division to China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. closed on May 1， lowering the figures IBM posted in the remaining two months of the quarter. Looking only at continuing operations， IBM showed a profit of $1.85 billion， $1.14 per share.Population：种群，族群“There are clear differences between the two populations that had not been previously recognized and these were confirmed by the studies on DNA，” said Isabel Beasley， a doctoral student at James Cook University’s School of Tropical Environmental Studies and Geography.Unionized：工会组织的But aside from giving interns valuable experience， the program is a relatively cheap source of labor for Disney and sometimes worries the unionized workers， although union officials approved the program when it began almost 25 years ago.Same-store sales：同店销售额Wal-Mart Stores Inc. raised its forecast for June same-store sales， citing demand for seasonal and general merchandise.Threshold：上限，极限With $60 no longer a threshold - and with continued concerns about refining capacities - prices appeared set to go even higher， analysts said.Big-ticket：高价的，昂贵的Entrepreneurs grumble that executives pander to big-ticket electronics vendors and industrial manufacturers - not the teddy bear enthusiasts and numismatists who were faithful a decade ago， when eBay was founded and enjoyed a kitschy obscurity. They complain about shoddy customer service， including site crashes and anti-fraud software that too often mistakes a legitimate business for a huckster.Cartel：同业联盟，卡特尔The anticipated increase would bring the official quota to 28 million barrels per day - a symbolic gesture， analysts said， since the cartel is already pumping that much. Including Iraq， which is not bound by the official quota， OPEC’s daily output was 29.3 million barrels a day in May， according to the International Energy Agency.Newswire：新闻专线The April figure was also better than the 4.5 percent forecast by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.Happy Hour：欢乐时光Beer-swilling Britons face a sobering prospect： an unhappy hour. A group representing about half the country’s pubs and bars said Monday it is curbing Happy Hour offers and other deals that encourage irresponsible drinking， a British pastime that has come under increasing attack from the government.Bear out：证实Scientists are excited about a vitamin again. But unlike fads that sizzled and fizzled， the evidence this time is strong and keeps growing. If it bears out， it will challenge one of medicine’s most fundamental beliefs： that people need to coat themselves with sunscreen whenever they’re in the sun. Doing that may actually contribute to far more cancer deaths than it prevents， some researchers think.Stitch：缝合，缝缀The goal of the merger is to stitch together two geographically distinct carriers with a history of financial struggles into a stronger airline that would compete better with lower-cost rivals such as Southwest Airlines Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. US Airways has a strong presence on the East Coast， and in the Caribbean， while America West operates across the West from hubs in Phoenix and Las Vegas.Out-of-state：外州的Wine lovers can’t be barred from shipping home bottles purchased from out-of-state vineyards they visit in person or on the Internet， the Supreme Court said Monday in a decision toasted by the wine industry.Shade：细微差别Disney’s profit of $698 million， or 33 cents a share， was a shade above Wall Street estimates and contrasts with the $537 million， or 26 cents， it earned a year earlier. Revenue in the period ended April 2 climbed 9% to $7.8 billion.Ratification：批准，承认Bahrain has its own agreement awaiting U.S. Congress ratification. Two other members of the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council —— Oman and the United Arab Emirates —— have started talks on free trade deals with the U.S.Thriller：惊悚片Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn’s “The Interpreter” translated into solid box-office as the United Nations thriller debuted with $22.8 million to top the weekend for Hollywood.Buyout：全部买下Shares in Lenovo Group， the largest Chinese maker of personal computers， rose Thursday after three buyout funds bought a stake in the company for $350 million.Oust：驱逐，罢黜Mr Hurd， currently head of smaller US computer services group NCR， will replace Carly Fiorina， who was ousted from HP in February. HP’s shares closed up 8.1% in Tuesday trading in New York， following initial speculation of Mr Hurd’s appointment.Realism：真实性，逼真度A judge has ordered Sony Corp. to pay $90.7 million to a company that develops technology that enhances video game realism but immediately stayed an order that would halt U.S. sales of Sony’s popular PlayStation consoles.Capsize：倾覆Bernard Ebbers， the once-swaggering CEO of WorldCom， was convicted Tuesday of engineering the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history - an $11 billion accounting scandal that capsized the big telecom company three years ago.Clearance：官方证明书Lenovo Group has obtained U.S. government clearance for the purchase of IBM’s PC unit.PSP：便携式游戏机The PSP machine， a challenger to Nintendo Co.’s long-standing grip on the handheld video gaming market， will be sold as a “value pack” for $250 in the United States and for $300 Canadian dollars. It will include numerous accessories and - for the first million sold - a copy of the “Spider-Man 2” movie on the new Universal Media Disc format that Sony designed for the PSP.Shoot up：暴涨，迅速生长Shares in Google jumped 9 percent to a record high after the company reported net income shot up more than seven times from a year earlier， beating estimates by a wide margin.Holidaymaker：度假者The devastating tsunami that wiped out cities， seaside communities and holiday resorts in southern Asia has not put holidaymakers off visiting the region， a survey has found.Get an edge：取胜When it comes to recruiting students for college， admissions officials are turning to increasingly outlandish stunts to get the attention of high schoolers. Birthday cards， ski weekends and even reality TV shows are being used by colleges and universities to get an edge.Shirtsleeve：只穿衬衣的，非正式的Hiring the shirtsleeve crowd represents a shift in the economy toward higher-paying jobs and a more skilled workforce. It also indicates that some companies that squeezed their middle managements four years ago are starting to rebuild them.assembly line：装配线Airbus agreed with Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday to study the possibility of setting up an assembly line in China —— a move that could see its jets being built outside Europe for the first time.attrition：人员自然缩减Wagoner said the job cuts will come primarily through attrition and early-retirement packages to mitigate the impact on workers.