日本的火电厂相继关门，而福岛核电站事故以后核电也一直萎靡不振，目前太阳能产业正成为新的选择。请看本报昨日的报道：

    One by one, Japan is turning off the lights at the giant oil-fired power plants that propelled it to the ranks of the world’s top industrialized nations. With nuclear power in the doldrums after the Fukushima disaster, it’s solar energy that is becoming the alternative.

    Solar power is set to become profitable in Japan as early as this quarter, according to the Japan Renewable Energy Foundation (JREF), freeing it from the need for government subsidies and making it the last of the Group of Seven (G7) most industrialized economies, where the technology has become economically viable.

    报道中的in the doldrums就是“萧条、萎靡不振”。Doldrums就是“赤道无风带”，引申为“萧条、郁闷”。

    Another government survey showed the housing market remains in the doldrums.

    另一份政府调查报告显示房市仍处于低迷状态。