每日一词学英语(44): spate

英国的经济衰退即将结束，Britain is heading out of recession, says influential think-tank NIESR (From The Times, June 11, 2009)。把这则新闻标题换个说法就是：The upbeat verdict that Britain’s slump is at an end came from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research after official figures revealed the first gains in manufacturing output for 14 months, adding to a recent spate of signs of recovery.

今天不学“洪水”的意思，上文中“spate”常常用作“a spate of”，意思是：a string, series or trend。Wiktionary的例句是：There has been a recent spate of burglary in the neighborhood。第34课我们学过“a volley of”，你能说出两者的异同吗？