Indian Government Vows To Tackle Corruption

    The Indian government is promising¹ to increase efforts against corruption²（腐败）, which has emerged as a major challenge for the country.  India's president made the commitment（承诺,保证） during an address to parliament, which was stalled last year by opposition³ concerns over the corruption issue.
    President Pratibha Patil told lawmakers Monday that the measures being considered by the government to fight corruption include expediting corruption cases against civil servants and clipping the powers of ministers. She says the government is determined⁴ to improve transparency.
    Parliament is meeting for a new session, during which the annual budget will be presented.
    President Patil says the government is taking steps to bring back illegal money stashed⁵ in overseas tax havens⁶ by Indian nationals, and is aware of the negative impact of this on the country.
    President Patil’s remarks come amid a concerted effort by the Congress-led government to demonstrate(展示,论证) its commitment to fight graft⁷.
    In recent months, a series of corruption scandals has tarnished⁸ the government's image.  Last December, opposition parties held up work in parliament to protest the scandals.
    In a bid to break the legislative⁹ deadlock¹⁰, the government has agreed to let opposition and ruling party lawmakers investigate the 2008 sale of mobile phone spectrum¹¹ at lower-than-market prices.  The loss of billions of dollars in government revenue was a major political scandal.
    So far, there has been no formal announcement of the probe.  It is expected to be made in parliament by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
    The Prime Minister has expressed hopes that parliament will function smoothly¹².
    "The budget has to be debated and passed," Singh said. "We also hope to bring some important pieces of legislation for consideration of parliament, and it is our sincere hope, as I said yesterday, that this session will be peaceful and productive of results."President Patil also addressed the issue of high inflation, which is hurting India’s fast growing economy and angering voters.
    She said the government’s foremost priority is to calm food prices, and protect poor people in the country.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 stashed   

v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起

参考例句：

• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她有一大笔钱存在几个不同的银行账户下。
• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她在不同的银行账户上秘密储存了一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

7 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

8 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

9 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

10 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

11 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

12 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。