美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-03-28

 A bailout worth billions: that¡¯s the story that leads off today show. Hello, I¡¯m Carl Azuz. Last week we reported on a problem: the financial crisis in the island nation of Cyprus. Today, we know the solution. E.U, the European Union and Cyprus have worked out a deal: the country will get a bailout worth 10 billion euros, but Cyprus has to do some things in order to get that help. For example, cutting the country¡¯s banking¹ industry in half. We¡¯re going to bring in Zain Asher now to talk about why the rest of the world has been paying so much attention to what¡¯s been happening on this small Mediterranean² nation. Zain.

Hi, Carl. You¡¯ve probably been hearing a lot about Cyprus lately and the fact that it¡¯s been a big worry to people who participate in a stock market. But why? That might be your question. Basically, Cyprus¡¯s banking system has gotten too big, and it is at risk of collapsing³. Cyprus is part of the Euro zone, it¡¯s made up of 17 countries that all use the euro as their currency, much like we use the dollar. Eh, because these nations are all very interconnected through that common link, a problem in one can easily ripple⁴ to cause problems in another. That¡¯s the worry for the stock market, because much like the Euro Zone, the global economy is all interconnected, too. For example, when the United States fell into recession, back in 2007, many European countries quickly followed, that¡¯s because we all rely on each other for so much. Including things like trade, tourism and basic business relations. The good news is, though, the problems in Cyprus aren¡¯t that big of a deal, compared to if something like this happens in some places larger, like Germany or France. Cyprus is a tiny island in the Mediterranean, and accounts for just a small fraction of the Eurozone¡¯s economy and lawmakers there were able to reach a deal on Monday to keep the banking system up and running. Carl.

Thanks, Zain. 

Now, this week the U.S. Supreme⁵ Court is hearing arguments about a couple of cases that deal with the same subject, same sex marriage. It¡¯s a controversial issue, a lot of emotion on both sides of it. We¡¯re going to lay the groundwork so we know exactly where the court is starting from. Right now, same sex marriage is legal in nine states, the ones you see highlighted on this map. It¡¯s also legal in Washington, D.C. 12 other states have laws that recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships⁶. In those states, same sex couples get some of the same benefits as other couples, but without full marriage rights. The remaining 29 states have changed their constitutions to include a ban on same sex marriage. So it¡¯s illegal in those states. Those are the laws that the Supreme Court will be looking at. Today, the court is considering Proposition 8. That was the name of the ban on same sex marriage in California. When it was on the ballot⁷ in 2008, voters approved the ban by a margin⁸ of 52 percent to 48 percent. Now, keep in mind this is a court case. So, the Supreme Court is going to be looking at the legal definition of marriage. On one side, the argument is that this is about civil rights.

When we talk about fundamental right as it relates to the Constitution, we are talking about those rights that we as a nation designated as being some of the most sacred of all the rights we can have. And 14 times the United States Supreme Court has described marriage as a fundamental right.

The legal argument on the other side is that this issue should be decided⁹ at the state level.

Americans on both sides of this issue are deeply invested in this debate on marriage, we don¡¯t need a 50-state solution, presented by the Supreme Court when our democratic institutions are perfectly¹⁰ capable of handling this issue, and that¡¯s really what¡¯s the court is going to decide, whether it¡¯s going to impose a redefinition of marriage about all Americans, or whether we are going to be allowed to continue to work on this together state by state.

One example of how interested some people are in this case - the lines started forming last Friday in the snow to try to get a seat inside today¡¯s hearing. A court¡¯s ruling isn¡¯t expected until sometimes this summer.

1 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

2 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

3 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

4 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

7 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

8 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。