15篇文章贯通六级词汇Unit15-Part1

[00:14.07]The World Trade Organization(WTO) and China
[00:18.34]As China has been admitted
[00:22.06]to the World Trade Organization (WTO),
[00:24.90]it is very apt at this time
[00:27.42]to compile some important data
[00:29.60]about this international organization.
[00:32.13]The conception of the WTO
[00:35.19]took place during the 1995 Uruguay
[00:39.69]round of talks of the General Agreement
[00:41.39]on Tariffs¹ and Trade (GATT).
[00:43.80]The WTO actually replaced GATT.
[00:47.96]This latter organization,
[00:49.70]a composite of many countries,
[00:51.79]was formed after the Second World War
[00:54.41]to preside over the stabilization²
[00:57.04]of trade among nations.
[00:58.79]The new organization, the WTO,
[01:03.05]is dedicated³ to allocating⁴ the resources
[01:06.55]of the world by using fairer trade practices
[01:09.61]and providing economic security
[01:12.35]for the more vulnerable,
[01:13.99]less developed nations.
[01:15.64]The WTO provides the apparatus⁵
[01:19.57]for making this happen through increased cooperation
[01:22.20]among member countries.
[01:23.95]The execution of such agreements
[01:27.23]will be instrumental in enhancing the esteem⁶
[01:30.30]of less developed members and
[01:32.48]will provide a more stable infrastructure⁷
[01:35.11]for profitable trade for members of the WTO.
[01:38.28]Is there a way to describe in simple terms
[01:43.10]what this is all about?
[01:45.06]What underlies⁸ this international pursuit
[01:48.24]of free trade among nations?
[01:50.31]Students of introductory Economics
[01:53.49]would recognize the theory of
[01:55.35]“comparative advantage”.
[01:56.77]Briefly, this economic theory states that
[02:01.25]a country can produce all or most goods
[02:04.32]and services more efficiently⁹ than
[02:07.27]most or all other countries,
[02:09.79]but still gain from specializing in production
[02:12.63]and trading with other nations.
[02:14.61]They not only receive economic benefits
[02:17.95]for themselves, but also help other countries
[02:21.02]achieve similar benefits in the process.
[02:23.54]Let's look at a simple example.
[02:26.60]Assume that there are two countries,
[02:29.22]Alpha and Beta,
[02:31.08]that produce the same two products,
[02:33.60]bananas and office desks,
[02:35.68]and nothing else.
[02:37.43]We will assume that
[02:39.79]each country has 200 units of productive resources
[02:43.96](resources such as land,
[02:45.92]labour and capital,
[02:47.57]used in the production of bananas and desks).
[02:50.08]In this case we will use labour.
[02:53.04]Before trading each country,
[02:55.55]using the productive resources each has available,
[02:58.72]might produce the following combinations:
[03:01.35]Bananas（tons）
[03:04.65]Alpha 300 (100 units of labour)
[03:08.92]Beta 100(100 units)
[03:13.06]Totals 400
[03:16.02]Desks Alpha 100 (100 units)
[03:21.27]Beta 25 (100 units)
[03:25.21]Totals 125
[03:27.84]Assuming that each country
[03:30.79]used the same amount of productive resources
[03:33.09]in the production of both bananas and desks,
[03:36.04]you will notice that
[03:38.45]Alpha produced more bananas
[03:39.98]and more desks than Beta
[03:41.95]but produced desks more efficiently
[03:44.36](higher ratio 4∶1) than bananas (3∶1).
[03:48.41]Alpha produced four times
[03:50.92]as many desks as Beta
[03:52.78]given equal units of resources (100 units)
[03:56.28]and three times as many bananas as Beta.
[03:59.23]Alpha has a comparative advantage
[04:02.62]in producing desks and therefore
[04:04.81]could make economic gains
[04:07.23]by transferring some of its labour resources
[04:09.74]into the production of desks.
[04:12.48]If the two countries were agreeable
[04:14.86]to specialize and trade with each other,
[04:16.94]the following might be possible:
[04:19.14]Bananas（tons）
[04:21.98]Alpha 210(70 units)
[04:25.92]Beta 200(200 units)
[04:29.53]Total410
[04:32.71]Desks Alpha 130(130 units)
[04:39.05]Beta 0(0 units)
[04:42.44]Total 130
[04:45.07]This example shows that,
[04:47.47]by specialization by each partner,
[04:49.77]total production of bananas
[04:51.96]would increase from 400 tons to 410 tons
[04:56.01]and the production of desks
[04:58.52]would increase from 125 to 130 desks.
[05:03.12]This means that more of each product
[05:06.62]would be available to both countries
[05:08.81]to share through specialization and trade.
[05:11.33]This may be an oversimplification
[05:14.47]of the concept of comparative advantage,
[05:16.77]but it is the economic principle
[05:19.40]which explains why countries want more free trade,
[05:22.68]and why China wants to join the WTO.
[05:25.74]It also explains
[05:28.26]the United State's ambitious pursuit
[05:30.55]of freer trade arrangements
[05:32.31]throughout the world.
[05:33.40]Immersed for more than a decade
[05:35.80]in ne?gotiations,
[05:37.56]the climax¹⁰ has been reached for China.
[05:39.42]Its official membership in the WTO
[05:42.04]commenced in December 2001.
[05:45.33]It has not been an easy road
[05:47.73]to reach this goal and the country
[05:49.76]will now embark¹¹ upon an even tougher road
[05:52.61]of more formidable challenges.
[05:54.15]Many issues surrounding China's bid
[05:57.54]are not only economic,
[05:59.39]but also social in nature.
[06:01.25]For example, the United States
[06:04.10]has amplified¹² the issue of human rights
[06:06.62]in discussions between itself and China.
[06:09.46]The reasons for this obsession¹³
[06:11.87]over human rights are not readily evident,
[06:14.28]but in some quarters suggestions
[06:17.23]for it have been offered.
[06:18.43]Since the end of the Cold War,
[06:20.40]and the demise¹⁴ (or fall) of the Soviet¹⁵ Union,
[06:24.01]the United States has had no clear opponent
[06:27.29]to justify¹⁶ the work of its many agencies
[06:29.92]that were originally assimilated to
[06:32.98]deal with former Cold War opponents.
[06:35.06]The promotion¹⁷ of international human rights
[06:38.45]allegedly has filled part of this void,
[06:40.86]to become the major target
[06:43.05]of the new direction
[06:44.25]in American foreign policy,
[06:45.67]and it has become commonplace
[06:47.65]for China in particular.
[06:49.28]It should be noted¹⁸ that
[06:52.13]there are some current members
[06:53.77]of the WTO that have worse human rights records
[06:57.56]than that of China but were
[06:59.54]not treated in the same manner.
[07:01.07]Also, it is erroneous to suggest that
[07:04.57]the United States itself is completely innocent
[07:07.30]of human rights violations¹⁹.
[07:09.05]This is a major contradiction
[07:11.90]in current American foreign policy.
[07:13.98]It is also suggested that
[07:16.82]the real threat to the United States
[07:18.57]is that China is a huge country
[07:20.65]with a robust²⁰ economy that
[07:22.95]has been growing by leaps
[07:24.48]and bounds over the last twenty years.
[07:27.00]Henceforth, a fear is growing that
[07:31.05]the potential economic strength of China
[07:33.12]will threaten the prevalent position
[07:35.86]of the United States in world affairs.
 

1 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

2 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

3 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。

5 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

6 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 underlies   

v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的第三人称单数 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起

参考例句：

• I think a lack of confidence underlies his manner. 我认为他表现出的态度是因为他缺乏信心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Try to figure out what feeling underlies your anger. 努力找出你的愤怒之下潜藏的情感。 来自辞典例句

9 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

10 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

11 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

12 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

13 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

14 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

15 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

16 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

17 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

20 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。