IN THE NEWS - Group of Eight Meeting

IN THE NEWS
–
June 22, 2002: Group of Eight Meeting

By Caty Weaver¹

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program IN THE NEWS.

Leaders from the Group of Eight nations begin their yearly meeting Wednesday in the western Canadian
province of Alberta. They will gather for two days in the Kananaskis mountain area. Experts say President Bush
will be seeking strong support for his war on terrorism.

The G-Eight leaders will also discuss increasing aid for African development. And
they are expected to discuss ways to strengthen international economic growth and
support development that is environmentally safe.

The members of the Group of Eight are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy,

Japan, Russia and the United States. The European Commission President will take

part in the meeting as an observer. So will the President of Spain, the country
currently filling the European Union presidency².

The G-Eight is an organization of the world ’s leading industrial nations. The group’s main goals are to
support economic growth, reduce poverty and increase peace and security around the world.

The Chairman of the Group of Eight changes each year among members. The yearly leaders’
meeting is held in
the country of the Chairman. The meeting gives heads of governments a chance to hold direct talks about current
major issues

The Chairman serves as a communication link for the Group of Eight with other nations as well as nongovernmental
organizations. This year the G-Eight chairman is Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. He has
invited four African leaders to the meeting to discuss details of a document called the New Partnership³ for
African Development.

As is traditional, Canada has held several smaller meetings in preparation for the leaders’
conference. Last
week, finance ministers of seven of the group of eight nations met in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Russia is not
officially part of the G-Seven finance ministers meetings.

The G-Seven finance ministers meet four times a year. At the recent meeting, some finance ministers criticized
American Treasury⁴ Secretary Paul O’Neill for trade decisions by the United States.

The main dispute is over American government assistance to farmers. Canadian Finance Minister John Manley
argued that farm support in the United States makes it difficult for developing countries to compete in the
agriculture industry.

Security is a concern for the leaders’
meeting next week. Demonstrations⁵ took place at the G-Seven finance
ministers’
meeting in Halifax. Protesters and police fought on the last day. At the G-Eight meeting last year,
about one-hundred-thousand protesters demonstrated in Genoa, Italy. One person was killed.

A security area of about six kilometers will surround the meeting next week of the leaders of the Group of Eight.
The public will not be permitted into this area.

This VOA Special English program was written by Caty Weaver. This is Steve Ember.

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1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。