VOA慢速英语2009年-IN THE NEWS - G20 Leaders Talk About Econo

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, leaders of the top industrial and developing economies gathered in the eastern United States. They met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a summit on the world's financial future. Leaders of the Group of Twenty have now met three times in less than a year to deal with the worst recession since the nineteen thirties.
　
G-20 leaders gather for a group picture on Friday

Many of their governments have used spending programs to inject five trillion dollars into their economies. These stimulus¹ efforts have had some success. Now, the question is how and when to withdraw that support without harming a recovery, and how to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis.

The leaders agreed to make the G20 the main group for their international economic cooperation, instead of the G8. The G20 is nineteen countries and the European Union. It includes fast-growing economies in the developing world like China, India and Brazil.

Earlier this week, world leaders attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York. President Obama, in a speech on Wednesday, sought to distance himself from some of the policies of George W. Bush.
　
Several groups held protests outside the meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

BARACK OBAMA: "Those who used to chastise² America for acting³ alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for American to solve the world's problems alone. We have sought in word and deed for a new era of engagement with the world."

On Thursday, the Security Council approved a resolution to increase efforts toward a world without nuclear weapons. All fifteen members voted for the resolution proposed by the United States.

The five permanent members are the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia. Those five plus Germany have been preparing to meet with Iranian negotiators on October first to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

On Friday, there were new demands for Iran to follow Security Council resolutions to halt nuclear enrichment. The American, British and French leaders announced that Iran has been secretly building a second enrichment center for several years.
　
President Obama speaks about Iran's nuclear program with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

American officials say the information was made public after Iran discovered that Western intelligence agencies knew about the facility. Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna earlier this week.

Enriched uranium can be used as fuel for nuclear energy -- as Iran says -- or it can be used for nuclear bombs. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, "If by December, there is not an in-depth change by the Iranian leaders, sanctions will have to be taken."

In New York, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said President Obama will regret saying that Iran has been building a secret facility. He said Iran met I.A.E.A. rules by informing the agency early enough that the facility was being built. Russia and China both urged Iran to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear agency on any investigation⁴.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. For more news from the G20 meeting, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

2 chastise   

vt.责骂，严惩

参考例句：

• My father used to chastise my brothers with whips.父亲过去常以鞭打惩罚我的兄弟。
• Should I applaud my husband or chastise him?我是该称赞还是责罚我的丈夫呢？

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。