英国新闻听力 01

Pay respect to those who persisted in dictating¹ the BBC on the National Day.

BBC News with Marian Marshall.

Politicians in Washington are coming under pressure to salvage² the US government's multi-billion-dollar rescue plan for the American financial sector³. Changes are reported to be under consideration to the bail-out package rejected in Congress on Monday. The two top Democrats⁴ in the Senate and House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi and Harry⁵ Reid, have written to President Bush, saying they are confident of getting a bill approved soon, with Republican backing. Speaking at the Senate, Mr. Reid said he would do everything he could to avert⁶ a crisis.

"We are all committed to keeping the progress on this rescue package moving forward, so in the coming days, I'll continue doing everything possible to see this dire⁷ and avoidable financial crisis through to the best possible outcome and towards a future of stability and growth for our country."

Shares on the New York stock market recovered during the day. Our North American business correspondent, Gred Wood, reports.

First, we had the steepest decline in share prices for 20 years, then 24 hours later, much of that lost ground regained⁸. Sometimes this market defies analysis. The reason given for the bounce revived hopes that the bail-out plan for the banks will be approved by Congress, though quite well how it came from was hard to tell. The US authorities are also looking to increase the level of customers’ deposits, which are guaranteed in the event of bank failure, and that held banking⁹ stocks to rise.

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has blamed irresponsibility in the United States for the current global financial crisis. He told the BBC the problems had begun in America, and what was needed was global supervision¹⁰ of the financial system. He said he was confident Britain would come through the difficulties successfully.

A landmark¹¹ nuclear deal has been signed between India and France. The agreement paves the way for French companies to sell advanced nuclear reactors¹² to India for generating electricity. Andy Gallagher Embarason from our South Asia desk has more details.

France is the first country to open nuclear trade with India after the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted the restrictions¹³ on such deals earlier this month. The move has ended India's long isolation¹⁴ from the nuclear mainstream¹⁵. India says it needs nuclear power to meet its fast-growing energy demands. But not everyone in India is convinced with the present deal. Opponents say it limits India's options to test nuclear weapons in the future. A similar nuclear agreement between the United States and India is currently awaiting approval by the US Senate.

Pakistani intelligence officials say an unmanned American aircraft has fired two missiles at a house in northwest Pakistan, killing¹⁶ at least four people. Unconfirmed reports say the missiles were launched from the drone after shots were fired at it, and the dead included foreign militants¹⁷. The attack happened in North Waziristan, a known haunt of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.

World News from the BBC.

Spanish coast guards have rescued about 230 African migrants in an open boat off the coast of the Canary Islands. It's thought to be the biggest single boat load of African migrants to reach Spanish territory. The vessel¹⁸ was spotted¹⁹ by a rescue plane 80 kilometers offshore²⁰. Spanish officials believe the migrants spent four days at sea.

A group of retired²¹ Gurkha soldiers from Nepal who were refused permission to live permanently²² in Britain have won the right to have their cases reviewed. The ruling affects some 2,000 Gurkhas who retired from the British Army before 1997. The government said they didn't qualify to settle here, because they lacked strong ties with Britain. The Gurkhas argued that they had a special right by virtue²³ of serving in the British Armed Forces.

Efforts are underway to guarantee European Union monitors unrestricted access to those parts of Georgia which Russian troops are due to start withdrawing from on Wednesday. A Russian military spokesman has said the monitors weren't be able to enter the security zone that Russia has declared around South Ossetia, the separatist region, which was the focus of the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia.

The American space agency NASA says its Phoenix²⁴ Lander has discovered snow falling from clouds on the planet Mars. Scientists say snowflakes were detected three kilometers above Phoenix's landing site in the Martian North Pole. Rajesh Mirchandani reports on the latest discovery from the red planet.

It's snowing on Mars, or at least, it has been nearby. A laser on board the Phoenix Mars Lander detected snow falling from clouds more than three kilometers above the planet's surface. The snow disappeared before reaching the ground, that means this discovery does not itself fulfill²⁵ the probe's basic mission to find evidence on Mars of liquid water -- a basic ingredient for life. The Phoenix probe landed on Mars in May to examine if the planet ever supported life and could do so again.

1 dictating   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• The manager was dictating a letter to the secretary. 经理在向秘书口授信稿。 来自辞典例句
• Her face is impassive as she listens to Miller dictating the warrant for her arrest. 她毫无表情地在听米勒口述拘留她的证书。 来自辞典例句

2 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

7 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

8 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

9 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。

10 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

11 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

12 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

13 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

14 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

15 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

16 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

17 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

18 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

19 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

20 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

21 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

22 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

23 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

24 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

25 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。