英国新闻听力 21

BBC News with Nick Kelly.

The two main candidates in the US presidential election are back in the campaign trail, focusing on vital states in the west of the country. As the race enters its final 10 days, opinion polls suggest that Democratic contender Barack Obama is maintaining his lead over the Republican John McCain. Sarah Morris reports from Washington.

John McCain is now struggling to defend New Mexico and other western states that are normally Republican strongholds against the strong onslaught from his Democratic rival Barack Obama. Senator McCain accused Senator Obama of seeking to raise taxes on most Americans especially small businesses responsible for creating jobs in the economic downturn. Senator Obama who is now back after a few days off in which he spent time with his seriously ill grandmother says he will launch a plan of tax cuts for the middle class.

Israelis are expected to learn on Sunday whether the Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will form a new government or call for a snap election. Israel Radio says that Ms Livni has abandoned her attempts to put together a new coalition¹ but the report has not been confirmed. Tim Franks reports from Jerusalem.

As the new leader of the largest party in Israel's parliament, she'd given potential coalition partners the deadline of Sunday to say whether they were in or out. On Friday, she suffered a big setback² when Israel's largest ultra-religious party Shas said that it would not join a coalition under Ms Livni. The latest reports suggest that the foreign minister believes early general elections may prove the only option. If that were the case, she'd have a tough fight against Binyamin Netanyahu, the leader of the main right-wing opposition³ party.

The United Nations says not a single country has responded to an appeal it made two weeks ago for urgent help for Syria, which is facing its worst drought in 40 years. The UN says it needs 20 million dollars to assist the one million Syrians that it says are at risk. The situation is especially bad in the northeast of the country where people are reported to be selling their belongings⁴ and trying to migrate.

Hundreds of thousands of people have marched through the Italian capital Rome to protest against the right-wing government of the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The opposition leader Walter Veltroni told the crowds that Mr. Berlusconi was incapable⁵ of handling the social and financial crisis facing Italy and he accused the government of running Italy like a private enterprise. He said Saturday's protest proved that Italy was ready for political change.

A demonstration⁶ with so many people is good for the country and for Italian democracy. It is not only a show of strength of the Democratic Party, but also of its determination, and it proves that a different Italy is probably possible. Correspondents point out that despite the show of strength by the center-left opposition, Mr. Berlusconi still enjoys a clear lead in the opinion polls.

World News from the BBC.

The largest Sunni party in Iraq says it is suspending all official contacts with US civilian⁷ and military personnel after the killing⁸ of a man in Fallujah. The Iraqi Islamic Party said the dead man was one of its senior members and that he‘d been killed during a joint⁹ US-Iraqi raid on Friday which it alleged¹⁰ had political goals.

President Bush has said that now it’s not the time to abandon the principles underpinning¹¹ capitalism¹², despite the global financial crisis. Speaking in his weekly radio address, Mr. Bush said world leaders should recommit themselves to open markets, free trade and free enterprise when they meet at the economic summit he's due to host next month.

Open market policies have lifted standards of living and helped millions of people around the world escape the grip of poverty. These policies have shown themselves time and time again to be the surest path to creating jobs, increasing commerce and fostering progress. And this moment of global economic uncertainty¹³ would be precisely¹⁴ the wrong time to reject such proven methods for creating prosperity and hope.

The authorities in Mexico have offered a 370, 000 dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of those who are responsible for the killing of a leading prosecutor¹⁵ near the capital, Mexico City. The prosecutor Andres Dimitriadis was leading an investigation¹⁶ into organized crime and drugs trafficking in the state of Morelos. He was shot in his car as he drove home. Over 4, 000 people have died so far this year in drugs-related violence.

And thousands of people have demonstrated in the Basque region of northern Spain, demanding referendum on proposed moves towards independence from the rest of the country. The regional government had planned to organize such a vote on Saturday but the Spanish Supreme¹⁷ Court declared this illegal. Earlier in the day, there were small explosions at two railway stations in the Basque region, one of which brought down the ceiling of a ticket hall though nobody was hurt.

And that's the latest from BBC News.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

5 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

6 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 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。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 underpinning   

n.基础材料；基础结构；（学说、理论等的）基础；（人的）腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的现在分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。 来自辞典例句
• But underpinning Mr Armstrong's technology changes is a human touch. 但阿姆斯特朗技术变革的支柱是人情味。 来自互联网

12 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

13 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

14 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

15 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

16 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。

17 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。