英国新闻听力 52

BBC News with Nick Kelly.

The American ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee, has warned that the country is rapidly turning into a failed state, describing the situation there is truly grim. Speaking in Washington, Mr. McGee blamed the current outbreak of cholera¹ on Zimbabwe's political crisis and the failed economic policies of the country's government. Kim Ghattas reports from Washington.

The US ambassador to Harare, James McGee, painted a dire² picture of the situation in Zimbabwe during a briefing in Washington. He said hospitals in Harare remained closed; there was no garbage collection and people were having to drink from sewers³. He said the calls for Mr. Mugabe to step down were starting to echo across Africa. A senior US official also said that one way to bring pressure on Zimbabwe was for its neighbors to close their borders with the landlocked country. But South Africa, the key to any such effort, has so far refrained from putting pressure on Zimbabwe.

One of the world's leading financial institutions, the Bank of America, says it plans to cut up to 35,000 jobs over the next three years after it completes its purchase of the investment bank Merrill Lynch. Bank of America said the expected cuts reflected the pending⁴ merger⁵ as well as the weak economic environment. From New York, Greg Wood reports.

The job cuts represent about 10% of the total workforce⁶, and they will be made over the next three years. Bank of America says that the reductions are coming from both companies and will affect all lines of business. The credit crunch⁷ is cutting a swathe through the US financial sector⁸. Citigroup recently announced more than 50,000 layoffs⁹. Unemployment in the United States jumped by more than half a million last month mainly because of job cuts in service industries like banking¹⁰.

The American President-elect Barack Obama says he is absolutely certain that his team had no part in the scandal surrounding the Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich. He was arrested this week on charges of trying to sell Mr. Obama's vacant seat in the US Senate. Mr. Obama said any such deal making would have been a violation¹¹ of everything his election campaign had stood for.

"I have never spoken to the governor on the subject. I am confident that no representatives of mine would have any part of any deals related to the seat. I think the materials released by the US attorney reflect that fact. I've asked my team to gather the facts of any contacts with the governor's office about this vacancy¹², so that we can share them with you over the next few days."

Meanwhile, Mr. Obama has chosen the former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to lead his drive to reform the US healthcare system. As / Health Secretary, Mr. Daschle will be charged with expanding healthcare coverage¹³ to tens of millions of Americans who do not have medical insurance. Better health provision was one of the key promises in Mr. Obama's election campaign, but previous attempts to reform the US system have ended in failure.

You are listening to the World News from the BBC.

The authorities in Pakistan have put the leader of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity, Hafiz Saeed, to under house arrest for three months. Police are under order to seal the charity's offices if necessary. The organization is accused of having ties with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a military group, which India has blamed for the attacks in Mumbai last month. From Lahore, Barbara Plett reports.

Hafiz Saeed criticized the UN for making its decision without giving him a chance to defend himself or his organization. He said this was against international principles of justice and reflected a hatred¹⁴ for Islam. The cleric told the BBC the Pakistani government hadn't contacted him since the UN announcement, but he said if it tried to ban his charity, he would pursue the matter through Pakistan's High Court which had previously¹⁵ declared his organization legal. He also vigorously denied allegations that he had connections to the Mumbai attackers.

Iraqi police say 55 people have been killed and many others injured in a suicide bombing near the city of Kirkuk. Reports said the attacker walked into a restaurant during the busy lunch hour and detonated a belt packed with explosives. Some of the victims were Iraqi families who'd been enjoying a meal out on the last day of a public holiday.

Mexico has announced plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions¹⁶ by 50% before 2050 in what correspondent says one of the most ambitious targets to have been set by an emerging economy. The details were announced at the UN Climate Summit. The Mexican environment minister told the summit he hoped the plan would inspire other developing countries to take strong actions against emissions.

An Australian actor Heath Ledger¹⁷ who died earlier this year has been posthumously¹⁸ nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the United States. He was selected for his performance in the Batman film "The Dark Night". Film staring Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet lead to the nominations¹⁹ for this year's Golden Globes, Hollywood's traditional curtain raiser to the Oscars.

And that's the latest BBC News.

note:

cut a swath /swathe

To create a great stir, impression, or display: 出风头：造成极大的轰动、留下深刻印象或炫耀：

“He cut a bold and even sacrificial swath across American politics”(Gail Sheehy)

“他以大胆勇猛甚至牺牲精神而在美国政界出尽风头”(盖尔·希伊)

1 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

2 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。

3 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

5 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

8 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。

9 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

10 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。

11 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

12 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

13 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

14 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

15 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

16 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

17 ledger   

n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿

参考例句：

• The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺，然后又埋头写起分类帐。
• She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的，家庭分类账记得清楚详细。

18 posthumously   

adv.于死后，于身后；于著作者死后出版地

参考例句：

• He was confirmed posthumously as a member of the Chinese Communist Party. 他被追认为中国共产党党员。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her last book was published posthumously in 1948. 她最后的一本书在她死后于1948 年出版了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句