英国新闻听力 53

BBC news with Jonathan Weekly.

The United States government says it may use part of its $700 billion aid package for the financial sector¹ to help America’s beleaguered² carmakers. On Thursday, the Senate failed to agree a $14 billion rescue plan for the industry. Our Washington correspondent James Coomarasamy was asked whether President Bush could in effect defy the Senate’s opposition³ to the plan.

“Yes, he has a power to change what he does with that money. But until now, until this collapsed⁴, the Bush administration, President Bush himself have been saying, look we can’t divert that money because that money was given for a different purpose. It was given to prop⁵ up the financial services industry. Now, remember they already have changed the mission to a certain extent since September, they’ve already changed this from simply buying up those toxic⁶ assets to actually investing in those banks, so it has been changed once, but this will be a pretty radical⁷ change, but it is something they can just do.”

The Columbian authorities have extradited a man alleged⁸ to be one of the country’s most powerful drug lords to the United States where he is to stand trial on charges of murder, drugs trafficking and money laundering⁹. The charges against Diego Montoya relate to his time as leader of a cartel which /is at its peak is said to have exported 70% of the cocaine¹⁰ sold in the United States and Europe. Jeremy McDermott now reports.

Don Diego had his own private army, which he called the ‘Macho Men.’ They controlled his drug laboratories, the routes he used to move cocaine across the country, and formed his praetorian guard. The Macho Men and the organization Don Diego headed has been largely dismantled¹¹. But his place and the drug smuggling¹² routes he ran have been taken over by a new capo known by the alias¹³ ‘Combatant.’

Four British marines have been killed in two separate attacks in Helman province in Southern Afghanistan. One died when his armed vehicle was blown up by a bomb. Shortly after, in the same area, there was a second explosion as a young Afghan pushing a wheelbarrow approached accompanied marines taking part in an operation against the Taliban. Two marines died at the scene. The third succumbed¹⁴ to his wounds later.

Investigators¹⁵ in the United States have begun attempts to establish the extent of losses run up by a leading Wall Street broker¹⁶, Bernard Madoff. So far, Mr. Maddoff has been charged for causing losses worth $50 billion, the case could be proved to be one of the biggest frauds in history. Prosecutors¹⁷ say he ran a hedge fund as a pyramid scheme. One of the lawyers representing investors¹⁸, Brad Freeman, described how they’d been completely misled by the broker.

“They invested their money with Madoff, in some cases all of their money, tens of millions of dollars, which apparently¹⁹ he was taking, purporting²⁰ to be getting 10-15% returns on their money, when in fact he had lost all of it and was just continuing in a pyramid fashion to get more investor’s money and pretending to pay off the old people with new people’s money. And now $50 billion in assets are wiped out, gone. ”

World News from the BBC.

European Union leaders have agreed an ambitious package and measures to tackle global warming. It will reportedly cost about $260 billion and aims to cutting carbon emissions²¹ by a fifth by the 2020. The agreement was welcomed by the United Nations’ top climate change official Yvo de Boer. However, a BBC correspondent says the European Union made many concessions²² to reach the compromise.

The jury at the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes a Brazilian man shot dead by police in London after being mistaken for a suicide bomber²³ in 2005 has returned to open verdict. After the verdict was announced, the police said they accepted /the full responsibility for his death.

The Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has ordered the country to officially default on its foreign debt, valued nearly $10 billion. Mr. Correa refereed²⁴ to the international lenders the money is owed to as real monsters and said he would take full responsibility for the default and follows a government audit²⁵ in November which classified some of the debt taken on by the previous government is illegitimate or illegally incurred²⁶. It’s the first default in Latin America since 2001 when Argentina failed to repay debt in the midst of its financial meltdown.

The Hollywood actor Van Johnson has died at the age of 92. He was a big star in the 1940s, appearing with co-stars like Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor. NK Now reports.

Van Johnson was one of the last stars to emerge from the studio system after arriving in Hollywood in 1941. Once there, the wartime absence of more established stars and his own boy-next-door good looks ensured screen success for the former vaudeville²⁷ artist. Women swooned over his appearance in the 40’s films The White Cliffs of Dover and Weekend at the Waldorf which led him to more demanding roles in Battleground and The Caine Mutiny. He also starred with Gene²⁸ Kelly in 1954 musical Brigadoon.

1 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。

2 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

5 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

6 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 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

9 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

11 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

12 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

13 alias   

n.化名；别名；adv.又名

参考例句：

• His real name was Johnson,but he often went by the alias of Smith.他的真名是约翰逊，但是他常常用化名史密斯。
• You can replace this automatically generated alias with a more meaningful one.可用更有意义的名称替换这一自动生成的别名。

14 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

15 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

17 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

18 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

19 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

20 purporting   

v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Cindy Adams (Columnist) : He's purporting to be Mother Teresa. 辛迪？亚当斯（专栏作家）：他无意成为德兰修女。 来自互联网
• To prohibit certain practices purporting to be sales by auction. 本条例旨在对看来是以拍卖方式作出的售卖中某些行为予以禁止。 来自互联网

21 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。

22 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

23 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

24 refereed   

vi.担任裁判（referee的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Your focus should be on getting papers published in refereed journals. 首要的就是发表文章，而且是在匿名审稿的杂志上。 来自互联网
• It was a national judge who refereed the game. 执法这场比赛的是国家裁判。 来自互联网

25 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

26 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

27 vaudeville   

n.歌舞杂耍表演

参考例句：

• The standard length of a vaudeville act was 12 minutes.一个杂耍节目的标准长度是12分钟。
• The mayor talk like a vaudeville comedian in his public address.在公共演讲中，这位市长讲起话来像个歌舞杂耍演员。

28 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。