英国新闻听力 56

BBC News with Nick Kelly.

The United States President-elect Barack Obama has named Steven Chu, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1977, as environment secretary when the new administration takes over on January the 20th. Mr. Chu told a news conference that the environmental challenges facing the world should not be underestimated, but they were not insurmountable.

"What the world does in the coming decade will have enormous consequences that will last for centuries. It’s imperative¹ that we begin without further delay. President-elect Obama has set the tone and pace for moving our country forward with optimism and calm determination. I hope to emulate² his example. With these virtues³, the United States and the world can and will prevail over our economic, energy and climate change challenges.”

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he deplores⁴ the fact that the government of Zimbabwe does not welcome mediation⁵ efforts by the UN in its dispute with the opposition⁶. Mr. Ban spoke⁷ during a briefing of the Security Council. Laura Trevelyan reports from the UN.

Not only Zimbabwe deadlocked⁸ politically and in the gripe of hyperinflation, now a deadly outbreak of cholera⁹ is adding to the country's woes¹⁰. Britain requested this meeting. Behind close doors, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of the deteriorating¹¹ situation on the disintegration¹² of the state with the UN called upon to pay Zimbabwe and civil servants. Yet the world body's ability to help resolve the crisis was limited, said Mr. Ban, neither Zimbabwe’s government, nor Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president who is trying to mediate¹³ between Robert Mugabe and the opposition, wanted a political role for the UN.

The list of investors¹⁴ hit by America's latest financial scandal ,an alleged¹⁵ 50-billion-dollar fraud by the US trader Bernard Madoff ,is growing. Potential losses are reported by several high-profile US investors and institutions. Spanish, British and Japanese banks say they could have considerable sums at stake. Prosecutors¹⁶ say Mr. Madoff was in essence running a pyramid scheme. Our business correspondent Nils Blythe reports.

Bernard Madoff told the FBI last week that his whole fund management business was a lie, based on taking money from new investors to pay off old ones. He estimated a loss of 50 billion dollars. Many people fear that other investment frauds may emerge as falling markets and fragile confidence expose underlying¹⁷ deceit. The old adage¹⁸ is that it's the only when the tide goes out that you see who is being swimming naked, and the economic tide is running out fast.

Thousands of demonstrators in Iraq have demanded the release of the Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who threw both of his shoes at President Bush during a news conference on Sunday. In Sadr City, protestors described him as a hero.

World News from the BBC.

The United States Supreme¹⁹ Court has ruled that tobacco companies can be sued for the way they promote cigarettes, described as light or low-tar. The court said smokers²⁰ could use consumer protection laws on deceptive²¹ advertising²² against the manufacturers, which promoted light cigarettes as less harmful than full-strength cigarettes. The case is brought by three long-time smokers against the Altria Group and its subsidiary, Philip Morris. They argued that the tobacco manufacturers had known for a long time that those who smoked light cigarettes tend to compensate²³ for the lower levels of nicotine²⁴ by inhaling²⁵ more deeply and frequently.

The government of Niger says that the United Nation's envoy²⁶, Robert Fowler, has gone missing in the southwest of the country. A government minister said that Mr. Fowler had disappeared 40 kilometers from the capital, Niamey. A day earlier, a UN spokesperson in New York said three people working for the UN Development Programme in Niger were unaccounted for.

Ecuador says it has formally defaulted on a foreign debt payment three days after it warned it intended to do so. President Rafael Correa has described international lenders as monsters and said the debt payments are immoral²⁷. Daniel / reports.

The government in Ecuador had warned for some time that it wouldn’t pay nearly 40% of its 10-billion-dollar foreign debt but now it's official. The deadline for interests to be paid on global bonds has passed with the Finance Minister Elsa Viteri stating we now declare ourselves in technical default. A special report commissioned by the Ecuadorian government earlier this year criticized the way the country's debt was restructured eight years ago.

And one of the biggest-ever celebrity²⁸ divorce settlements, the American pop star Madonna has agreed to give her former husband, the British film director Guy Ritchie, 60 to 70 million dollars. The spokesperson for the singer said the figure included the value of the couple’s country house in western England.

1 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

2 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

3 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

4 deplores   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He often deplores his past sins. 他经常痛悔自己过去的罪恶。 来自辞典例句
• Regretting the lack of spontaneity and real sensuousness in other contemporary poets, he deplores in Tennyson. 他对于和他同时代的诗人缺乏自发性和真实的敏感，感到惋惜，他对坦尼森感到悲痛。 来自辞典例句

5 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

6 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。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

9 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。

10 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

11 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

12 disintegration   

n.分散，解体

参考例句：

• This defeat led to the disintegration of the empire.这次战败道致了帝国的瓦解。
• The incident has hastened the disintegration of the club.这一事件加速了该俱乐部的解体。

13 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

14 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

15 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

16 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。

17 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

18 adage   

n.格言，古训

参考例句：

• But the old adage that men grow into office has not proved true in my experience.但是，根据我的经验，人们所谓的工作岗位造就人材这句古话并不正确。
• Her experience lends credence to the adage " We live and learn!"她的经验印证了一句格言: 活到老，学到老！

19 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。

20 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。

21 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

22 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

23 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

24 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

25 inhaling   

v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke. 他因吸入烟尘而接受治疗。 来自辞典例句
• The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. 长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。 来自互联网

26 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

27 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

28 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。