VOA标准英语2008年-British Leader Promises to Steer Country Throug

By Tom Rivers
London
15 May 2008

In a wide-ranging news conference, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown fielded a number of tough questions Thursday regarding his ability to guide the country through tough economic times he admits are not over. He also touched on the differing aid approaches to Burma and China. For VOA, Tom Rivers reports from London.

 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown got the message loud and clear from the country earlier this month when his ruling Labor¹ Party received a battering² in local elections held in England and Wales.

In his first major news conference since those stinging defeats and amid calls in some newspapers here that openly question his ability to lead, Mr. Brown acknowledges that managing the British economy through what he calls the "hard times ahead" will be the true test of his leadership and it is a task he says he is up to.

"As we deal with the difficult world situation, I think that what I can do and how I can work with other countries to deal with oil price rises and other issues therefore I feel that I am in the right position to be able to sort out the problems that we have now," he said.

"And these are problems that are generated by the credit crunch³ coming out of America and inflationary pressures coming out of the rest of the world. Now these are issues that all countries will have to deal with. I think that because of my experience, I am in a good position to deal with these issues," he added.

Specifically on the issue of the current high price of oil, the British leader says he would like to see OPEC boost production.

"I believe there is capacity to do so," said Brown. "I believe there are many oil producers around the world who could look what they can do. But of course we have also got to have a forward-looking plan because the oil price now is being affected⁴ by what people see as the likely outcomes a few years ahead and if supply is going to be lower than demand for future years, then we need to act now to convince people that more oil can be made available."

"So, that is what the discussions between consumers and producers in oil has got to be about. There is a meeting of the International Energy Foundation to look at that. I will be talking to my other colleagues in the G8 as I have done with some of them about what we can do about this and of course this is difficult," he continued.

The issue of relief efforts also came up in the monthly news conference. Mr. Brown was asked about the difficulty of getting aid into cyclone-stricken Burma. He said even at this stage in the unfolding crisis, it is imperative⁵ to keep the pressure on the Burmese regime to let in more aid and to allow in more aid workers.

"I think two things have happened in the last few hours," said the British prime minister. "First of all, I understand that this emergency summit will be conveyed by the UN Secretary-General with the Asian group of countries in the region and I think that is great progress and I hope that it yields the results that I want to see and secondly⁶, that the Asian countries are being invited by the Burmese government provide aid and aid workers through these countries into Burma."

"Now. We will not stop from doing what we also want to do and that is to get our supplies of aid into the country. We have four flights from Britain. I believe there was about 30 flights or so went into Rangoon yesterday. We need about 20 flights a day if we are going to be able to continue to get the aid into the country that is necessary as a minimum and I hope that these flights can happen," he added.

Compared to the Burmese situation, Prime Minister Brown praised the Chinese authorities for their swift, flexible and open approach in dealing⁷ with its devastating⁸ earthquake in Sichuan province.

"I think the rescue work has been speedy and where live scan be saved, they have been saved," he said. "And I know there have been an enormous number of casualties and I want to send my condolences both to the government of China and to the Chinese people."

Already, Britain has announced a $2 million aid donation to China and a number of British search teams are flying to China to help the locals in their rescue efforts.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 battering   

n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The film took a battering from critics in the US. 该影片在美国遭遇到批评家的猛烈抨击。
• He kept battering away at the door. 他接连不断地砸门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 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。

6 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。