New UN Security Council members begin their terms

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- On the heels of （紧随其后）the new year, India, Colombia, Germany, Portugal and South Africa began their two-year tenure¹ on Saturday as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council（联合国安理会）.
    Elected by the UN General Assembly on Oct. 12, the five freshmen² members took their seats on Jan. 1 -- as some have called for a permanent seat on the powerful world body.
    The Security Council remains³ unchanged since its membership expanded from 11 to 15 nations in 1963. Five permanent members -- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- hold veto power. The other 10 members are elected to serve for two- year terms and have no power to veto decisions by the Council.
    The five other members whose seats do not expire until the end of 2011 are Brazil, Nigeria, Lebanon Gabon and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
    Brazil, Japan, and newly-elected Germany and India, known as the Group of Four (G4), have formally introduced a proposal to expand the 15-member Council by 10 seats, with 6 permanent members.
    The G4 proposal argues that the Council's post-World War II structure does not reflect the realities of today's world.
    Despite a general consensus⁴ by all 192 UN member states to reform the Council, the process of reform continues to face serious political obstacles. It is an issue that has been under discussion for 17 years.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

2 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？