listentothis 高级英语听力 lesson 3

 

 

   Lesson Three
 Section One: News in Brief              
1. IBM, following the lead of General Motors, announced today it's pulling out of South Africa.  Like General Motors, IBM says it's selling its South African holdings because of the political and economic situation there.  Anti-apartheid groups have praised the decision, but the State Department says business pullouts are regrettable. Spokesman Charles Redmond said today the Reagan Administration believes US corporate¹ involvement in South Africa has been a progressive force against apartheid.  " We regret any decision to reduce US private sector² involvement in South Africa.  Such reductions could have harmful effects on black workers, injure the South African economy which has, on the whole, weakened the premises³ of apartheid and provided a means of improving the living standards and skills of many people otherwise disadvantaged by apartheid, and it might limit the extent of US influence in South Africa." State Department spokesman Charles Redmond.  IBM employs some 1,500 people in South Africa.         
 2. More than fifty black youths were arrested today in Harare, Zimbabwe, when police broke up demonstrations⁴ at South African offices and the US embassy.  Julie Fredricks reports.  "A group of more than a thousan students and youths caused thousands of dollars of damage by burning and stoning the offices of the South African trade mission, South African Airways⁵, Air Malawi, and the Malawian High Commission.The demonstrators suspected South African complicity in the plane crash that killed Mozambiquan President Machel in South Africa and blamed Malawi for supporting the Pretoria-backed insurgents⁶ that are attacking Mozambique. Zimbabwean government officials appealed for calm, and a statement from Prime Minister Mugabe just back from a trip to London is expected tomorrow.  For National Public Radio, this is Julie Fredricks in Harare.
 3. President Reagan met for about an hour today with West German Chancellor⁷ Helmut Kohl at the White House.  Kohl is the first European leader to visit the President since the Reykjavik summit.US officials say Kohl expressed support for the President's SDI program.
  Section Two: News in Detail
      West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is in Washington D.C. for four days of meetings.  Among the issues on his agenda are economic relations with the US and Germany's policy towards southern Africa.  But today, Kohl's talk with President Reagan was dominated by the recent US-Soviet⁸ summit meeting in Iceland.  NPR's Brenda
  Wilson reports.
      While no major agreement was signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in Reykjavik, the two countries made progress in arms control talks in areas that are a central concern to America's European allies.  Those particular areas involve disarmament proposals made in Iceland, affecting medium-range missiles and long-range missiles over which allies have voiced some reservations. This was a major topic of discussion with Chancellor Kohl today, even though his Foreign Minister was briefed by the US Secretary, of State only last week.  In remarks welcoming Chancellor Kohl, President Reagan sounded a positive note, saying that there was ample reason for optimism.  "When the next agreement is finally reached with the Soviet Union, and I say when, not if, it will not be the result of weakness or timidity on the part of Western nations.  Instead, it will flow from our strength, realism and unity⁹.' The President also explained that achieving such an agreement would depend upon
  pushing ahead with his Strategic Defense¹⁰ Initiative, SDI, because it offered protection against cheating.  But members of NATO, including Germany, have expressed concern that eliminating medium-range missiles in Europe as was proposed in Reykjavik would potentially leave Europe vulnerable to the Soviet shorter-range missiles and greater superiority in conventional forces.  They expressed doubts that SDI could make up for those deficiencies.  The allies, in particular West Germany, want reductions in  medium-range missiles tied to reductions in shorter-range missiles and conventional forces.  Chancellor Kohl was expected to press these points and to urge President Reagan to compromise on SDI to keep talks between the US and the Soviets¹¹ moving. Speaking through an interpreter in his arrival remarks, Kohl did not mention SDI, 'It remains¹² our goal, and I know that I shared with you, Mr. President, to create peace and security with ever fewer weapons.  In Reykjavik, thanks to your serious and consistent efforts in pursuit of peace, a major step was taken in this direction.  And we must now take the opportunities that present themselves without endangering our defensive¹³ capability¹⁴.'
      After the meeting between Kohl and the President, a senior administration official quoted Kohl as saying that he has always been in favor of the Strategic Defense system.  At the White House, I'm Brenda Wilson.
  Section Three: Special Report
       A group of business leaders in Boston today announced plans to expand a college scholarship program to include any eligible¹⁵ Boston high school graduate.  The business leaders announced plans for a permanent five-million dollar endowment fund, and they also promise to hire any of the students who go on to complete their college educations.  Andrew Kaffery of member station WBUR has the report.
       The Boston business community's involvement in the Boston public school dates back almost twenty years, from work internships to an endowment program for Boston teachers. Business has  pumped more than one million dollars into the public schools.  Now business leaders say they're ready to make their biggest commitment yet: a multi-million dollar scholarship program that will enable the city's poorest kids to go on to college and to jobs afterward¹⁶.  The program is called Action Center for Educational Services and Scholarships, or ACESS.  According to Daniel Cheever, the President of Boston's Wheelock College, ACESS is not a blank check for the eligible graduates.  "First we'll help them get as much aid as they can from other sources, and secondly¹⁷, we'll provide the last dollar scholarship.  I should add, of course, they have to qualify for financial aid; that is, we're not handing out money to students who don't need it." The average grant is around five hundred dollars and already the program has given one hundred Boston students more than fifty thousand dollars in scholarship money.
       Other assistance from the program has helped those students raise more than six hundred thousand dollars in additional financial aid. School officials say them where 43% of the studens live below the poverty level, and almost half who enter high school drop out. Robert Weaver¹⁸ was one Boston high school graduate who could not afford college.  He's in the ACESS program now and will get a degree in airplane mechanics next year from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.  'I got the Pale grant and the state scholarship, but there was still a gap.  There was like a twenty-three hundred-dollar gap.  Wentworth's total bill  was fifty-seven hundred, so I had to fill that amount,with working  over the summer, my family contribution.  I paid for my own books,  my own tools, things like that.  But without ACESS I wouldn't be  where I am today.'
       This program comes at an import@t time for the city of Boston. Unemployment here is among the lowest in the nation and business  leaders say they're having a hard time finding qualified¹⁹ job applicants²⁰.  So the ACESS program is not just good public relations. Business leaders, like Edward Philips, who is the chairman of the ACESS program, say there's a bit of self-preservation involved. "over time, we believe this program will increase the flow of Boston residents into Boston businesses and that, of course, is a self-serving opportunity.  If where you are has a supply of qualified peop e to enter managerial and technical-professional level jobs, that can't be anything but a plus." Philips says any scholarship student who finishes college will be given hiring priority over other job applicants by the participating businesses.  College student Robert Weaver says the program has inspired other high school students to stay in school.  "I went back to my high school yesterday, Brighton High School, and I talked to a senior class, the general assembly, and I was telling them basically what I'm involved in, and basically, to get yourselves motivated and go look for those ACESS advisers²¹.  They're not going to come to you all the time.  You have to get out there and get it if you want to take account for your own life, because no one else is going to do it for you.  And that really pumped them up, and now that they're aware, and they know that ACESS advisers are'there, things will be a lot easier for them.'
     The business group is in the middle of a five-million-dollar fund drive.  Two million dollars has already been collected. Thirty-two of Boston's most influential²² corporations have already joined in, with twenty more soon to follow.  The program has drawn²³ the praise of US Education Secretary William Bennett, who predicted it will become a national model.  For National Public Radio, I'm Andrew Kaffery in Boston.

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 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。

3 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

6 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

7 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

12 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。

13 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

14 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

15 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

16 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

17 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。

18 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

19 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

20 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

21 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

22 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

23 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。