英国新闻听力 80

BBC News with Nick Kelly.

The American President-elect Barack Obama has outlined in more detail his plan to lift the country out of recession. Speaking two weeks before he takes office, Mr. Obama stressed the urgency of taking action now before more Americans lost their jobs. In a plan which is likely to cost some 800 billion dollars, he said he would give out tax cuts and create new jobs by repairing roads, bridges and schools. He urged Congress to pass the massive spending package.

“I have moved quickly to work with my economic team and leaders of both parties on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will immediately jump-start job creation and long-term growth. It's a plan that represents, not just new policy, but a whole new approach to meeting our most urging challenges.

In another sign of how the economic downturn is affecting Americans, new figures showed that people cut back their borrowing in November by the biggest amounts since records began 65 years ago.

The United Nation Security Council is meeting about now to discuss the conflict in Gaza. Reports from Arab sources at the UN say that after several days of negotiations¹, a compromised draft resolution on the crisis has now been agreed in principle. Earlier, UN officials said they were suspending aid deliveries in the Gaza Strip after a UN convoy² was hit by an Israeli shell, killing³ at least one person. Palestinian medical staff say more than 760 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel first attacked two weeks ago. Bethany Bell reports.

The humanitarian⁴ situation in Gaza is getting worse. The United Nations says it is suspending its aid operations there after a truck driver in the UN convoy was killed. A spokesman said there'd been a number of Israeli attacks on UN installations and that the suspension would go on till the safety of the UN staff could be guaranteed. The Israeli army says it's investigating the incident. An Israeli government spokesman said Israel fully⁵ supported the work of UNWRA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) and other aid agencies in Gaza, and would do what was needed to facilitate their activities.

The latest attempt by the European Union to resolve the dispute between Russia and Ukraine that's blocked gas supplies to Europe has ended with no clear-cut outcome. Russia demands that Ukraine accept Russian observance on its territory. The dispute has left many in Europe facing freezing weather with no central heating. The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accused the Ukrainian authorities of corruption⁶.

This is evidence of a high degree of corruption among the authorities. It seems to me that in today’s circumstances they are fighting not so much for the gas price, but for an opportunity to keep in place warm or another middle man in order to use the dividends⁷ for their own private purposes, for themselves to get richer, for the purposes of obtaining the necessary financial resources for future political campaigns.

World News from the BBC.

Here in Britain, the Bank of England has cut / interest rates to just 1.5%, the lowest ever level in an effort to boost its struggling British economy. In Germany, the government is partially⁸ nationalizing one of the country’s biggest banks-- Commerzbank.

A court in Italy has sentenced the former executive of the Italian football club, Juventus, to 18 months in jail over a corruption scandal that rocked top-flight football in Italy. Luciano Moggi was found guilty of intimidating⁹ players into joining / his son Alessandro's sports management agency, GEA, using threats and violence. Alex Capstick has more.

GEA was run by Luciano Moggi’s son Alessandro, who was given a 40-month sentence. The long running trail involved a host of famous witnesses, including the national team coach Marcello Lippi and the current England coach Fabio Capello. The 18-month sentence falls well below the 6-year term the prosecutors¹⁰ in Rome had asked for, and Luciano Moggi may not go to jail at all because under Italian law, sentences less than two years for first time offenders¹¹ are rarely served.

Turkey’s Chief of Staff, General Ilker Basbug, has held unscheduled talks with the Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after dozens of suspected coup¹² plotters were arrested, among them three retired¹³ generals. They are allegedly connected to Ergenekon, a shadowy ultranationalist and / secularist¹⁴ group that supposedly wants to overthrow¹⁵ the Islamist-leaning government.

And a doctor in the United States is divorcing his wife and demanded that she pay him 1.5 million dollars for the kidney he donated to her. Richard Batista says the kidney transplanted eight years ago saved the life of his wife Dawnell. His lawyer said that although in theory he was applying for the return of the kidney, he simply wanted to be paid what it was worth. Mrs. Batista said she'll put her side of the story to a judge within the next few days.

BBC News.

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

8 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

9 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

10 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。

11 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

12 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

13 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

14 secularist   

n.现世主义者，世俗主义者；宗教与教育分离论者

参考例句：

15 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。