英国新闻听力 104

President Barack Obama has issued a stark¹ new warning on the United States economy, saying that it is getting sicker by the day. Mr. Obama said that if Congress failed to pass his economic stimulus² package, the recession could linger for years and destroy another five million jobs in the United States.

This isn't some abstract debate. Last week we learned that many of America's largest corporations are planning to lay off tens of thousands of workers. Today we learned that last week the number of new unemployment claims jumped to 626, 000.

President Obama dismissed arguments put forward by Republican opponents that a range of less sweeping³ measures would be enough.

China has declared an emergency in eight northern and central provinces where drought is threatening crops and has left nearly four million people without proper drinking water. State media says nearly half of the country's winter wheat crops have been affected⁴. Millions of migrant workers in China have already lost their jobs in the global economic downturn. Here's our China editor Shirong Chen.

China's drought relief office has declared an emergency for the first time in its history. Eight wheat-producing provinces in central and northern China are threatened by the continuing drought. Altogether 10 million hectares of wheat and rapeseed have been badly affected. Central and local governments have allocated⁵ 16 million dollars in relief funds, and the country's leaders have demanded all-out efforts to combat the problem.

Preliminary results from Iraq's local elections have shown big wins for the bloc⁶ headed by the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. His State of Law Coalition⁷ won landslide⁸ victories in Baghdad and Basra, and emerged as the largest group across the mainly Shiah provinces of southern Iraq. Observers say his party has benefited from stressing its commitment to law and order and its nationalists rather than religious credentials⁹. In the northern city of Mosul, a Sunni Arab faction¹⁰ finished well ahead of Kurdish groups, restoring political balance in the area where many Sunni Arabs had boycotted¹¹ the last polls.

More than 30 people have been killed in a bomb blast near a Shiah mosque¹² in Punjab province in Pakistan. Many others were wounded. The explosion appeared to target a procession of Shiah worshipers in the town of Dera Ghazi Khan. From Islamabad, here is Barbara Plett.

Television footage showed bodies surrounded by debris¹³ with survivors¹⁴ wailing¹⁶ and beating their heads in grief. It's not clear who carried out the bombing but the provincial¹⁷ police chief called it a terrorist attack aimed at Shiites to create unrest. Pakistan saw a wave of sectarian violence in the 1980s and 90s. In recent years, this has been aggravated¹⁸ by the growing strength of the Taliban, a militant¹⁹ Sunni Muslim movement. Southern Punjab in particular is home to violent sectarian groups with links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

This is Blerry Gogan with the latest world news from the BBC.

Both houses of Parliament in Zimbabwe have unanimously approved a constitutional amendment²⁰ allowing for the opposition²¹ leader Morgan Tsvangirai to become prime minister. He will share power with Robert Mugabe who will remain as president. Mr. Mugabe, who's ruled Zimbabwe for 28 years, is expected to sign the bill into law on Friday.

The government of Sweden has reversed a decision taken nearly 30 years ago to phase out nuclear power. It said new reactors²² were needed to help secure the country's energy supply. The Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson said the agreement would also help tackle climate change.

As far as I am concerned, this means that all our four parties in the coalition can take the first step into a sustainable society. I do this for my children and grandchildren, and I believe today we have a historic possibility to turn the page.

The country voted in a referendum in 1980 to close its 12 nuclear reactors by 2010. However, the target was later relaxed.

The left-wing Colombian rebel group, the FARC, has freed a politician it had been holding hostage since 2002. The former regional Congressman²³, Sigifredo Lopez, was handed over to a humanitarian²⁴ commission headed by the Red Cross. He's the last of the six high profile hostages the rebels had announced in December that they were planning to release. The other five were freed earlier this week. Mr. Lopez was also the last Colombian politician being held by the group.

The Anglican Church is to hire professional mediators to try to bring together factions²⁵ divided by the issue of homosexuals in the ministry²⁶ and find a way forward. The initiative was announced as a five-day conference of Anglican Church leaders ended in Alexandra in Egypt. The final statement said the conflict between continuity in doctrine²⁷ and change raise potentially destructive questions and it was imperative²⁸ to hold actions that might cause further offense²⁹ or misunderstanding.

BBC News.

Glossary³⁰

stark: used for describing an unpleasant fact or situation that is very obvious or impossible to avoid.

linger: When something such as an idea, feeling, or illness lingers, it continues to exist for a long time, often much longer than expected.

lay off: If workers are laid off, they are told by their employers to leave their job, usually because there is no more work for them to do.

unemployment claims: 申报失业救济

wail¹⁵: If someone wails³¹, they make long, loud, high-pitched cries which express sorrow or pain.

phase out: If something is phased out, people gradually stop using it.

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

3 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

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 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

6 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

9 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

10 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

11 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

12 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

13 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

14 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

15 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

16 wailing   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱

参考例句：

• A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

17 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

18 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

19 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

20 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

21 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。

22 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

23 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

24 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。

25 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

26 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

27 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

28 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。

29 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

30 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。

31 wails   

痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The child burst into loud wails. 那个孩子突然大哭起来。
• Through this glaciated silence the white wails of the apartment fixed arbitrary planes. 在这冰封似的沉寂中，公寓的白色墙壁构成了一个个任意的平面。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻