英语听力精选进阶版 6240

Economic Crisis Fosters New Defence Deal for France and Britain 经济危机促成英法防御合作

France and Britain are standing¹ shoulder-to-shoulder in a new defence alliance.

The British Prime Minister David Cameron and the French President Nicolas Sarkozy signed two new defence treaties this week that include joint² training exercises for a new Anglo-French rapid reaction force and the shared use of an aircraft carrier.

The two countries haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. Their common history has been peppered with conflict that goes back as far as the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when the Duke of Normandy invaded England and became king of the country.

The English, on the other hand, like to remember the Battle of Trafalgar, won at sea in 1805 against an alliance of the French and Spanish navies. It curtailed³ Napoleon’s ambitions to control Europe.

Napoleon and his enemy, Admiral Nelson, have captured their people's imaginations. Nelson now sits on top of his column in Trafalgar Square keeping watch over the sea.

The 1904 Entente⁴ Cordiale (or cordial agreement) brought an end to centuries of regular wars, and the two countries have been allies ever since, most notably⁵ in the two world wars. But there have been rocky patches that include different views on localised conflicts like the Iraq war.

Now both are back together in what has humorously been dubbed⁶ the Entente Frugale (or frugal⁷ agreement). The British and French governments are short of money and have been forced to implement⁸ austerity measures in their defence plans. Mutual⁹ suspicion that is ingrained in the British and French has given way to a pragmatic alliance.

The people of the two countries have a love-hate relationship and joke about their rivalry¹⁰. The French like to say that their neighbours across the Channel are bad cooks. The British think that the French look down their noses at them.

But the Brits also appreciate the je ne sais quoi that only French culture provides.

Many British holiday-makers love nothing better than to have a glass of champagne¹¹ in a Parisian cafe by the river Seine.

The French like British music and some of their rock bands are now recording¹² songs in English.

Maybe this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Long live the Frugal Agreement! Vive l’Entente Frugale!

Glossary 词汇表

to stand shoulder-to-shoulder 肩并肩 

joint training exercises 联合演习 

eye-to-eye 看法一致 

peppered 布满了 

on the other hand 然而 

to curtail something 削减 

to keep watch over something 放哨 

entente 协定 

cordial 友好的 

to bring an end to 结束，停止 

rocky patch 不顺的阶段 

to be dubbed 被称为 

frugal 节俭的 

austerity measure 节俭手段 

mutual 彼此的 

ingrained 根深蒂固的 

has given way to 让步 

pragmatic 实用的 

look down one's nose at something 嗤之以鼻，瞧不起 

je ne sais quoi 难以描述的好品质

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 entente   

n.协定；有协定关系的各国

参考例句：

• The French entente with Great Britain had already been significantly extended.法国和英国之间友好协议的范围已经大幅度拓宽。
• Electoral pacts would not work,but an entente cordiale might.选举协定不会起作用，但是政府间的谅解也许可以。

5 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 frugal   

adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的

参考例句：

• He was a VIP,but he had a frugal life.他是位要人，但生活俭朴。
• The old woman is frugal to the extreme.那老妇人节约到了极点。

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

9 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

10 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

11 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

12 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。