英语听力精选进阶版 6305

The man formally known as Sir Fred Goodwin is going to have to get used to being called plain old Mr Goodwin. He has now lost his knighthood.

The former head of Royal Bank of Scotland became the subject of a public outcry after RBS had to be bailed¹ out by the British taxpayer², whose bill came to ￡45 billion (450 billion yuan).

Unsurprisingly, Sir Fred left the company under a cloud. But it was after this that the Scot was really pilloried³ - for drawing payments worth about ￡700,000 (seven million yuan) a year from a massive pension pot worth ￡16 million (160 million yuan).

After coming under fire for the package, Sir Fred eventually reduced his pension by ￡200,000 (two million yuan). But that wasn't enough to appease⁴ his critics, who have never forgiven Sir Fred for his role in causing the financial crisis. They continued baying for blood and began to clamour for the removal of a knighthood he had received in 2004 for services to banking⁵.

Yesterday the Queen stripped the honour from the discredited⁶ banker. But now some people have hit out at the government for vilifying⁷ Goodwin. They believe that he has been made a scapegoat⁸ and is taking the fall for a much wider global financial crisis. The former Chancellor⁹ Alistair Darling said:

"I'm not here to defend Sir Fred... I just think we're getting into awful trouble here if we go after people on a whim¹⁰."

At least Goodwin has a nickname he can revert¹¹ to if he finds himself missing his title. In his days as a cost-cutting superboss he was proud of being known as 'Fred the Shred¹²'.

Quiz

Is Fred Goodwin a popular man in the UK?

No.

What was Fred Goodwin called when he had a knighthood?

Sir Fred Goodwin.

Was it cloudy when Goodwin left RBS?

Possibly, but that isn't relevant. If someone leaves a company under a cloud it means that they leave in disgrace.

Is this statement true, false or not given? Fred Goodwin chose to reduce his pension.

True.

Look at the article. What noun describes a person or group that is blamed for something they are not entirely¹³ responsible for?

A scapegoat.

Glossary 词汇表

a knighthood 爵位

a public outcry 公众呼吁

to leave under a cloud 因坏名声而灰溜溜地离开 

to be pilloried 当众受辱/受嘲弄

to come under fire 受到批评

to appease someone 安抚某人

to bay for blood 群起而攻之

to clamour for something 大声要求

to be discredited 使丢脸

to hit out at something 猛打/痛打

to vilify someone 诽谤/中伤某人

a scapegoat 替罪羊 

to take the fall for something 众人错一人承担 

to go after someone 追逐并制裁某人

1 bailed   

保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Fortunately the pilot bailed out before the plane crashed. 飞机坠毁之前，驾驶员幸运地跳伞了。
• Some water had been shipped and the cook bailed it out. 船里进了些水，厨师把水舀了出去。

2 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

3 pilloried   

v.使受公众嘲笑( pillory的过去式和过去分词 )；将…示众；给…上颈手枷；处…以枷刑

参考例句：

• He was regularly pilloried by the press for his radical ideas. 他因观点极端而经常受到新闻界的抨击。
• He was pilloried, but she escaped without blemish. 他受到公众的批评，她却名声未损地得以逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

5 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

6 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

7 vilifying   

v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A: But he is vilifying you! You should fight back. 可他是在诋毁你啊！你应该还击。 来自互联网

8 scapegoat   

n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊

参考例句：

• He has been made a scapegoat for the company's failures.他成了公司倒闭的替罪羊。
• They ask me to join the party so that I'll be their scapegoat when trouble comes.他们想叫我入伙，出了乱子，好让我替他们垫背。

9 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。

10 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

11 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

12 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。