英语听力精选进阶版 7137

Background: 近日冰岛国会决定将赔偿由于冰岛银行2008年破产，而对其英国和荷兰储户造成的巨额存款损失。此举受到冰岛民众的强烈抗议，所以冰岛总统拒绝签署这项赔偿法案，并建议由公众投票的方式来做此决定。英国和荷兰政府对这个消息感到极为震惊和不满。

Icelandic MPs are meant to be enjoying a lengthy¹ Christmas break - instead they've been summoned back to Parliament to discuss the fallout of President Olafur Grimsson's refusal to sign a bill allowing more than $5bn to be paid to the British and Dutch governments.

A quarter of the population had signed a petition calling for him to withhold² his signature.

The money was meant to compensate³ the two governments after they bailed⁴ out savers put at risk when the online Icesave bank collapsed⁶ in 2008.

Now a public referendum will be held, possibly next month.

But ministers have warned Iceland's bid to join the EU could be damaged, and the country risks losing desperately⁷ needed financial aid.

There's also the danger of a constitutional crisis - the Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said she wasn't convinced his actions were legal.

Meanwhile, frantic⁸ diplomatic efforts have been made to try and build bridges with both the British and Dutch governments and other Nordic countries, who had made an agreement on refunding⁹ the compensation a condition of further aid payments.

Glossary¹⁰ 词汇表

MPs 国会议员 

fallout 余波 

sign a bill 签署法案 

signed a petition 在请愿书上签名 

withhold his signature 拒绝签字 

compensate 赔偿 

bailed out 帮助…脱离困境 

public referendum 公众投票 

EU 欧盟 

financial aid 经济援助 

constitutional crisis 宪法危机 

frantic diplomatic efforts 紧急的外交努力 

Nordic 北欧 

refunding the compensation 退还补偿

Questions and Answers

1. Who does Iceland owe the money to? 

Iceland owes Britain and Holland.

2. True or False? 50% of the population don't want him to pay the money. 

False. 25% are against payment.

3. When did the Icesave bank collapse⁵? 

In 2008.

4. How will this affect Icelan'ds chances of joining the European Union? 

Some ministers have said that the crisis could damage Iceland's chances of joining the EU.

1 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

2 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

3 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

4 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。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

8 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

9 refunding   

n.借新债还旧债；再融资；债务延展；发行新债券取代旧债券v.归还，退还( refund的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They are refunding parents their money on over a billion toys. 他们退还父母他们的金钱在十亿个玩具。 来自互联网
• I am refunding the extra, but getting tired of doing this. 我退还额外的，而是要改变这样累了。 来自互联网

10 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。