英语听力精选进阶版 16624

 

WBR: US introduces menu calorie counts 25 Nov 14

Tue, 25 Nov 14

Restaurants and shops in the United States are instructed to tell consumers how many calories are in their food. We ask if it's enough to reverse the country's obesity¹ epidemic², and gauge³ the businesses reaction. Pope Francis has called his adopted continent - Europe - elderly and haggard, and a less important part of the world than it was. His speech to the European Parliament came after the latest report from the OECD suggested the weak eurozone economy posed a major threat to global growth. China says it wants to ban smoking in public places, but with 300 million smokers⁴ and a powerful tobacco lobby, it could be a tough job. And we hear how YouTube is investing millions of dollars in creating the social media stars of the future, by setting up professional studios to create the next money-spinning viral videos.

1 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

4 smokers   

吸烟者( smoker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily. 许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Chain smokers don't care about the dangers of smoking. 烟鬼似乎不在乎吸烟带来的种种危害。