英语听力精选进阶版 17210

 

WBR: Amazon's Tax Climbdown 26 May 15

Tue, 26 May 15

The US retailer¹ bows to anger over how much tax it pays in Europe. Vocal² critic Margaret Hodge of the UK Parliament's Public Accounts Committee welcomes a move that will see the company pay tax in the UK and other European countries, rather than diverting³ sales through low-tax Luxembourg. Also in the programme, as anti-austerity parties gain new ground in Spain, we hear about Ada Colau, the woman who went from street protester to major political force. As India's heatwave claims more lives, in some places people are being told not to work between 10am and 4pm. But the BBC's Zubair Ahmed explains that's advice that many of the country's poorest people just can't afford to take. And in New York, we ask whether the city's 'hydroponic' urban farms can teach global agriculture a lesson in how to use less water. Plus, no laughing matter - the buskers of Oxford⁴ are in revolt, after being threatened with a $1,500 fine for failing to smile.

1 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

2 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

3 diverting   

adj. 有趣的, 快乐的 动词divert的现在式和现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The days that followed were diverting and yet troublesome enough to Clyde. 在这以后的那些日子，对克莱德来说，觉得又有趣，又懊恼。
• Nonetheless, she was finding Tollifer a most diverting person. 不过，她还是发现都力弗是个非常有趣的人物。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。