联合国核查员报告伊朗调查进展

UN Nuclear Inspector¹ Reports Progress in Iran Investigation² 联合国核查员报告伊朗调查进展

In the news today…

UN Nuclear Inspector Reports Progress in Iran Investigation

The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has made “significant progress” in its investigation of reports that Iran worked to develop nuclear weapons.

The head of the agency, Yukiya Amano, told reporters Monday that he had recently visited Iran and went to the Parchin military area. For years, the Iranian government barred international investigators³ from visiting Parchin.

The IAEA chief is to present a final report on the investigation by December 15.

Poland Criticizes Refugee Plan

Poland’s Foreign Minister says Europe needs a united plan to deal with the refugee crisis. But he says the plan should not say how many refugees each country should accept.

Foreign minister Grzegorz Schetyna said that the European Union should first close its borders. Then, he said, it should build centers to separate those who are fleeing violence from those who are only looking for better economic conditions. His comments were published in the newspaper Politico Europe.

The International Organization for Migration⁴ says more than 470,000 people have arrived in Europe this year. Almost 40 percent of them are from Syria.

Leftist Syriza Party Wins Vote in Greece

Greek Prime Minister-elect Alexis Tsipras claimed victory Sunday in national elections. Mr. Tsipras said he will form a coalition⁵ government to put in place spending cuts demanded by European lenders. In exchange for the cuts, the lenders have promised Greece billions of dollars in aid.

Mr. Tsipras spoke⁶ to supporters in central Athens late Sunday. The election on Sunday was the third in Greece this year.

Pope Francis to Travel to Eastern Cuba

Pope Francis travels from Havana to eastern Cuba Monday. The Roman Catholic leader will visit Holguin, the home province of Fidel and Raul Castro. Then he will travel to Cuba’s second-largest city, Santiago.

On Sunday, Pope Francis met with the Castro brothers, who have ruled the country since 1959. The pope and Vatican officials supported months of secret talks between Cuba and the United States last year. The two countries later agreed to re-establish relations.

On Tuesday, Pope Francis will travel to the United States. He will visit Washington D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.

US May Not Cast “No” Vote in UN on Cuba Trade

The United States is reportedly considering whether to vote on a possible United Nations General Assembly resolution on Cuba. The assembly’s members could vote on a resolution to end international trade restrictions⁷ against Cuba. Reports say the U.S. could decide not to vote at all on the resolution.

Cuba has proposed such a resolution at the General Assembly meeting for almost 25 years. For the past two years, the U.S. and Israel were the only two countries to vote against the measure.

VW Stock Price Drops Sharply

The value of Volkswagen stock dropped sharply Monday shortly after the Frankfurt stock market opened. On Sunday, the head of the German carmaker apologized to VW owners. His comments followed reports that many of the company’s diesel-powered cars in the United States had bad computer software. The software reportedly was designed to give false information about the amount of pollutants⁸ the cars produced.

On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Volkswagen to fix almost 500,000 vehicles for intentionally⁹ breaking clean air laws. The agency says the cars released pollutants up to 40 times above the limits allowed under the federal Clean Air Act. 

Words in the News

significant – adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect

province – n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

software – n. the programs that run on a computer and perform certain functions

intentionally – adv. being done in a way that is planned or intended

1 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。