英国新闻听力 18

BBC News with Jerry Schmitt

The White House is bringing world leaders to Washington next month for a summit to discuss the global economic crisis. The governments of 20 developed and developing countries will assess the progress made so far in dealing¹ with the collapse² of credit and the falling values on world markets. The talks will take place shortly after the U.S. presidential election. The Democratic candidate for US president Barack Obama has welcomed the summit.

“On September 19th, I called for a globally coordinated³ effort with our partners in the G20 to stabilize⁴ the credit markets. I’m happy that today the White House announced a summit of the G20 countries that provides an opportunity to advance the kind of cooperation that I called for last month. America must lead and other nations must be part of the solution, too.”

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it would be the first in a number of meetings to rebuild the international financial system.

As the Washington summit was announced, stock markets around the world continue to slide. At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones index was down 5.5%. In London, the FTSE closed down 4.5%. In Brazil, shares fell by over 6%. And in an attempt to stabilize its currency, the central bank in Hungary has increased its interest rates by 3%.

Campaigners against global warming have been likened to creators of an intolerant new religion by the former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. He said the smallest doubt as to the man-made origin of climate change is automatic cause for what he called "eco-excommunication". Mr. Aznar was speaking at the launch of a book by Czech Pr. Vaclav Klaus, who’s also questioned widely held climate change theories. * reports:

The former Spanish PM says he does not deny global warming, but rather questions the fact that so much money is being dedicated⁵ to combating it when the world is in economic crisis. Mr. Aznar said the champions of the climatic apocalypse had little or nothing to do with science, and like in the the Omoto “new” religion, they condemned⁶ to the public bonfire those who dare question their forecasts. After being voted out of public office 4 years ago, Mr. Aznar has continued to press his conservative views. Two years ago when Muslims around the world were angered by comments made by Pope Benedict-backed Islam, Mr. Aznar came to the Pope’s defense⁷, and instead asked why Muslims had never apologized for the Moorish⁸ occupation of Spain.

The former Archbishop of Cape⁹ Town Njongonkulu Ndungane has described poverty in South Africa as a state of emergency. He said that never before in the history of the country had so many people said “We have no food.” The archbishop challenged members of the government to go with him village by village to explain what they were doing for poor people.

World News from the BBC.

The Swiss government has expressed indignation at Germany’s call for the country to be included on a blacklist of tax havens¹⁰. The foreign minister described as unacceptable comments by the German finance minister that Switzerland offered conditions inviting¹¹ the German taxpayers¹² to evade¹³ tax.

The first match in a series to decide the biggest prize in American baseball starts shortly in Florida. The best-of-7 series will be contested by two of the game’s outsiders, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies has been champions only once before. The Rays had been one of the worst performers in their 11 years in major league baseball. As Alex Capstick reports:

Formed in 1998 as the Devil Rays, the club has always lost more games than it’s won. But after finishing last in 2007, a big change took place. The Devil was removed from the name, and the Tampa Bay Rays, as they are now known, are closing in on baseball’s biggest prize. The Tampa Bay Rays may have shared their loser’s reputation, but there’s plenty of incentives¹⁴ as they bid to become the best in the land. Never before has a team turned itself around from being on the bottom one season to world series champion the next.

Scientists in the United States say they have developed the ability to wipe out uncomfortable memories. In experiments with mice, researchers from the Georgia School of Medicine were able to eliminate memories without any damage to the animals’ brains. Matt McGrath reports:

Scientists of the Georgia School of Medicine in the United States said they have found a molecular¹⁵ mechanism¹⁶ that can rapidly remove specific memories. Working with mice, the researchers found that a particular protein has a crucial role in the formation of memories. Making the mice overproduce this protein while recalling a specific and painful event cause the memory to be completely eliminated. The scientists say that in the long term, it should be possible to develop a pill that wipes out traumatic and fearful memories in humans.

Matt McGrath,BBC News.

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 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。

3 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

5 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 moorish   

adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的

参考例句：

• There was great excitement among the Moorish people at the waterside. 海边的摩尔人一阵轰动。 来自辞典例句
• All the doors are arched with the special arch we see in Moorish pictures. 门户造成拱形，形状独特，跟摩尔风暴画片里所见的一样。 来自辞典例句

9 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

10 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

11 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

12 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

13 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

14 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

15 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

16 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。