英国新闻听力 印度总理要求优先处理积压案件

Senior figures in President Obama’s government have indicated that his health care reforms may be diluted¹, a day after he robustly² defended them at a public meeting. The government-run scheme to extend health insurance to the 45 million uninsured Americans had emerged as a key component³ of the reforms. But speaking on American television, the Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that creating an additional government-run insurer had never been the President’s top priority. She said the reforms weren’t meant to replace private health care.

Small-business owners would be encouraged to actually stabilize⁴ their insurance plans to offer coverage⁵ to their employees. They’d have tax credits; they’d have some help for the low-income employees to be able to afford the coverage. So I think, if anything, it wouldn’t dismantle⁶ the private market, it would actually help to provide a more stable private marketplace.

Three more British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, the latest in a surge of casualties. They were killed in Sangin in Helmand Province where a British soldier died on Saturday. Earlier, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain’s military operation in Afghanistan would continue. He said it was vital to protect Britain.

The American man, John Yettaw, who was jailed in Burma last week for illicitly⁷ visiting the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been flown to hospital in Thailand. Mr. Yettaw was let off his seven-year sentence by Burma’s military leaders following the intervention⁸ of a visiting US Senator Jim Webb. Alastair Leithead reports.

John Yettaw’s time in jail had obviously taken its toll⁹ as he was helped off the plane in Bangkok after being released from prison and deported¹⁰. The man who secured his release, Senator Jim Webb is the most senior US official to ever meet the ruling generals and Than Shwe, the reclusive No.1 of Burma’s leadership. They also let him meet Aung San Suu Kyi, something even UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon couldn’t do. It’s a sign American efforts towards engagement suited the generals’ purposes. The Senator is a man known to oppose extending sanctions.

The Jamaican sprinter¹¹ Usain Bolt has won the 100 meters final at the World Athletics¹² Championship in Berlin in an impressive manner. He beat his own world record with a time of 9.58 seconds. Bolt dominated the race from the start, leaving no chance for his American rival Tyson Gay. Alex Capstick was there.

Another astonishing performance from an incredible athlete, exactly 12 months since he became the fastest man in history, Usain Bolt has once again defied all common sense by lowering his world mark. The final was billed as a duel¹³ between the Jamaican and Tyson Gay. And even though the American ran the fastest race of his life, he was always trailing Bolt. The now trademark¹⁴ Dancehall routine was again part of the celebrations. 73 years ago, Jesse Owens became a legend in this stadium and now Usain Bolt has surmounted¹⁵ his place as a sporting icon¹⁶.

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called on the country’s Judiciary to address, as a matter of urgency, the massive backlog¹⁷ of pending¹⁸ cases. Official figures show that more than 30 million cases are pending, some since 1950. Mr. Singh said the problem had to be tackled.

India has to suffer the scourge¹⁹ of the world’s largest backlog of cases and timeliness which generate surprise globally and great concern at home. The expeditious²⁰ elimination²¹ of this scourge is the biggest challenge for such conferences and should constitute the highest priority.

Iran has released on bail²² a French teaching assistant who’d been accused of involvement in the protests that followed the disputed presidential election in June. The arrest of Clotilde Reiss along with Iranian employees at the French and British embassies in Tehran triggered strong diplomatic protests from the European Union.

There have been angry scenes at Cairo airport where the Egyptian security forces have prevented Muslim pilgrims from traveling to Mecca because of fears over swine flu. About 300 pilgrims staged a sit-in after the Egyptian authorities began implementing²³ plans to stop those under the age of 25 or over 65 from traveling. Restrictions²⁴ could affect large numbers of people because many elderly Muslims want to visit Mecca before dying.

The Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has told the country’s police and courts to help recover billions of dollars in bad loans made by five of the country’s major banks. The banks handed out loans in excess of 17 billion dollars, bringing them close to collapse²⁵. The Central Bank was forced to intervene with an injection of emergency funds.

奥巴马总统在公开市政会议上为自己的医改方案进行强力辩护之后一天，奥巴马政府高级官员称，医疗保健改革可能会被冲淡。政府设立保险机构以将医疗保险覆盖范围扩大到4500万未参保美国人成为医疗改革的关键组成部分。但是在美国电视台发表讲话时，卫生部长Kathleen Sebelius表示，设立国有的保险机构从来都不是奥巴马总统的首选。她说，医疗改革的目的不是为了取代私有健康医护。

应该鼓励小型企业所有者真正稳定其保险计划，为员工提供保险。他们可以享有税务信誉，他们可以帮助那些低收入员工能够支付保费。所以，我认为，不应该解散私有市场，而是应该帮助私有市场更加稳定。

阿富汗又有三名英国士兵牺牲，这是最新的伤亡数字。他们在Helmand省的Sangin被杀。周六也有一名英国士兵在这里牺牲。此前，英国首相戈登·布朗称，英国驻阿富汗的军事行动将会继续。他说，保证英国的安全是非常重要的。

上周因非法进入被软禁的缅甸领袖昂山素季家中而被监禁的美国男子约翰·耶托被载往泰国医院。由于美国参议员吉姆·韦布访问缅甸，缅甸军方领导人取消了对耶托七年的判决。

约翰·耶托在监狱期间明显有伤痛在身，因为他被释放并驱逐之后飞往曼谷时在工作人员的帮助下才能下飞机。使耶托得以释放的参议员吉姆·韦布是目前为止会见缅甸最高领袖丹瑞将军的美国最高官员。他们还准许韦布会见昂山素季，这是联合国秘书长潘基文都没有受到的待遇。这意味着美国的接洽符合丹瑞将军的目的。吉姆·韦布反对对缅甸进行进一步制裁。

牙买加短跑运动员“闪电”乌塞恩-博尔特(Usain Bolt) 在柏林举行的世界田径锦标赛上夺得了冠军，令人印象深刻。他以9.58秒的速度打破了自己创立的世界纪录。博尔特从起跑开始就占了优势，没有给竞争对手美国选手Tyson Gay留下任何机会。

这是一个令人不可思议的运动员令人诧异的表现。在成为历史上最快的运动员之后12个月，他再次藐视了人们认为的他的记录会减慢的常识。决赛成为他和盖伊之间的角逐。尽管这位美国选手跑出了一生中最快的速度，但是一直落后于博尔特。现在柏林标志性的舞蹈又成为庆祝活动的一部分。73年前，Jesse Owens成为这个舞台上的神话，现在，乌塞恩-博尔特超越了他的位置，成为体育运动的标志性人物。

印度总理辛格要求该国司法机构作为紧急事务优先处理大量积压已久的案件。相关官员表示，自从1950年开始，已有3000多万案件积压。辛格表示这个问题必须处理。

印度拥有世界上最多的积压案件，这引起了国际社会的惊讶和国内人士的担忧，这使得印度忍受着重大痛苦。要消除这种痛苦是最大的挑战，必须予以优先处理。

伊朗假释一名法国教师助理。这名教师被指控参与6月份有争议的总统选举之后的抗议活动。Clotilde Reiss和法国英国驻德黑兰大使馆工作人员的被捕引发了欧盟强烈的外交层面的抗议。

埃及安全力量由于担忧猪流感而组织穆斯林朝圣者前往麦加，在开罗机场引起了人们的强烈抗议。埃及当局开始实施组织25岁以下和65岁以上的人旅行时，300名朝圣者举行了静坐抗议。限制令会影响许多人，因为许多年长穆斯林希望在去世之前前往麦加。

尼日利亚总统亚加杜瓦下令该国警方和法庭帮助寻找由该国五大主要银行产生的高达数十亿美元的不良贷款。这些银行的不良贷款超过170亿美元，使它们接近破产的边缘。中央银行被迫注入紧急资金干预。

1 diluted   

无力的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

2 robustly   

adv.要用体力地，粗鲁地

参考例句：

• These three hormones also robustly stimulated thymidine incorporation and inhibited drug-induced apoptosis. 并且这三种激素有利于胸（腺嘧啶脱氧核）苷掺入和抑制药物诱导的细胞凋亡。 来自互联网
• The economy is still growing robustly, but inflation, It'seems, is back. 经济依然强劲增长，但是通胀似乎有所抬头。 来自互联网

3 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

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 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

7 illicitly   

违法地，不正地

参考例句：

• That substance illicitly to fool quality-inspection testers because it can mimic the properties of protein. 乳制品之所以添加三聚氰胺是因为它可以虚增蛋白质含量、在质量测试中蒙混过关。
• Western governments international bodies should police Gaza's borders and crossing-points to stop weapons illicitly coming in. 西方政府和国际组织应该巡查加沙边界和交叉区域，阻止武器的非法流入。

8 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

9 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

10 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 sprinter   

n.短跑运动员，短距离全速奔跑者

参考例句：

• He is more a sprinter than a swimmer. 他是短跑健将，而不是游泳选手。 来自辞典例句
• The sprinter himself thinks he can run the race at 9.4 seconds. 这位短跑运动员自认为可以用9.4秒跑完比赛。 来自互联网

12 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

13 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

14 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

15 surmounted   

战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上

参考例句：

• She was well aware of the difficulties that had to be surmounted. 她很清楚必须克服哪些困难。
• I think most of these obstacles can be surmounted. 我认为这些障碍大多数都是可以克服的。

16 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

17 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

18 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

19 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

20 expeditious   

adj.迅速的，敏捷的

参考例句：

• They are almost as expeditious and effectual as Aladdin's lamp.他们几乎像如意神灯那么迅速有效。
• It is more convenien,expeditious and economical than telephone or telegram.它比电话或电报更方便、迅速和经济。

21 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

22 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

23 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

24 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

25 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。