英国新闻听力 明星主持被BBC停职

There’s been lots of controversy¹ here in the UK since the news broke on Tuesday that the BBC had suspended Jeremy Clarkson, one of the presenters³ of the globally popular Top Gear TV program. Hundreds of thousands of Mr. Clarson’s fans and critics have weighed into the storm that’s been unleashed⁴ on media and particularly of course, on social media.

The instantly recognizable TV program and its star presenter². That’s Jeremy Clarkson.

How did that man get so popular over here? It’s a good question. Because he brought back humor. People love him over here.

Yet, he’s become someone that we either love to watch or love to hate.

At its best, Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson are incredibly good TV, incredibly intelligent and very funny. The BBC will have to let them go however much that will hurt them.

Among those who love to watch though, is none other than the Prime Minister David Cameron, a friend of Clarkson’s who while insisting he wasn’t trying to interfere⁵ in the running of the BBC had this to say.

He does amuse and entertain so many people including my children who will be heartbroken if Top Gear is taken off air. I hope this can be sorted out because it’s a great program and he is a great talent.

The numbers signing an online petition to have Clarkson reinstated have spiraled. That number has now risen beyond half a million.

Wounds that are old can still cause deep pain and indeed embarrassment⁶. Two hundred years ago, the French army led by Napoleon were defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. And though two centuries have now passed, France is still not keen on a new coin proposed by Belgium to commemorate⁷ that battle. The BBC’s Chris Morris has been following this story from Brussels, the Belgian capital which lies only some fifteen kilometers or so from the battlefield of Waterloo.

Belgium has submitted a design to the European Council for a two-euro coin that shows an image of the LionHill memorial at Waterloo with a basic map of the battle line superimposed upon it. But the French government clearly disagrees. It’s launched a former objection arguing that the design contains a symbol that isnegative for a fraction of the European population. “It could cause hostile reactions in France,” an official letter from Paris says, “At a time when Euro zone governments are trying to strengthen unity⁸ and cooperation.” In the next few days, Belgium will have to decide whether it’s willing to withdraw or amend⁹ its design. If it is not, there will have to be a qualified¹⁰ majority vote among the members of the Euro zone on whether the current design should be approved.

周二，新闻曝出杰里米·克拉克森——蜚声海内外的电视节目Top Gear（《最高档》）的主持人之一，被BBC停职，引发英国众议。成千上万的克拉克森粉丝和批评者加入了这场由媒体——当然，尤其是社交媒体——释放出来的风暴。

人们能立刻叫出名字的电视节目和它的明星主持，杰里米·克拉克森。

他为什么会受到英国人的喜爱？问得好。原因是他为节目带来了幽默，英国人都爱他。

然而，他已经变成了一个让我们非爱即恨的人。

Top Gear和杰里米·克拉克森都处在最好的状态下，这是一档非常棒的电视节目，非常有智慧，非常风趣。BBC将不得不放弃他们，不管这对他们来说打击有多大。

英国首相大卫·卡梅伦恰好也是该节目的众多粉丝之一。他和克拉克森是朋友，虽然他坚称没有试图干预BBC的运转，但说出了下面一段话。

他确实为许多人带来了欢乐，包括我的孩子们。如果Top Gear停播，他们会伤心的。我希望这档节目能够恢复正常，因为它是非常棒的节目，而主持人也非常有天分。

网上联名呼吁克拉克森复职的人数急剧增加，目前已超过50万人。

旧伤口依然能引发切肤之痛和真正的难堪。两百年前，拿破仑领导的法国军队在滑铁卢战役中铩羽。虽然过去了两个世纪，但法国依然对比利时提议的战役纪念新币不感冒。BBC的克里斯·莫里斯在比利时首都布里塞尔对该新闻进行了跟踪报道。布鲁塞尔距离滑铁卢战场仅有大概1万5千米。

比利时已向欧洲理事会提交了一枚两欧元硬币的设计方案，硬币上有位于滑铁卢的狮子山纪念雕塑，还有基本的战线图。但法国政府明确表示反对，并在不久前发表反对声明，称该设计对一部分欧洲人口来说，有消极的象征意义。“它会在法国引起敌对反应，”来自巴黎的一封公函这样写道，“尤其是在欧元区各政府努力加强团结合作的时候。”在接下来的几天，比利时将不得不决定是否愿意撤销设计或加以修改，否则，欧元区成员须以特定多数的投票模式决定是否认可当前设计。

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

3 presenters   

n.节目主持人，演播员( presenter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each week presenters would put the case for their favourite candidate. 每个星期主持人推出他们最喜欢的候选人。 来自互联网
• Karaoke was set up to allowed presenters to sing on the stage. 宴会设有歌唱舞台，可让出席者大演唱功。 来自互联网

4 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

6 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

7 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

10 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。