VOA慢速英语2015 国际足联主席称腐败丑闻给体育带来耻辱

FIFA President: Charges Bring Shame to Sport 国际足联主席称腐败丑闻给体育带来耻辱

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said corruption¹ scandals within the world soccer organization have brought "shame and humiliation²" on the sport.

Mr. Blatter spoke³ Thursday at the opening of the FIFA Congress in Zurich, Switzerland. He was speaking publicly for the first time since U.S. and Swiss officials announced major corruption investigations⁴ of the organization.

Meanwhile, two major European football associations called on Mr. Blatter to resign, ahead of the organization’s presidential elections planned for Friday. UK Prime Minister David Cameron also supported calls for Sepp Blatter to step down.

Major FIFA sponsors like Visa and Coca-Cola are calling for FIFA to make major changes within the organization. The United Nations is also reviewing its partnerships⁵ with FIFA following allegations of widespread corruption, a U.N. spokesman said Thursday.

Seven high-ranking current and former FIFA officials were arrested Wednesday.

Iranian FM expresses hope for nuclear deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday he his hopeful Iran and a group of world powers can reach a final agreement on his country's nuclear program "within a reasonable period of time."

But during a visit to Greece, Zarif also said an agreement will not happen if there are "excessive demands."

Iran and the group that includes Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany have given themselves until June 30 to form a final deal curbing⁶ Iran's nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.  The two sides agreed to a framework in April, but still need to work out details such as how quickly to lift the sanctions that have hurt Iran's economy.

President Obama hosts Twitter chat on climate change

Just a week after entering the Twitter world with his new handle, @POTUS, U.S. President Barack Obama was on Twitter Thursday answering questions on climate change.

The president was in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, touring the National Hurricane Center. Mr. Obama spoke about the link between deadly storms and climate change.

During his Twitter question-and-answer session Thursday, the president was asked by one user why he called climate change a national security issue during his State of the Union address in January.

Words in the News:

humiliation – n. the act of making (someone) feel very ashamed or foolish

corruption – n. dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people

sponsor – n. an organization that pays the cost of an activity or event (such as a radio or television program, sports event, concert, etc.) in return for the right to advertise during the activity or event

reasonable – adj. fair and sensible

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

3 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。

4 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

5 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

6 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。