2005年NPR美国国家公共电台四月-Scandal-plagued Canadian PM Calls for Ele

Canada's prime minister went on National Television last night to say there would be an election early next year. Paul Martin is responding to a political scandal as Richard Reynolds reports.

The scandal that threatens Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal Party government has been brewing¹ for years, but the past few weeks have seen a series of fresh and very damaging allegations that government money is used to pay for political operatives. All three opposition² political parties have already said that it's time for an election, just ten months after Canada's last election. Martin does not have a majority in Parliament, so it seems likely that some time in May the government will fall in a non-confidence vote in Parliament. So Martin's promise to call an election early next year is likely moot³. Martin also pledged that his party would repay any money paid by the government illegally which could total tens of millions of dollars.

For NPR News, I'm Richard Reynolds.

1 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。