英国新闻听力 06

BBC News with Debary Kansy.

The German finance ministry¹ has agreed a new rescue package for one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders Hypo Real Estate. The deal reached with private banks is worth around 70 billion dollars.

In a bid to restore confidence in the troubled German banking² sector³, the government earlier announced an unlimited⁴ guarantee for all private savings⁵ accounts. Tristana Moore reports.

After a day of high drama, the German government has finally come up with a new rescue package for the troubled lender Hypo Real Estate. Under the plan, private banks and other financial institutions have pledged to give an extra line of credit of 15 billion Euros to Hypo Real Estate on top of the 35 billion Euros which the government and banks have originally promised.

A spokesman at the finance ministry said there would be no extra burden for the taxpayer⁶. Earlier on Sunday, as crisis talks were held in Berlin， the Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck launched a stinging attack on the managers of Hypo Real Estate, accusing them of misinforming the government by failing to review the true scale of the lender’s problems.

Meanwhile, the French bank, BNP Paribas has agreed to buy 75 percent of the Belgian and Luxemburg operations of the ailing⁷ European financial group Fortis. The deal will create one of the continent’s biggest savings banks. The governments of Belgium and Luxemburg will in return take a minority stake in BNP Paribas.

The Democratic Party candidate in the United States presidential election, Barack Obama has accused his rival the Republican John McCain of wanting to concentrate on personal smears⁸ rather than talking about substance. He was speaking a day after the Republican vice⁹ presidential nominee¹⁰ Sarah Palin accused Mr. Obama of association with terrorists. Mr. Obama said Senator McCain’s team was becoming desperate.

“Senator McCain and his operatives are gambling¹¹ that they can distract you with smears, rather than talk to you about substance. They’d rather tear our campaign down, than lift this country up. That’s what you do when you are out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time.”

The Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's has expressed unorthodox views about his country’s relationship with India. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he suggested that India posed no threat to Pakistan. He also called Islamist militants¹² fighting in India administered Kashmir terrorists. From Islamabad , Barbara Plett reports.

Both views run counter to those long-held by Pakistan’s powerful military. It defines India as an existential threat, and in the past, it has given covert¹³ backing to the militants in Kashmir. The two regional rivals did take part in the faltering¹⁴ peace process under the former president General Pervez Musharraf. But suspicions always ran deep. And relations have soured recently. Mr. Zardari's comment does mark a radical¹⁵ break with the past. World News from the BBC.

The leader of European Union monitors in Georgia says he’s confident that Russian forces will meet a deadline to withdraw from what they call their security zones around the Georgian breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The head of the EU Mission Hans Joerg Haber confirmed that Russian troops had removed one checkpoint near the town of Gori, and he said negotiations¹⁶ were under way to remove more than 20 others.

We are in constant technical talks with the Russians. And we are consulting about the process of withdrawal¹⁷, but this is the first time we’ve actually, that our monitors have actually been able to see the fact that the checkpoint has been dismantled¹⁸.

A suicide bombing in Northern Iraq has killed at least 11 people. The bomber¹⁹ blew himself up inside a house in the city of Mosul. A spokesman for the United States military said they’d been carrying out an operation at the house to detain a wanted man. In a separate incident in Mosul, four people were killed when gunmen opened fire on mourners at a funeral. US forces have carried out numerous raids in Mosul in recent months. They described the city as al-Qaeda’s last stronghold in Iraq.

At least 30 people have been killed in the past two days in the northeast Indian state of Assam in clashes between local tribal²⁰ people and migrants from Bangladesh. Several villages were set ablaze²¹. And there have been reports of the two sides fighting each other with bows and arrows, machetes, and guns. Police have been given permission to open fire to control rampaging mobs and a curfew has been imposed in three districts.

Pope Benedict has begun a week long reading of the Bible to coincide with the opening of a gathering²² of hundreds of senior clergymen of the Vatican. He read the beginning of the book Genesis live on Italian television. Over the next seven days, more than a thousand people, among them politicians, celebrities²³ and members of the public will complete the entire Bible.

BBC news.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

4 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

7 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

8 smears   

污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤

参考例句：

• His evidence was a blend of smears, half truths and downright lies. 他的证词里掺杂着诽谤、部份的事实和彻头彻尾的谎言。
• Anything written with a soft pencil smears easily. 用软铅笔写成的东西容易污成一片。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

11 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

12 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

13 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

14 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

15 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

16 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

17 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

18 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

19 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

20 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

21 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

22 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

23 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目