英国新闻听力 09

BBC News with Roy Lamar.

Stock markets around the world have risen sharply in response to plans unveiled by European governments to use hundreds of billions of dollars to support failing banks. There have been steep rises in London, Frankfurt and Paris. In New York, the key Dow Jones Index closed up by more than 11%. From there, Laura Trevelyan reports.

Wall Street bounced back on Monday with the Dow Jones Index of major American companies soaring an astonishing 936 points -- a historic gain in one day. Traders cheered as the closing bell sounded. After eight days of losses, investors¹ were particularly encouraged by the US government's plan to take a stake in troubled American banks. This should have the effect of guaranteeing lending between banks, hopefully freeing up credit, so ordinary people can borrow and spend money. Despite this rally, investors remain concerned about the fragility of the international economy, and trading is expected to remain volatile² in the days ahead.

This year's winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, Paul Krugman, has told the BBC that the current global economic crisis may have reached a turning point. He said the rescue plan agreed by European governments succeeded as per expectations, as during the past months, leading economists³ had emphasized the vital need to get more capital for banks and provide guarantees. Both elements were at the core of the European bail-out plan -- a move welcomed by Mr. Krugman.

"At last, in this European summit yesterday, they actually did more than expected. It was actually a better, more forceful plan, better conceived than I expected. I was, I was preparing myself for the worst, so this is actually a very good news. It's, it might be, it might be the turning point to the crisis.

The British government has to drop its proposal to extend the period that suspected terrorists can be held in detention⁴ without charge. It follows a defeat in the Upper House of Parliament, the House of Lords. Shawn Karen has more details.

Peers backed the current 28-day limit for holding terror suspects by a majority of 191. With the prime minister at her side, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith made an emergency statement to the Commons. The tone was defiant⁵. Miss. Smith attacked her opponents, saying that some might take the security of the British people lightly, but she did not. But the detention plans will now be dropped from the Counter-Terrorism Bill.

North Korea has restored the right of United Nations officials to inspect its nuclear complex at Yongbyon. It follows an agreement with the United States under which Washington removed North Korea from its blacklist of countries which allegedly sponsor terrorism. Yongbyon was shut down last year under an aid-for-disarmament deal after North Korea staged its first nuclear weapons test. The North recently threatened to restart the plant.

You are listening to World News from the BBC in London.

Around 10,000 people have been demonstrating in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica against their government's decision to recognize the independence of Kosovo. More than 20 people were injured in clashes with police who used tear gas to disperse⁶ the crowds. In February, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia which opposes its secession.

The former South African President Thabo Mbeki has arrived in Zimbabwe for power-sharing talks. Negotiations⁷ stalled after President Robert Mugabe allocated⁸ the defense⁹ and interior ministries¹⁰ to his party Zanu-PF. He has also sworn in two vice¹¹ presidents. From Johannesburg, Alan Garen reports.

Four weeks to the day since he presided over the signing of Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal, Thabo Mbeki is trying to save it. He plans to hold separate meetings with President Robert Mugabe and opposition¹² leader Morgan Tsvangirai, and then to bring them together for talks. The MDC says it's still willing to negotiate on the division of cabinet posts under the auspices¹³ of Mr. Mugabe. But having been stripped of South Africa's presidency¹⁴, he is weaker than before.

South Africa's new Health Minister, Barbara Hogan, has called for a renewed global effort to find an AIDS vaccine¹⁵. It's a sharp contrast to her predecessor¹⁶ Manto Tshabalala-Msimang who spent years resisting the introduction of anti-retroviral drugs. Mrs. Hogan also said it was unquestionable that the disease was caused by HIV and conventional medicines weren’t the best treatment.

Research suggests that early modern humans may have taken a different route out of Africa towards the Mediterranean¹⁷ from that previously¹⁸ thought. Researchers think they may have gone across the Sahara, emerging through modern Libya rather than following the Nile Valley. The work indicates that 120,000 years ago wet conditions existed further north, providing food and water for the migrants.

BBC World News.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

3 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

6 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

7 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。

8 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

11 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。

12 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。

13 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

14 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

15 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

16 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

17 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

18 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。