英国新闻听力 14

BBC News with Joe Macintosh.

President Bush says he is looking forward to hosting a summit of leaders from developed and developing countries to address the global financial crisis. He was speaking at Camp David where he is meeting the French leader Nicolas Sarkozy and the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso. Adam Brookes reports from Washington.

Against the beautiful autumnal backdrop of Camp David, President Bush uttered words of cold comfort to Nicolas Sarkozy.

“We are all in this crisis together”, he said.

Mr. Bush went on to say that he would as Mr. Sarkozy had hoped, invite world leaders to a summit in America soon to talk about the global response to the financial crisis and how to avoid others in the future. It’s not clear yet when or where a summit will be held, who will be invited or what the agenda will be. But the Bush administration seems to be very unsure about European suggestions of a radical¹ rethink of the way global finance works.

The International Monetary² Fund has confirmed that it’s investigating whether its Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was involved in improper³ behavior in connection with an affair with a former employee. Reporting from Washington, Sarah Morris.

The IMF has engaged a law firm to investigate whether Mr. Strauss-Kahn behaved improperly⁴ on a personal matter. In a statement he confirmed he was cooperating with the investigation⁵, he said that at no time had he abused his position as the Fund’s managing director. The inquiry⁶ is over an alleged⁷ relationship with Piroska Nagy, until recently a senior IMF official. It’s looking at whether she got a larger severance⁸ package than would otherwise have been expected when she left the organization in August. The investigation is also looking at whether she was pressured to leave her job.

A lawyer for Piroska Nagy said she had left the IMF voluntarily on August and had received no special treatment of any kind.

Police in Belgium say they’ve arrested 15 suspected people traffickers in raids in and around the Belgian capital, Brussels on Saturday. Louis Webster reports.

Police say they discovered around 200 Indian nationals believed to have been on the last leg of a journey to Britain for which they’d paid between $2,000 and $5,000. The Belgian authorities said the raids followed a year-long investigation and they believe they have arrested the brains behind a network of small groups, which together smuggle⁹ thousands of Indian nationals into Europe each year. It’s thought the immigrants, mostly men between the ages of 15 and 35, had mainly traveled from the Punjab region of India, via Moscow. Their living conditions were poor, with more than 20 people crammed¹⁰ into one small, windowless room.

Here in Britain there's been a mixed reaction to comments by the new Immigration Minister Phil Woolas, that the government may restrict non-European Union migrants because of the economic downturn. The main opposition¹¹ Conservatives said the government had now to explain how it intended to change its policies.

BBC News.

There has been an attack on a Russian military convoy¹² in the volatile¹³ north Caucasus region of Ingushetia. Official Russian reports of the ambush¹⁴ which has been blamed on local Muslim separatists, said two soldiers were killed, but Ingushetian opposition reports suggest that as many as 40 Russian soldiers may have died.

The opposition leader in Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai has defended the principles of a power-sharing deal with President Mugabe amid speculation¹⁵ that talks between the two sides are close to collapse¹⁶. The mediator¹⁷, former South African President Thabo Mbeki said negotiations¹⁸ would resume in Swaziland on Monday, and he remained hopeful of a successful outcome. More details from Jonah Fisher.

It is difficult to know what caused the breakdown¹⁹ of the talks this week whether it was that Thabo Mbeki wasn’t willing to put any clout²⁰ behind his negotiating position, after all he is no longer the president of South Africa, or whether it was simply a case that Robert Mugabe had decided²¹ this was the line he was going to draw in the sand that he simply couldn’t countenance²² giving over control of both Home Affairs and the Defense²³ Ministry²⁴ to the MDC. And he wouldn’t budge²⁵ on that issue, and whatever Thabo Mbeki had said, that he simply wasn’t going to agree to it.

The Social Democrats²⁶ in Germany have chosen the Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier as their candidate for chancellor²⁷ in next year’s election. Mr. Steinmeier will take on the current Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian²⁸ Democrats at the moment the two parties share power in a coalition²⁹ government.

The British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has accepted the challenge of writing the British entry for next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Lloyd Webber who is best known for his musicals, Cats and Evita, and it’s hoped his contribution will improve Britain's chances of winning which it hasn't done since 1998. This year’s Eurovision Song Contest was won by the Russian singer Dima Bilan.

1 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。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

4 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

7 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

8 severance   

n.离职金；切断

参考例句：

• Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。

9 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

10 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

11 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。

12 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

13 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。

14 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

15 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

16 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

17 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

18 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。

19 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

20 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

21 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

22 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

23 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。

24 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。

25 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

26 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

28 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

29 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。