布什政府关于稀有物种法案的提议

21 布什政府关于稀有物种法案的提议
 
DATE=4/27/01
TITLE=ENVIRONMENT REPORT - Bush Proposal¹ for Endangered Species² Act BYLINE=Cynthia Kirk

(start at 0'55")This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.
The Bush administration³ has（1）proposed a measure that would temporarily （2）suspend part of the Endangered Species Act. The law has been the main tool used by citizen's groups to win (3) protection for plants and animals. President Bush requested the measure in his new budget that he sent to Congress⁴ earlier this month.   
The plan would make it more difficult for citizens and environmental groups to take legal action against the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency⁵ often faces legal action by groups seeking to force the government to list a species as endangered or threatened. 
The administration's proposal would continue to permit citizens and environmental groups to take legal action to force the Wildlife Service to act on （4）endangered species requests. But it would limit how much money the agency could spend to carry out new court orders or (5) settlements. 
The plan also would let the wildlife agency establish which species should be considered first under the Endangered Species Act. The agency also would have more power to decide which areas should be barred from any development.
About one- thousand- two- hundred kinds of plants and animals are now on the agency's endangered list. Most of them were listed as a result of legal pressure brought against the agency by other groups. 
Environmental groups say legal action forces the Fish and Wildlife Service to obey the rules of the Endangered (6) Species act. They say blocking their efforts would harm rare plants and animals. The Bush administration's proposal is part of a continuing battle about how far the government should go to establish which species need protection. Agency officials say too much time and money is spent dealing⁶ with legal actions and not enough on protecting species. They say an increasing number of legal actions have delayed decisions on about two- hundred- fifty species waiting to be considered. 
Businesses and government agencies⁷ have criticized⁸ the endangered species law since it was established in Nineteen-Seventy-Three. They say environmental groups use the law to block development projects. But environmental groups say the law provides the only protection for rare plants and animals.
This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk.

注释：

(1)       propose[ prE5pEuz ]v.计划, 建议
(2) suspend[ sEs5pend ]v.吊, 悬挂
(3) protection[ prE5tekFEn ]n.保护
(4) endangered[In`deIndVEd]adj.（生命等）有危险的,有灭绝危险的
(5) settlement[ 5setlmEnt ]n.沉降, 解决,殖民
(6) species[ 5spi:Fiz ]n.种类, 式样

1 proposal   

n.提议，建议；求婚

参考例句：

• I feel that we ought to accept his proposal.我觉得我们应该接受他的建议。
• They could not gain over anyone to support their proposal.他们无法争取到支持他们建议的人。

2 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

3 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

4 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

5 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 criticized   

vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论，批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
• The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。