2006年VOA标准英语-Britain, Brazil Seek Global Trade Summit

By Michael Drudge¹
London
09 March 2006

Britain and Brazil are calling for a summit of world leaders to break deadlocked² world trade talks.  The issue came up during a meeting in London between Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. 

------------------------------------------------------

Tony Blair greets Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Downing Street, London, March 9, 2006   
  

The leaders of Brazil and Britain say world trade negotiations³ need what Mr. Lula terms "a decisive push," and time pressures are mounting to strike a deal.

To that end, Mr. Blair and Mr. Lula say a summit of world leaders is needed, and they have pledged to push for one, but the details are still sketchy⁴.

Mr. Lula told reporters he will stress the need to help poor countries get better trade deals to improve their economic circumstances.

"We will work to convince other world leaders about the need for an agreement that will help developing countries, and especially the poorest countries," he said. "We need concrete, urgent measures to be taken, to make our global order more balanced and more equitable⁵."

Mr. Blair says world trade talks, known as the Doha round, are at a crucial juncture⁶.

"This is a huge moment of decision for the world," he said. "The potential benefits are there, not just for the developing countries, those countries that are most developed, but of course also for the poorest countries in the world."

Mr. Blair said it is especially important to strike a deal this year, because President Bush's authority to negotiate without congressional debate will expire in 2007. 

The Blair-Lula meeting came on the eve of two days of talks in London between trade officials from Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan and the United States.

The so-called Group of Six will discuss ways to revive the world trade negotiations, which have been snagged primarily on disputes about agricultural subsidies⁷ in developed countries.

1 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

2 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

3 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。

4 sketchy   

adj.写生的，写生风格的，概略的

参考例句：

• The material he supplied is too sketchy.他提供的材料过于简略。
• Details of what actually happened are still sketchy.对于已发生事实的详细情况知道的仍然有限。

5 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

6 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

7 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》