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News Spotlight
Politics NEWS 1
Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in today as Governor of California, the state’s first ever to get his job in a re-call election. In a speech from the steps of the state capitol, he said his election shows how Californians feel about their state government.
Arnold: This election was not about replacing one man, it was not about replacing one party, it was about changing the entire political climate of this state.
The swearing in was 1)touted as a low key affair but it included more than 7,000 guests and more than 700 reporters from around the world. Schwarzenegger promised a new day for a state that seems to face one crisis after another.
Politics NEWS 2
Two high level meetings are taking place within the European Union today, to air concerns about violence and intolerance towards Jews. The French president Jacques Chirac has called a special cabinet meeting to discuss ways of protecting Jewish establishments in France against an increasing number of attacks. In Rome the European Jewish Congress will meet the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi whose country holds the presidency of the European Union. It’s said Jewish communities were alarmed by the bomb attacks on two 2)synagogues in Turkey on Saturday.
Economy NEWS 3
In Miami talks to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas are over a day earlier than expected. While protesters clashed with police outside the conference hotels yesterday, trade ministers from 34 countries across the western hemisphere wrapped up negotiations.
In trade talks the devil is always in the details, details like tariffs on agricultural products like oranges or how exactly to protect the copyrights of Hollywood movies sold overseas. The Free Trade Area of the Americas-document that trade ministers signed off on last night avoided such details. But US trade representative Robert Zoellick said it was a significant step for the 3)FTAA or 4)ALCA as it’s known in Spanish.
Robert: We’re moving the FTAA, or the ALCA into a new phase. We’re moving from general concepts and people talking past one another to positive realities and opportunities, we’re moving into a relentlessly practical stage to be on track and we’re at a point where we’re negotiating an ALCA not just seeking it.
The declaration recognized the difficulty of getting 34 nations to sign off on a one-size-fits-all document. The FTAA will now be flexible, will let countries to decide how much free trade they want. Critics however said the ministerial declaration was little more than FTAA light and would complicate life for firms trying to do business overseas.
Economy NEWS 4
Boeing an American manufacturing giant is giving Japanese manufacturers a key role in building its next generation jetliner the 7E7. This is the first time that key parts of the wing of a Boeing jet will not be built by Boeing.
Mike Bair (7E7 Senior Vice President): I don’t think it’s any secret that one of the reasons 5)aerospace production has to be global as our market places are global. So it’s very important that we spread some of the opportunity associated with this airplane to those areas where we think we see big market opportunities as well.
In short in an effort to keep Airbus at bay in Japan and retain the lion’s share of the Japanese market for wide body jets, Boeing felt it needed to build the 77 there. The company says it expects one third of the 77s will be bought by Asian airlines, though Boeing readily acknowledges there is no guarantee that Japan will buy any of them.
Health NEWS 5
A new report warns that a third of injections given in developing countries are unsafe and are spreading blood born infections such as HIV and 6)hepatitis. The research carried out by the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control, found the problem centered on 7)syringes and needles, which are used on many patients without being 8)sterilized in between. The report’s authors argue that reducing unnecessary injections will help as will proper medical training for healthcare workers, better knowledge of HIV transmission and the availability of single use syringes, which cost just five cents.
Celebrity NEWS 6
At just 21 the Hollywood Walk of Fame considers her a legend and now Britney Spears becomes the youngest ever recording artist to receive the prestigious star.
Britney : This is something that I’ve dreamt about since I was a little girl.
Britney sold more than 54 million albums worldwide since her first one Baby One More Time in 1999 and she’s the first female performer to have her first three albums début at number one.
Society NEWS 7
One of the rarest stones in the world, this is the largest internally flawless diamond of the purest color grade ever discovered. The bright white 9)cushion shaped 10)gem is more than 103 carrots, it was found in the Premier Mine in South Africa, it’s up for auction at Sotheby’s in Geneva and is expected to fetch ten million US dollars, the proud new owner will get to name it.
注释：
1) tout [taut] v. 竭力吹嘘
2) synagogue [5sinE7^C^] n. 犹太教徒集会
3) FTAA 全称为Free Trade Area Of the Americas 美洲自由贸易区
4) ALCA 西班牙语Area de Libre Comercio de las Americas的缩写，意思也是“美洲自由贸易区”
5) aerospace [5ZErE7speis] n. 航空及航天空间
6) hepatitis [hepE5taitis] n. 肝炎
7) syringe [sirindV] n. 注射器
8) sterilize [steri7laiz] v. （高温）消毒，杀菌
9) cushion [5kuFEn] n. 垫子
10) gem [dVem] n. 宝石
新闻聚光灯
政治1
阿诺德·施瓦辛格今天宣誓就职为美国加利福尼亚州州长，成为该州历史上首位在罢免选举中上任的州长。在州府大厦台阶上发表的演说中，他说他的获选表明了加州人民是如何看待他们的州政府的。
阿诺德：这次选举不是对某个人的更换，不是对某个党派的更换，它是对整个州的政治风气的改变。
这次宣誓就职被竭力说成是一个低调事件，但是七千多名嘉宾以及来自世界各地的七百多名记者参加了该典礼。施瓦辛格许诺加州将迎来全新的未来，尽管它似乎面临重重危机。
政治2
今天，欧盟内部举行的两次高层会议公开表露对于针对犹太人的暴力以及不容忍问题的关注。法国总统雅克·希拉克呼吁召开一次专门的内阁会议，以讨论如何保护在法国的犹太人团体免于受到越来越多的攻击。意大利是欧盟轮值主席国，欧洲犹太人大会将在意大利城市罗马举行，届时意大利总理西尔维奥·贝卢斯科尼将出席会议。据称，星期六土耳其的两个犹太教堂发生了恐吓犹太人群体的爆炸袭击。
经济3
为建立美洲自由贸易区而举行的迈阿密会议比预期时间提前一天结束。尽管昨天示威者在会馆外与警察发生冲突，来自西半球34个国家的贸易部长们还是达成了协议。
在贸易谈判中，麻烦总是出在细节上，诸如对桔子这类的农产品征收的关税，或是如何严密保护销往海外的好莱坞电影的版权等等。贸易部长们昨晚签署的美洲自由贸易区协议避开了这些细节。但是美国贸易代表罗伯特·佐利克说，这是迈向美洲自由贸易区的重要步骤。
罗伯特：我们正把美洲自由贸易区推入新的阶段。我们从一般的概念出发进行推动，人们彼此交流积极将可能变为现实。我们正进入一个持续稳定、切实可行的阶段并稳步前进，此刻我们在协商建立一个美洲自由贸易区，而不仅仅是一种意图。
声明承认，要让34个国家签署一份皆大欢喜的协议存在困难。美洲自由贸易区将灵活一些，它允许那些国家决定他们要多大程度的自由贸易。然而，批评家们认为这份部长声明和美洲自由贸易区一样前途不太光明，而且使得那些试图做跨国贸易的公司面临复杂的局势。
经济4
美国制造业巨头波音公司在它的下一代喷气式飞机“7E7”的生产中请日本制造商担任关键性的角色。波音喷气机的机翼核心零件将首次不在波音公司内生产。
迈克·贝尔(7E7高级副总裁):我不认为这是什么秘密，其中一个原因就是，我们的市场是全球性的，航空产业也应该全球化。因此我们将一些飞机制造方面的机会分给那些我们认为潜藏着巨大的市场机会的地区。这点非常重要。
总之，为了努力压制“空中客车”在日本的地位，保持自己在日本宽体式喷气机市场上的最大份额，波音公司觉得有必要在那里生产波音77。波音公司预期三分之一的波音77系列将由亚洲航空公司购买，尽管该公司很快承认，没有谁能担保日本会购买其中任何一架。
健康5
最近一份报告警告说，在发展中国家有三分之一的注射剂不安全，这些注射剂在传播先天性血液传染病，例如艾滋病和肝炎。世界卫生组织和美国疾病控制中心研究发现，问题集中在注射器和注射针上，它们被用于多名患者身上，中间未经消毒。报告作者们认为，减少不必要的注射，对卫生保健工作者进行严格的医学训练，加强对艾滋病毒传播的认识，以及使用一次性注射器--花费只需5美分；这些措施都是有益的。
名人 6
年仅21岁即被好莱坞星光大道视为传奇人物的布兰妮·斯皮尔斯，现在她成为获得如此殊荣的最年轻的一位歌星。
布兰妮：这是我从小以来一直梦想的事情。
自从布兰妮的首张专辑《宝贝再爱我一次》于1999年发行以来，她的专辑在全世界售出五千四百万张。她是第一位前三张专辑一发行即荣登榜首的女歌手。
社会 7
这是世界上最珍贵的宝石之一，是目前为止发现的最大的一颗色度最纯、内无瑕疵的钻石。这颗由亮白色软垫衬托的珠宝重量超过103克拉，它是在南非普里米亚矿区被发现的，目前在日内瓦的苏富比拍卖行等待拍卖。人们预计这颗钻石将售出一千万美元，自豪的新拥有者将替它命名。
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