BBC News with Jerry Schmitt.
Republicans in the US Senate have blocked a controversial proposal to allow homosexual men and women to serve openly in the American military.They argue that military readiness will be damaged byreversalof the existing policy “don’t ask, don’t tell” which allows gay people to serve provided they don’t reveal their sexuality.Here’s Paul Adams.
The democrats needed 60 votes to move this legislation forward and in the end they failed by four – two of their own members voting with the Republicans. It’s asetbackfor President Obama who hoped todeliver ona campaign promise torepeal“don’t ask, don’t tell”. The Pentagon is conducting a study into how repeal might be implemented, but Republicans and many in the military feared that it could damage morale at a time when the armed forces are fighting two wars.
The president of the Vatican Bank, who’s been linked to money laundering, says he can’t understand why he’s been investigated. The president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, said he was mortified andhumiliatedsince he’d spent a lot of time trying to resolve the problems now being investigated.
“I’ve been in Paris at the Financial Action Task Force and at the OECD to learn all the new procedures. I want to add that we fully accept the regulations from the Bank of Italy. Toend upreceiving this kind of warrant for reasons I still don’t know has mortified and humiliated me.”
Italian prosecutors announced on Tuesday that they suspected Mr Tedeschi and another top official of having broken money laundering laws. They’ve also seized more than $30 million of funds from the Vatican Bank. The Vatican said it wasastonishedand offered its support to Mr Tedeschi.
The International Red Cross says more than a billion people across the developing world arevulnerableto disasters, because they live in slum areas without access to emergency services. It said many governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have failed toadapt tothe problems posed by rapid unregulated urbanisation.
A leading Indian sports official, Lalit Bhanot, has defended his country’s preparations for the Commonwealth Games after international officials described the facilities for athletes as “filthy and uninhabitable”. The Games open in Delhi in 2 weeks. The Games have proved controversial amid concerns of corruption, delays, and also security. Our Delhi reporter, Mark Dummett, explains.
What they’re trying to do heremirrors a bit the Beijing Olympics. They’ve been extremely ambitious. This isn’t just a question of building a new stadium. They’re building a new airport terminal, they’re building new metro lines, new roads, they're trying torenovatethe dilapidated centre of the city as well - massive, massive projects as well as all the different stadia and the athletes’ village. And frankly, it’s being too much. They haven’t been able to complete things, and the city remains a building site. Many people here in Delhi are just completelyfed up withthe whole thing.
BBC News.
The Mexican government has said there can be no negotiation with drug trafficking gangs after a newspaper appealed to the cartels for guidance on what it should publish to avoid having its journalists killed. El Diario newspaper in Ciudad Juarez,
which has seen 2 reporters murdered on Sunday, asked the cartels for a truce, calling them the city’s “de facto authorities”. But President Felipe Calderon's security spokesman said no sector of society should make agreements with criminals.
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has issued adownbeatassessment of the American economy. In a statement, it said the interest rate was likely to stay close to zero for a long time. Andrew Walker reports.
The Federal Reserveset outa long list of weak spots in the economy - house building is depressed, employers are reluctant to hire new workers, and bank lending is still declining. And there’s a hint in the Fed’s statement that it is worried about the risk of deflation, or falling prices. The Fed's not ready yet to take any further measures to stimulate the recovery, but it's clearly willing to act if there’s no improvement. What action is notspelled out, but it would involve buying financial assets in the market, which would increase the amount of money in the economy.
The remains of Hurricane Igor have battered Newfoundland in eastern Canada with intense rain and powerful winds after sweeping north through the Atlantic Ocean from Bermuda. The storm has caused wide-spread flooding, with three coastal towns completely cut off by water. Some roads have been washed away, and emergency services have been searching for a man who was swept out to sea.
The popular social networking site Twitter has been hit by computer hackers. Thousands of users have complained of unwanted messages which, in some cases, unwittingly send them to pornographic websites. Twitter said its engineers had now fixed the problem caused by computer worms that exploited vulnerabilities in the site’s software.
BBC News.
美国一项有争议的提案建议允许同性恋男女在美国军队中公开服役,参议院共和党反对该提案。他们辩称,违反现有的“不问,不说”政策将对军队造成损害。现有政策允许同性恋人群在军队服役,但是不允许他们披露自己的性取向。Paul Adams报道。
民主党需要60张支持票才能通过该立法,但是最终却以四票之差失败,其中两名民主党人与共和党人一起投票反对。奥巴马总统竞选时曾经承诺废除“不问,不说”政策,这对他来说是一个挫败。五角大楼正在针对怎样废除该政策进行调查,但是共和党人和军队许多成员担心,在军队参与两场战争的时候,这样可能会削弱士气。
涉嫌洗钱的梵蒂冈银行主席表示,他不理解他为什么被调查。埃托雷-戈蒂-泰代斯基(Ettore Gotti Tedeschi)说,他感到非常羞辱,因为长期以来,他一直努力解决目前正在调查的问题。
“我曾经到巴黎金融行动防治洗钱特别工作组织和经合组织了解所有最新程序。我想补充一下,我们完全接受意大利银行的调控措施。最终却因为我并不知道的原因而受到这样的调查使我感到非常羞辱。”
周二,意大利检控官称,他们怀疑泰代斯基和另外一名高管涉嫌洗钱。他们还从梵蒂冈银行没收0了超过3000万美元的资金。梵蒂冈表示,他们感到非常震惊,并表示支持泰代斯基。
国际红十字会表示,发展中国家超过10亿人口正在遭受灾难,因为他们居住在极度贫困地区,难以获得救助。红十字会称,非洲,亚洲和拉丁美洲许多国家的政府未能解决因快速失调的城市化造成的问题。
印度一名主要的体育官员Lalit Bhanot为英联邦运动会的准备工作辩护。此前,国际官员曾经描述印度为运动员准备的设施“污秽,不适合人居住的”。运动会将于两周后在德里开幕。由于对腐败,延误和安全方面的担忧,这次运动会无疑是充满争议的。我们的德里记者Mark Dummett为我们做出解释。
他们想要做的像北京奥运会一样。他们非常有雄心壮志。这不仅仅是建造新的体育馆的问题。他们还建造了新的机场终端,正在建造地铁线,新的道路,他们还试图重建已经荒废的城市中心——这是非常庞大的项目,此外,还有不同的体育馆和运动员村。坦白的讲,这太过分了。他们还未能完成所有项目,整个城市仍然是一个大工地。德里的许多民众对所有的一切都非常厌烦。
一份报纸向卡特尔组织请教,他们应该发表什么样的内容,他们的记者才不会被杀害。墨西哥政府表示,与毒品走私团伙之间不可能进行谈判。周二,位于华雷斯的El Diario报社两名记者被谋杀时,他们向卡特尔组织要求休战,称他们是“实质上的当权者”。但是总统卡尔德龙的安全发言人表示,社会的任何一个部门都不应与犯罪分子达成协议。
美国中央银行联邦储蓄对美国经济发表了悲观评论。在声明中,美联储表示,长期内,利率都可能保持接近零的水平。Andrew Walker报道。
美联储列举了经济中许多微弱的方面——房屋建筑萧条,雇主不愿雇佣新的员工,银行贷款仍然在减少。美联储的声明表明,他们非常担心通货紧缩的风险。美联储目前还没有做好准备采取进一步措施刺激经济复苏,但是很明显,如果经济状况没有改善,他们将采取进一步行动。具体将采取什么措施目前还不清楚,但是将包括在市场上购买金融资产,这将增加经济体系中的货币总量。
飓风Igor的余威带来强风和暴雨,给加拿大东部纽芬兰带来沉重打击。此前,Igor还横扫了大西洋百慕大群岛的北部。这次强风暴造成大范围的洪水,三个海岸城镇完全被洪水切断。一些道路被冲垮,紧急救援机构正在搜索一名被冲到海中的男子。
受欢迎的社交网站Twitter被电脑黑客袭击。数千名用户投诉称网站自动发动信息,被迫链接至色情网站。Twitter表示,公司工程人员已经解决了这个问题。电脑黑客利用网站系统漏洞设计了蠕虫病毒,导致这次事件。
1.reversal n.反向;倒转; 颠倒;彻底转变;反转;倒置
例句:a reversal of current trends
目前趋势的转变
This represents an apparent reversal of previous US policy.
这标志着美国政策的明显倒退。
2.setback n.顿挫,挫折,退步
3.repeal vt.撤销, 废除
例句:The Labour Party repealed the Act.
工党废除了那项法令。
4.humiliated adj.感到羞愧的
5.astonished adj.惊异
例句:She was astonished to hear what had happened.
她听到了所发生的事感到惊讶。
6.vulnerable adj.易受伤的, 脆弱的, 敏感的
例句:He volunteered to protect her as she looked so vulnerable.
她看上去很脆弱, 他就主动去保护她。
7.mirror vt.反映, 反射, 映照
例句:The pond mirrors the surrounding trees.
那个池塘映出周围的树木。
Their eyes mirrored their thoughts.
他们的眼神映出他们的内心思想。
8.renovate vt.翻新; 修复; 整修;重新粉刷
例句:He renovated his house.
他翻修了房子。
The house has been renovated three years earlier.
这所房子三年前就已翻新。
9.downbeat adj.消沉的; 悲观的; 抑制的
1.It’s a setback for President Obama who hoped to deliver on a campaign promise to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell”.
deliver on〈美口〉履行, 实行
例句:They failed to deliver on their promises.
他们没有履行他们的诺言。
2.To end up receiving this kind of warrant for reasons I still don’t know has mortified and humiliated me.
end up〈非正〉(以…)结束; 最终成为〔变得〕
例句:How does the story end up?
这篇故事是怎么结尾的?
The boy's ball ended up on the garage roof.
这男孩的球落到了汽车库顶上。
3.It said many governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have failed to adapt to the problems posed by rapid unregulated urbanisation.
adapt to变得习惯于…, 使适应于, 能应付…
例句:I adapted quickly to the new climate.
我很快地适应了这种新的气候。
The professor adapted his lecture to his audience.
教授使他讲的课适合于听众。
4.Many people here in Delhi are just completely fed up with the whole thing.
fed up with受够了...
例句:I am fed up with standing in these long lines.
我对站在这些长队伍中感到厌烦。
5.The Federal Reserve set out a long list of weak spots in the economy - house building is depressed, employers are reluctant to hire new workers, and bank lending is still declining.
set out安排, 组织
例句:They set out the chairs for the meeting in rows of ten.
他们摆好会议的坐椅, 每排十把椅子。
6.What action is not spelled out, but it would involve buying financial assets in the market, which would increase the amount of money in the economy.
spell out阐明
例句:His speech spelt out his party's policy on foreign affairs.
他的演说阐明了他的政党的对外政策。
1.They argue that military readiness will be damaged by reversal of the existing policy “don’t ask, don’t tell” which allows gay people to serve provided they don’t reveal their sexuality.
参考翻译:他们辩称,违反现有的“不问,不说”政策将对军队造成损害。现有政策允许同性恋人群在军队服役,但是不允许他们披露自己的性取向。
结构分析:provided引导条件句
given与provided意思一样,表示“如果有……,则……”,
但两者的区别是provided后面只能跟that引导从句,而不能跟名词或名词性短语。而given后既可跟从句,又可跟名词性短语。
Given the present conditions, I think she's done rather well.
考虑到目前的条件, 我认为她已做得相当出色。
2.The Mexican government has said there can be no negotiation with drug trafficking gangs after a newspaper appealed to the cartels for guidance on what it should publish to avoid having its journalists killed.
参考翻译:一份报纸向卡特尔组织请教,他们应该发表什么样的内容,他们的记者才不会被杀害。墨西哥政府表示,与毒品走私团伙之间不可能进行谈判。
结构分析:这句话的主语和谓语是:The Mexican government has said,后面是宾语从句。宾语从句的主干是there can be no negotiation。after a newspaper appealed to是时间状语。