BBC News with Sue Montgomery.
President Barack Obama has angrily accused oil companies of trying toduck the blame overthe Gulf of Mexico oil slick and said he would act to change the relationship between the industry and regulators.
“For too long, for a decade or more, there has been acozyrelationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill. It seems as if permits were too often issued based onno more thanassurances of safety from the oil companies. That cannot and will not happen anymore.”
Speaking after discussing the huge oil spill with senior advisers, Mr. Obama said the system to prevent such disasters had failed badly. Efforts to stop the oil leak are continuing, but forecasters say the weather could drive the oil slick ashore this weekend.
At least eight people are known to have died in the latestboutof violence that'sengulfed the Thai capital Bangkok. More than 100 others have been wounded. Explosions and gunfire echoed across the city centre late into the night as soldiers fought protesters around their fortified camp. The exiled Thai leader Thaksin Shinawat whoretains the loyalty of many of the Red Shirt protesters has urged the authorities topull backthe troops. Rachel Harvey is in Bangkok.
The government spokesman has gone on television to try andreassurepeople; he said that the security forces had only fired when they themselves came under attack. And he said that it would be safe soon, that the whole thing was under control. And that the aim was just to contain the area, not to clear it of protesters while even that is proving a very tough task for the security forces.
Police in Iraq say a suicide bombing at a football stadium has killed at least ten people and injured more than 100. It happened in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, near the city of Mosul. From Baghdad, here is Gabriel Gatehouse.
Police in Tal Afar say that a suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden inside his vehicle near the local stadium where a football match was underway. A crowd of people standing at the entrance to the groundbore the brunt ofthe blast. Witnesses said that the first bombing was then followed by at least one other explosion. Earlier on Friday, a website linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq announced that it would replace the senior militant who'd been killed last month in a joint operation by Iraqi and US forces. The statement warned of what it called "dark days of blood to come".
Share prices and the value of the euro have fallen sharply as investors become concerned that economic measures designed totacklebig debts in Greece, Spain and Portugal will stifle growth in the eurozone. The euro hit its lowest level against the dollar for 18 months. Stock markets closed more than 3% down in London and Frankfort and 4.6% down in Paris. The Spanish stock market index closed more than 6% lower.
World News from the BBC.
Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in the Albanian capital, calling for a recount of last year's parliamentary elections which they claim were rigged.They have come out in support of hunger strikers who have been camped outside the prime minister's office in Tirana for the past two weeks. Our Balkan's correspondent Mark Lowan reports.
This is the second huge demonstration in Tirana in the space of two weeks.The last protest drew tens of thousands and this one appears to be of a similar scale. Socialist led opposition activists marched through the streets of the capital with banners and slogans calling for the government to reopen the ballot boxes from last June's general election which they believed was fraudulent won by the Democratic Party.But the government says tampering with the ballot boxes would be unconstitutional and is standing firm.
Greece and Turkey have spoken of a big step forward in the relations during a visit to Greece by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A joint statement by the two leaders said they would strengthen peace andstability in the region. There was a joint meeting of cabinet ministers which will become an annual event and a range of agreements covering illegal immigration, the environment, tourism and energy.
The new British Foreign Secretary William Hague has held what he called veryproductivetalks with the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington -- his first foreign trip since taking office. At a news conference afterwards, both leaders stressed their country's unity of approach on the war in Afghanistan and the need for further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
A British member of parliament has been stabbed. The Labour MP Stephen Timms who was a Treasury minister until the change of government this week was attacked while holding an advice session for constituents in east London. He was taken to hospital withabdominalinjuries, but his condition is said not to be life threatening. A young woman has been arrested.
And that's the latest bulletin from BBC News.
奥巴马总统愤慨地指控各石油公司在墨西哥湾漏油事件中互相推卸责任。他表示将采取行动改变石油行业和监管机构之间的关系。
“长期以来,十几年来,石油公司和联邦石油监管机构之间的关系一直比较融洽。看上去似乎石油公司只要做出安全保证,他们就可以获准开采石油。这种情况不能,也不会再次发生。”
与高级顾问就规模巨大的石油泄漏事件进行讨论之后,奥巴马总统表示,防止类似的灾难发生的预警机制严重失败。制止石油泄漏的工作仍在继续进行,但是预报员称,由于天气状况,本周末浮油将飘向岸边。
在遍布泰国首都曼谷的最新一轮的暴力活动中,至少8人死亡,100多人受伤。士兵在设防的营地附近抗击抗议者,枪声和爆炸声一直在深夜还响彻市中心。许多红衫军抗议者仍然非常忠诚于流亡的泰国领袖他信。他信敦促当局撤出军队。Rachel Harvey在曼谷报道。
政府发言人在电视上发表讲话,试图安抚民众。他说,安全力量只有在本身受到攻击的情况下才会开火。他说,形势很快将安全下来,所有的一切都已经在安全力量的掌控之下。安全力量采取行动的目的仅仅是控制该地区,而不是将所有抗议者驱散。然而,事实证明,对于安全力量来说,这也是一项非常艰巨的任务。
伊拉克警方称,一个足球场发生自杀式爆炸事件,至少10人死亡,100多人受伤。爆炸发生在摩苏尔附近的北部城镇塔拉法。巴格达,Gabriel Gatehouse报道。
塔拉法警方表示,一名自杀式爆炸者在当地一个足球场附近引爆了藏在汽车内的炸药。当时足球场内正在举行一场比赛。站在入口处的观众受到爆炸的正面冲击。目击者称,第一起爆炸过后再次发生了至少一次爆炸。周五早些时候,与伊拉克基地组织相关的一个网站宣布,他们
将替换在上月伊拉克和美国军队的联合行动中丧命的高级好战分子领袖。该声明警告称“血腥的黑暗时代即将来临”。
由于投资者担心应对希腊,西班牙和葡萄牙债务的经济措施将抑制欧元区的发展,股票价格和欧元的价格大幅下跌。欧元对美元的价格现将至18个月来的最低水平。伦敦和法兰克福股市收盘价格下跌超过3%,巴黎股市跌幅达4.6%。西班牙股指下跌了超过6%。
BBC世界新闻。
数十万名抗议者在阿尔巴尼亚首都聚集,他们声称去年的议会选举存在舞弊现象,要求重新计票。他们的行动是为了支持过去两周一直在地拉那总理办公室外驻扎的绝食抗议者。我们的巴尔干半岛记者Mark Lowan报道。
这是两周以来地拉那发生的第二起大规模示威活动。上次抗议共有数十万人参加,这次的抗议也几乎是同样的规模。社会党领导的反对派积极分子在首都街头游行,手持旗帜和标语,要求重开去年六月份大选的选票箱。上次的选举由民主党获胜,但是他们相信存在舞弊现象。但是政府称,干预选票箱是违反宪法规定的。他们的意见非常坚决。
土耳其总理埃尔多安访问希腊期间,希腊和土耳其称两国关系取得了重大进展。两国领导人发表的联合声明称,他们将努力增强该地区的和平和稳定。双方还举行了内阁部长联合会议,而且这将成为一年一度的事宜。双方就非法移民,环境,旅游和能源等一系列问题达成协议。
英国新任外交大臣海格(William Hague)与美国国务卿希拉里在华盛顿举行了他所说的“成果显著的对话”。这是他上台以来的第一次国外访问。在随后举行的新闻发布会上,两位领导人强调,英美两国在阿富汗战争和对伊朗核项目进行进一步制裁方面意见一致。
英国议会一名议员遇刺。工党议员史提芬(Stephen Timms)在本周政府更迭之前一直担任财政大臣。史提芬在伦敦东部为选民召开咨询会议时遭遇袭击,腹部受伤,随后被送往医院。但是据称他的状况没有生命危险。一名年轻女子已经被捕。
以上就是最新的BBC新闻简报。
1.cozy a.舒适的,舒服的,安乐的
例句:Apparently it was a cozy meeting.
可以想见,这是朋友间轻松与和谐的聚会。
2.assurance n.保证, 担保, 确信
例句:She gave repeated assurances of her loyalty.
她反复保证她的忠诚。
3.bout n.拳击(或摔跤)比赛, 较量, 回合
例句:He's a former champion and is expected to win the bout.
他是上届冠军, 预期会赢得比赛。
4.retain vt.保持; 保留
例句:This village still retains its old world character.
这个村庄仍然保持着古色古香的特色。
5.tackle vt.解决; 应付
例句:I don't know how to tackle this problem.
我不知道该如何处理这个问题。
6.productive adj.多产的, 富饶的
例句:They lived on the produc -tive land.
他们生活在富饶的土地上。
富有成效的; 有益的
例句:We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.
我们开了一个富有成效的会议, 解决了一些问题。
7.stab vt.vi.刺, 扎; 刺入, 刺伤
例句:She stabbed him on the leg with a knife.
她用刀子刺伤了他的腿部。
8.abdominal adj.腹部的
例句:Abdominal tissues sometimes adhere after an operation.
手术之后腹部有时会出现粘连。
9.engulf vt.吞没, 包住
例句:The little boat was engulfed by the waves.
小船被波浪吞没了。
10.reassure vt.消除恐惧或疑虑; 恢复信心;使…安心;打消…的疑虑
例句:The doctor reassured the old lady.
医生叫那位老妇人放心。
1.President Barack Obama has angrily accused oil companies of trying to duck the blame over the Gulf of Mexico oil slick and said he would act to change the relationship between the industry and regulators.
duck the blame over推卸责任
相关短语:duck out逃避责任
例句:Duck out on one's family.
逃避对家庭的责任
2.It seems as if permits were too often issued based on no more than assurances of safety from the oil companies.
no more than不过,仅仅
例句:She ate no more than a slice of toast for breakfast.
她早餐只吃了一片吐司。
3. The exiled Thai leader Thaksin Shinawat who retains the loyalty of many of the Red Shirt protesters has urged the authorities to pull back the troops.
pull back(使)(某人, 尤指一组士兵)撤出阵地
例句:The platoon pulled back to safety.
这一排士兵撤回到了安全地带。
4.A crowd of people standing at the entrance to the ground bore the brunt of the blast.
bear the brunt首当其冲,承受冲击
例句:She had to bear the brunt of the criticisms.
她不得不承受批评的压力。
His secretary has to bear the brunt of his temper
他的秘书成了他的出气筒。
1.Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in the Albanian capital, calling for a recount of last year's parliamentary elections which they claim were rigged. They have come out in support of hunger strikers who have been camped outside the prime minister's office in Tirana for the past two weeks.
先看前面一句。主干是前面半部分。calling for是现在分词做伴随状语。伴随状语一般都可以改为并列的谓语,例如这一句可以改为:have gathered and called for……which they claim were rigged是定语从句,修饰parliamentary elections.
后面一句主干是They have come out。in support of是目的状语。who have been是定语从句,修饰hunger strikers。
2. The last protest drew tens of thousands and this one appears to be of a similar scale.
be of 结构用法很灵活,在句中可作表语、后置定语或宾补。
一、“be of 表示年龄( age )、大小( size )、颜色( color )、重量( weight )、高度( height )、价格( price )、意见( opinion )、形状( shape )、种类( kind )和方法( way )等的名词”,表示“具有……”,说明主语的特征。例如:
When I was of your age, I entered the war.
当我是你这个年龄的时候,我就去打仗了。
These flowers are of different colors.
这些花的颜色都不同。
注意:在此结构中,如果后面的名词前有不定冠词 a / an ,则这个冠词相当于 the same .例如:
The two boys are of an / the same age.
这两个男孩同龄。
二、“be of 物质名词”,表示主语是由某种材料制成或由某种成分构成,相当于 be made of,be built of,be made up of 等。例如:
The necklace is (made) of glass.
这条项链是由玻璃制成的。
Our class is (made up) of over 50 students.
我们班有 50 多个学生。
三、 be of 还可以表示所属关系,相当于 belong to .例如:
China and India are of the third world.
中国与印度同属于第三世界。
Workers and peasants are of one family.
工人和农民是一家。
四、“be of 形容词最高级”,相当于 be one of… .例如:
His temper is of the quickest.
他的脾气是最急躁的。
Mr Liu is of the best teachers in our school.
刘老师是我们学校最好的老师之一。
五、“be of 抽象名词( value, importance, use, help, interest 等)”相当于“be 该抽象名词相对应的形容词”。其中 of 表示“具备;具有”, of 不可以省略。例如:
They are of great help / very helpful to learners of English.
他们对英语学习者来说是很有帮助的。
The press conference seems of great importance / very important.
这个新闻发布会看来很重要。