时事英语听力L 优秀培训书.pptVIP

Part I: In the News What does the news mainly about? When it happens? Who are asked to do so? Words Expressions the Associated Press美联社 the Gulf of Mexico墨西哥湾 BP: British Petroleum英国石油公司 Republican 共和党人 Congress国会 the House of Representatives众议院 Democrats民主党 the Senate参议院 Haiti海地 the Tea Party茶叶党 Chile智利 Iraq伊拉克 Afghanistan阿富汗 release发布 editor编辑 spill溢出 rig钻井设备；钻塔 explode爆炸 barrel桶 contain 控制 passage通过 oppose反对 recession经济衰退 rescue营救 partial部分的 trap困住 combat战斗 diplomatic cables外交电文 troop军队 Gulf Oil Spill was Top Story in 2010 This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. At the end of each year, the Associated Press releases a list of the top ten news stories of the year. American editors and news directors are asked to vote for what they consider the top stories. This year, the story with the most votes was the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. An oil rig operated by BP exploded in April. The explosion killed eleven workers. Close to five million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf until the leak was contained in the middle of July. BP agreed to set aside twenty billion dollars to pay claims and damages to people working in the areas fishing and tourism industries. The AP says the second most important story was health care reform in the United States. President Obama won a major political victory with congressional passage of his health care reform plan. Among other things, it will extend health care insurance to thirty-two million Americans now without it. But many Republicans in Congress oppose the law and want to cancel parts of it. The congressional elections in November were another big story. The Republican Party gained a majority in the House of Representatives. But Democrats kept their majority in the Senate. The American economy was another major story. Economists reported in twenty-ten that the worst recession since the 1930s had ended. Americans began to spend more as the year ended. But the unemployment ra