BBC新闻：拜登指责特朗普在新冠病毒问题上撒谎

燕山大学 刘立军 供稿

【TRANSCRIPT】

BBC news, I'm John Shea.

The Democratic contender for the U.S. presidency Joe Biden has said Donald Trump knowingly and willingly lied to the American people about the threat posed by coronavirus. The accusation follows the publication of excerpts from a new book by the journalist Bob Woodward. The President told Mr. Woodward how deadly Covid-19 was, but insisted he wanted to play down the risk because he didn't want to create panic.

A former US intelligence official has filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that he was told by Trump administration to stop reporting on the threat posed by Russia to this November's presidential election. The former acting Homeland Security under Secretary Brian Murphy said he was told that the instruction to do so came from the White House national security advisor.

A new fire has erupted on the Greek island of Lesbos destroying what was left of the Moria migrant camp, which was devastated in an earlier blaze on Wednesday. Live pictures showed tents being engulfed in flames in the latest fire.

The governor of the U.S. state of Oregon Kate Brown has said that wildfires have ravaged at least four towns and could bring about the greatest loss in human lives and property in the state's history. Thousands of more people in northern California are on standby for a possible fire evacuation.

Hundreds of Mexican farmers and peasants have seized control of La Boquilla Dam in the north, after violent clashes with members of the national guard. The authorities have decided to diverge water toward the United States.

And lawyers for a group of French Gypsies have filed for compensation for the caravans and fairground rights seized by French police under Nazi German occupation in the Second World War. They told France's top administrative court that some 6,000 Gypsies interned during the war, while left out of the compensation settlement that France decreed 21 years ago.

And that's the latest BBC news.

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/202009/617587.shtml

【VOCABULARY】

1. contender n. a person who takes part in a competition or tries to win sth. 竞争者；角逐者；争夺

者。例如：a contender for a gold medal in the Olympics奥运金牌的争夺者

2. excerpt n. a short piece of writing, music, film, etc. taken from a longer whole 摘录；节选

3. play down: 降低……的重要性；贬低；淡化

4. whistleblower n. （美俚）告密者，揭发者

5. allege v. (formal) to state sth. as a fact but without giving proof （未提出证据）断言，指称，声称。例如：The prosecution alleges (that) she was driving carelessly. 控方指控她粗心驾驶。

6. blaze n. strong bright flames in a fire 火焰。例如：Dry wood makes a good blaze. 干木柴烧得旺。

7. engulf v. to surround or to cover sb./sth. completely 包围；吞没；淹没。例如：The vehicle was engulfed in flames. 汽车被大火吞没。

8. ravage v. to damage sth. badly 毁坏；损坏；严重损害。例如：a country ravaged by civil war

遭受内战重创的国家

9. on standby 随时准备行动，处于待命状态

10. diverge v. to separate and go in different directions 分叉；岔开

11. intern v. to put sb. in prison during a war or for political reasons, although they have not been charged with a crime （战争期间或由于政治原因未经审讯）拘留，禁闭，关押

【QUESTIONS】

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. A former US intelligence official has said Donald Trump knowingly and willingly lied to the American people about the threat posed by coronavirus. 

2. A new fire has erupted on the Greek island of Lesbos.

3. The governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, has said that wildfires have ravaged at least five towns.

4. The Mexican authorities have decided to diverge water from the United States.

5. There are 6,000 Gypsies interned during the Second World War.

【KEY】

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).

(F) 1. A former US intelligence official has said Donald Trump knowingly and willingly lied to the American people about the threat posed by coronavirus. 

（正确表达）Joe Biden has said Donald Trump knowingly and willingly lied to the American people about the threat posed by coronavirus. 

(T) 2. A new fire has erupted on the Greek island of Lesbos.

(F) 3. The governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, has said that wildfires have ravaged at least five towns.

（正确表达）The governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, has said that wildfires have ravaged at least four towns.

(F) 4. The Mexican authorities have decided to diverge water from the United States.

（正确表达）The Mexican authorities have decided to diverge water toward the United States.

(T) 5. There are 6,000 Gypsies interned during the Second World War.