BBC新闻：欧洲各国加强对冠状病毒的防护
燕山大学 刘立军 供稿
【TRANSCRIPT】
Hello, I'm Neil Nunes with the BBC News. Donald Trump's supreme court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, has faced hours of hostile questioning from Democrats on the second day of her confirmation hearings in the US Senate. Lebal Decical is in Washington.
“The Democrats really kept pushing the same questions about abortion, about the Affordable Care Act, also, a couple of questions about what judge Coney Barrett might do if she was on the supreme court and she was asked about postponing the election. Now she kept saying that she was not going to give any idea what she might do with cases that might come up in front of her. Democrats must have known that she was going to say this. So my sense is that they really wanted to show Americans, look, this is what she won't answer, this is the kind of thing that we are worried about.”
Countries across Europe are tightening coronavirus restrictions following a sharp rise in cases across the continent. A new three-tier system has come into force in England, which divides the country into medium, high, and very high risk areas. The Czech Republic is closing schools, bars, and clubs for three weeks. The Netherlands has announced a partial lockdown for the next four weeks and made wearing a mask compulsory in public indoor spaces. Anna Holligan is in the Hague.
“From Wednesday at 10 pm, bars and restaurants across the country will be closed for at least four weeks after a fortnight. The Dutch government will look at the impact of these latest measures to determine whether or not they need to go even further. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that there wouldn't be any changes at all to education because it was considered too important. In terms of public transport, people are being asked to make essential journeys only. People who can work from home are being asked to do so.”
The World Bank says it has approved funding of $12 billion for developing countries to buy and distribute coronavirus vaccines, tests, and treatments. It said the money was aimed at supporting the vaccination of a billion people.
Twitter has suspended a number of fake accounts which purported to be run by black supporters of Donald Trump. They are thought to have attracted more than a quarter of a million re-tweets or mentions on Twitter before they were suspended.
Italian police say a 39-year-old woman has been arrested in Milan in connection with the Vatican's latest financial scandal. Cecilia Marogna worked for Cardinal Angelo Becciu, a senior Vatican official, who was fired last month and accused of embezzlement and nepotism, allegations he denies. Ms. Marogna said she had been paid more than half a million dollars by the cardinal to work as an international mediator for the Roman Catholic Church.
Commemorations have been held in Chile on the 10th anniversary of the dramatic rescue of 33 miners from a collapsed copper mine. The miners were trapped 700 meters below ground for 69 days. The miners' leader Louise praised President Sebastian Pinera for the rescue operation.
World news from the BBC.
Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/202010/619100.shtml
【VOCABULARY】
1. hostile adj. very unfriendly or aggressive and ready to argue or fight 敌意的；敌对的。例如：The speaker got a hostile reception from the audience. 演讲人遭到了听众喝倒彩。
2. abortion n. the deliberate ending of a pregnancy at an early stage 人工流产；堕胎；打胎。例如：to support / oppose abortion 支持 / 反对堕胎
3. tier n. a row or layer of sth. that has several rows or layers placed one above the other 级；阶；层。例如：a wedding cake with three tiers 三层的结婚蛋糕
4. compulsory adj. that must be done because of a law or a rule （因法律或规则而）必须做的；强制的；强迫的。例如：English is a compulsory subject at this level. 英语在这一级别是必修科目。
5. fortnight n. （常用单数形式）(British English) two weeks 两星期
6. vaccination n. 给……接种疫苗
7. retweet n. 转推；转发（推特消息）
8. scandal n. 关于丑行的传言（或报道）；丑闻。例如：to spread scandal 散布丑闻
9. embezzlement n. 盗用，挪用; 贪污
10. nepotism n. giving unfair advantages to your own family if you are in a position of power, especially by giving them jobs 裙带关系；任人唯亲
11. cardinal n.（天主教的）红衣主教
12. commemoration n. an action, or a ceremony, etc. that makes people remember and show respect for an important person or event in the past 纪念；纪念仪式。例如：a commemoration service 纪念仪式
【QUESTIONS】
Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. Amy Coney Barrett has faced hours of hostile questioning from Democrats on the first day of her confirmation hearings in the US Senate.
2. A new three-tier system has come into force in England, which divides the world into medium, high, and very high risk areas.
3. The Czech Republic is closing schools, bars, and clubs for four weeks.
4. The Netherlands has announced a partial lockdown for the next four weeks and made wearing a mask compulsory in public indoor and outdoor spaces.
5. The World Bank has approved funding of $12 billion for developing countries to buy and distribute coronavirus vaccines, tests, and treatments.
6. Italian police say a 39-year-old man has been arrested in Milan in connection with the Vatican's latest financial scandal.
7. Commemorations have been held in Chile on the 10th anniversary of the dramatic rescue of 30 miners from a collapsed copper mine.
【KEY】
Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).
(F) 1. Amy Coney Barrett has faced hours of hostile questioning from Democrats on the first day of her confirmation hearings in the US Senate.
（正确表达）Amy Coney Barrett has faced hours of hostile questioning from Democrats on the second day of her confirmation hearings in the US Senate.
(F) 2. A new three-tier system has come into force in England, which divides the world into medium, high, and very high risk areas.
（正确表达）A new three-tier system has come into force in England, which divides the country into medium, high, and very high risk areas.
(F) 3. The Czech Republic is closing schools, bars, and clubs for four weeks.
（正确表达）The Czech Republic is closing schools, bars, and clubs for three weeks.
(F) 4. The Netherlands has announced a partial lockdown for the next four weeks and made wearing a mask compulsory in public indoor and outdoor spaces.
（正确表达）The Netherlands has announced a partial lockdown for the next four weeks and made wearing a mask compulsory in public indoor spaces.
(T) 5. The World Bank has approved funding of $12 billion for developing countries to buy and distribute coronavirus vaccines, tests, and treatments.
(F) 6. Italian police say a 39-year-old man has been arrested in Milan in connection with the Vatican's latest financial scandal.
（正确表达） Italian police say a 39-year-old woman has been arrested in Milan in connection with the Vatican's latest financial scandal.
(F) 7. Commemorations have been held in Chile on the 10th anniversary of the dramatic rescue of 30 miners from a collapsed copper mine.
（正确表达） Commemorations have been held in Chile on the 10th anniversary of the dramatic rescue of 33 miners from a collapsed copper mine.