12/16每日英语系列

AP NEWS 2007-12-16



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1. After intense talks spending two weeks, the US has made a u-tern on climate change. First rejecting negotiations, the US finally agree to compromise a two-year plan to develop a replacement for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

2. In a nationally televised address, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf lifted the country's six week of state of emergency. He also bubbled hope for free elections next month. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto says the move is a good first step, but she says she still concern the elections maybe win.

3. A nineteen-year-old man has died in Illinois from being in an icy pond for almost two hours. Official say witness saw the teenager standing near the pond without any shoes on. Some time later, clothing has been found at the bank of the pond including his coat.

4. More than ten thousand wreaths lie in Arlington National Cemetery. Volunteers placed one at each tombstone. The wreaths come from Maine, and they’ve been decorating Veteran’s graves at Arlington for the past sixteen years.

[ 本帖最后由 vanbryan 于 2008-1-11  17:01 编辑 ]

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THE PRESIDENT:

Good morning.

In a time of war, America's top priority should be to ensure that our troops on the front lines get the funding they need. So beginning in February, I submitted detailed funding requests to Congress to fund operations in the war on terror. Congress has had months to pass this funding. Unfortunately, with just days to go before members leave for their Christmas vacation, they still have not come through with these funds. This week Congress considered a defense authorization bill. An authorization bill is a pledge to spend money. Under such a bill, Congress will make a promise to fund our troops in combat. But a congressional promise -- even if enacted -- does not pay the bills. It is time for Congress to provide our troops with actual funding.

The stakes are high for our men and women on the front lines. Our troops are striking blows against the terrorists and extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and these funds are critical to their continued success. The funds I have requested include money to carry out combat operations against the enemy. They include money to train the Iraqi and Afghan security forces to take on more responsibility for the defense of their countries. They include money for civilian agencies deployed in the field with our military to help build local governments and create jobs. And they include money for intelligence operations to protect our troops on the battlefield.

Congress has had plenty of time to consider the emergency funds our troops need. Time is running out. And Pentagon officials say that continued delay in funding our troops will soon begin to have a damaging impact on the operations of our military. Congress' responsibility is clear: They must deliver vital funds for our troops -- and they must do it before they leave for Christmas. Our men and women on the front lines will be spending this holiday season far from their families and loved ones. And this Christmas, they deserve more than words from Congress. They deserve action.

Thank you for listening.

END

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一拜 再拜~~!!

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每次听力都很慢

AP NEWS 2007-12-17



Download:  http://download.putclub.com/update/sest/200712/17/20071217apnews.mp3

Reference:

1.The second major winter storm in a week is making its way through the Northeast. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has ordered state agencies to send home non-emergency employees and he is encouraging private businesses to follow suit. The storm is being blamed for dozens of traffic accidents throughout the state.

2.British forces have formally handed over control of Basra to Iraq. British troops will continue to help train security forces there. The handover means half of the country's 18 provinces are controlled by the Iraqi government.

3.Turkish forces are escalating their fight against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq. They launched a deadly early morning air raid, targeting rebel positions near the border with Iran.

4.A group of students from a culinary academy in Peru thought they would get festive in a different way to mark the upcoming Year of the Potato. These students cooked up a Christmas exhibition made entirely of potatoes. It is complete with a potato Christmas tree and Nativity scene.

Development Report



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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Books are a high cost of higher education, but the Global Text Project hopes to create or free library of one thousand electronic textbooks for students in developing countries. The aim is to offer subjects that students may take in their first few years at university. The books could be printed or read on a computer or copied on to a CD or DVD.

Two professors in the United States are leading the Global Text Project. Richard Watson is the acting head of the department of management information systems at the University of Georgia. And Donald M is a professor of information technology and electronic commerce at the University of Denver in Colorado. Professor Watson tells us that the idea for this project goes back several years. He was teaching a computer programming class but did not have a good textbook, so he asked his students to each write part of a book that he would organize and edit. By the end of the term professor Watson had a finished product, since than he has used it for other classes. Now Professors Watson and M are seeking volunteers to supervise the creation of books for the library. They are looking for professors or other professionals.

The Global Text Project is similar in technology to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit on the internet. But only one or two people will be able to make the final edits in texts. The projecting includes a committee of scholars mostly from developing countries to advice on require textbooks and their content. Globaltext.org has a link to the prototype global text library with two books on information systems and economic analysis. Other free texts on subjects including linear algebra and oceanography are also available at globaltext.org.

The group's first book on information systems is being tested in * and *. Professor Watson says the plan is to offer about ten free books within the next year including an English grammar text. Project organizers also want to offer text books in Arabic, Chinese and Spanish. They are working with a translation company in the United States and Professor Watson says students could also get involved. For example, a student learning English in an Arab country could translate part of a book into Arabic then another student and the class professor could check the translation.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss, I am Bob Doughty.

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啊，传说中的王子