华丽丽的抢个沙发

LZ辛苦了

呵呵，我现在终于能听懂apnews了

ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ。。。。。

AP NEWS 2007-12-20



Download:  http://download.putclub.com/update/sest/200712/20/20071220apnews.mp3

Reference:

1.Fire at the Eisenhower Executive Office building next door to the White House. It appeared smoke came from an electrical closet on the second floor. Vice President Cheney's ceremony office was damaged by smoke and water.

2.The government is capping flights in New York's major airports trying to ease air travel delays nationwide. The rush hour restrictions take effect in March. Delays starting in New York often ripple across the country.

3.An arrest in the case of slaying Kansas college student to let her secret life as an internet porn model. Israel Mireles has been charged with capital murder, rape and criminal sodomy.

4.On the cover of TIME magazine is the person of the year, Russian President Vladimir Putin. The magazine says Putin took a country in chaos then brought it stability with TIME's managing editor calling Putin "The new czar of Russia."

Education Report



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Reference:

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

One of our listeners has a question about college athletes in the United States. A.G. in Mexico would like to know how much they study. Well, we suppose that like any other students there were those who study a lot, those who study just enough and those who struggle.

But this question touches on a hotly debated subject. College sports, especially football and basketball, are a big industry. Nationally rated teams and television broadcast rights can be worth millions of dollars. This could be seen as a good deal all around. Colleges invest in their players, and in return, the schools earn money and attention.

The athletes often get a free education, and they gain experience that might lead to a chance to play professionally. But critics question the morality of the situation where college athletes may seem valued more as athletes than as college students. Praise is heard for recent improvements in graduation rates. Yet, critics say that some players who finish college never really learn anything except their sport.

Getting back to the question of how much college athletes study. A better answer would be "It all depends." The expectations and pressures on athletes differ from school to school and sport to sport.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association governs college sports in the United States. For the past few years, this organization has been increasing requirements for student athletes that includes high school students who want to compete on division one teams, the top division in college sports. College athletes are required to make continual progress toward earning their degree.

New reforms aim to punish division one schools that do not graduate enough of their athletes. Yet, finishing college is not always a goal for students who are good enough to play professionally. Is this short term thinking? A sports career may not last very long or lead to the wealth and fame that young players may dream of. But there are always exceptions.

Fans of American football may remember the retired New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath. Last weekend he graduated from the University of Alabama. He left that school 42 years ago to play for the Jets. Now he is 64, but he went back, in part, he says, because he has promised his mother to finish his education.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbeck. Next week, more on the subject of college athletes. I'm Steve Ember.



[ 本帖最后由 vanbryan 于 2007-12-20  19:25 编辑 ]

AP NEWS 2007-12-21



Download: http://download.putclub.com/update/sest/200712/21/20071221apnews.mp3

Reference:

Chaos break out in the New Orlean city hall between police and demonstrators during a consule meeting of Republican Housing. Protestors want to stop the city from tearing down the buildings. Officers use chemical sprays and stun guns to restrain demonstrators.

Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani is out of the hospital. Doctors gave him the all clear after the cadidate spent the night in the St. Louis hospital with flu like symptoms. The former NY city mayor is leading in the national polls but Mike Huckabee is challenging his standing.

Aruban prosecutors say one of the suspects in the Natalee Holloway case wrote in the Internet chat section that the American teen is dead. A lawyer would not say which suspect wrote that, three primary suspect were rearrested early on the police said there were more evidence but released this week. Holloway disappeared in May of 2005.

David Letterman is striking writers who meet tomorrow to try to reach an aggrement to bring the writers back to work for the late show. The strike has brought shows all close including all of the late night talk shows but Letterman is hoping to strike deal spearate from the television and movie studios.

Economic Report



Download:  http://download.putclub.com/update/sest/200712/21/20071221REPORT.mp3

Reference:

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Abe Mirza is an American, 59 years old and retired. He was trained as an accountant. In fact, he has three degrees in financial record keeping. And he has over 20 years of experience as a business executive. After four years of retirement, he decided that it was time to give something back. On the internet, he found an economic developing organization - the International Executive Service Corps. This private non-profit group links volunteer experts and paid consultants with local business people in developing countries. It was established in the United States in 1964 as a Peace Corps for business people.

In September, the International Executive Service Corps paid for Abe Mirza to travel to west Africa. He spent more than two months preparing for an intensive two-week experience as a volunteer in Ghana. He went to Accra, the capital to meet with bankers and business people. From his early meetings, he learned that the bankers wanted the business people to keep better financial records. So he taught major accounting methods to 80 business people.

These were leaders of medium sized businesses, like home food processing and cannery, a seller of palmoil and spicies. Another example was all pure nature, a maker of shade butter for skin care and other products.

The businesses were large enough to be ready to export their goods, but they had not reached the level of record keeping that would permit them to develop a lending relationship with banks. The owners all have the same need to understand international accounting rules. Accountants in Ghana and other countries are adopting a new system of financial reporting. Abe Mirza had to provide a lot of information. He says it was like learning everything for a four-year college degree in one week. He not only showed the business people how to present financial statements, he also showed them how and why banks look at the information.

Abe Mirza says he did a lot in his years as a business man. But nothing compares to the feeling of satisfaction he got from his short time in Ghana.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. For a link to the International Executive Service Corps, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find transcripts and MP3 files of our reports. I'm Bob Doughty.

[ 本帖最后由 vanbryan 于 2007-12-21  18:54 编辑 ]

友情路过，看晕了，英文实在太差~

佛曰：今天抱佛脚还来得及……