美国新闻听力文本-经济篇

经济篇
The US Commerce Department（商务部）reports in its first estimate of economic performance for the January to March quarter, that the US economy contracted at a bigger than forecasted annual rate—6.1 percent. This is the second three month period in which the economy shrank at a more than six percent annual rate. The rate of decline was more than financial markets had expected. But despite that, stock prices rallied（恢复）Wednesday as analysts found positive elements to the otherwise grim （糟糕的）report. These included a slight increase in consumer spending and a replenishment（补充）of business inventories. The International Monetary Fund（国际货币基金组织）last week forecast that the US economy would contract by 2.8 percent this year, after expanding by about one percent last year. The US recession, which began in December 2007, is the most severe since the Second World War.
背景导读
美国商务部2009年4月29日表示，美国第一季度GDP季度调整后年降6.1%，经济学家预期值为下降4.6%。

美国第一季度经济下滑几乎没有改善，企业削减开支和库存，表明衰退并未如预期那样放缓。

Indications that unemployment continues to rise is grim news for leaders heading to the G-20 summit（20国集团峰会）in the United States next week. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development（经济合作与发展组织）reports unemployment reached its highest level among industrialized nations of 8.5 percent in July. OECD unemployment division chief Stephan Scarpetta says the number of jobless among the OECD’s 30 member countries is expected to climb even higher next year, to nearly 10 percent. That translates into 57 million people out of work. The United States, Spain and Ireland are among those countries with the fastest rising unemployment. All three were affected by the collapse of high housing prices. The damage spread to other sectors of the economy. Scarpetta says young people are among the hardest hit. In Spain, for example, more than one in three young workers are unemployed.
背景导读
经济合作与发展组织2009年9月份报告说，工业化国家的失业率仍在增加，而且有可能在明年达到近10%的历史最高水平，尽管不断有报道说，很多工业化国家正在走出几十年来最严重的经济危机。

各国政府虽然扩大和延长了失业补贴的发放，并且提供了更多的就业咨询和培训，但是这些措施并没有缓解失业人口的增加。

India’s main festival and wedding season starts in less than two weeks. It is the time of the year when Abhinav Malhotra usually saw his big jewelry shop in South Delhi（德里）packed with
customers. But, this year, there is barely a trickle of buyers for the glittering（闪闪发光的）gold bangles（手镯）, necklaces and earrings on display. Malhotra says the number of customers is down by half, compared to last year, as surging gold prices and the global economic recession scare away people. As gold prices top $1,000 an ounce—the highest price for the metal in the last 18 months—traders say they expect demand to dip drastically this festival and wedding season. The World Gold Council（世界黄金协会）says, in the first half of the year, India’s gold imports slumped （下跌）by 26 percent, dropping to their lowest level in six years. India is the world’s biggest buyer of the precious metal.
背景导读
目前，受全球黄金价格不断飙升以及全球经济衰退的影响，很多印度人都抑制了购买黄金的冲动。

每年10月是印度黄金销售旺季，因为各种宗教节日庆典以及婚礼仪式都在该月举行。

然而，随着今年全球黄金价格突破每盎司1000美元大关，创下了过去18个月以来的新高，印度黄金交易商也遭遇了黄金交易的尴尬与无奈。

A US government report released Friday shows that output in the US economy fell at a faster pace in the October to December quarter than previously reported. Gross domestic product fell at more than a six percent rate. It was the worst quarterly performance for the US economy in 26 years. Output declined at a 6.2 percent rate in the October to December period. Last month the government agency that collects economic data said the 4th quarter decline was a more modest 3.8 percent. The figures will be revised again next month as more data becomes available. Economists are divided as to whether the pace of output shrinkage is accelerating or stabilizing. The 4th quarter pace of decline was more severe than what most forecasters expected. John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Bank（瓦霍维亚银行）, says the fourth quarter was likely the lowest point of the recession that began in December 2007.
背景导读
2008年第四季度美国经济疲软程度超过此前的预估值，经济降幅创26年之最，企业利润下滑了超过四分之一。

美国商务部在2009年3月公布，2008年10至12月份，美国国内生产总值（GDP)终值折合成年率为下降6.3%。

此前的GDP预估值折合成年率为下降6.2%。

After recent falls, Australia’s gold output has bounced back（恢复）and is worth about $7 billion annually. The new gold rush has been boosted（提升）by production at the open cast Boddington mine in Western Australia that’s owned by American resources company, Newmont. Spokeswoman Annette Dix says the project has lofty（极高的）ambitions. “For the first five years, we will be the biggest goldmine in Australia. Eventually, it will be the size of the Perth CBD（中央商务区）,” she said. Prices for gold are approaching $1,000 an ounce and international investors, especially those in China, are taking a keen interest in the trade. China remains the world’s largest producer of gold. Analysts have predicted that increases to Australia’s output could see it overtake the United States and South Africa as the second most important source of a precious commodity that shows few signs of going out of fashion.
背景导读
澳大利亚农业与资源经济局2009年6月23日表示，由于国际和澳洲黄金价格强劲上扬，08/09财年澳黄金出口额将升至175亿澳元这一创纪录水平，对应同比增幅为61%。

09/10财年澳黄金产量预计将增长9%至239吨。

产量预测上调的主要原因是，未来预计约有14个新金矿项目开工，其他一些项目也将进入产能提升期。

Mr. Sarkozy announced France will begin including less tangible（有形的）indicators（指数）, like happiness and well being, into its measurements of economic progress. The French President said the current crisis does not just give the international community the freedom to imagine another economic model; it obliges the world to do so. “We do not have the choice,” he said. Mr. Sarkozy’s remarks coincided with（与……相一致）the publication of a new report by two Nobel economists, Joseph Stiglitz and Armatya Sen that looks at non-traditional ways at measuring social progress. The report was commissioned by the French government. The report recommends shifting the ways policymakers look at progress from what economists call gross domestic product, or GDP, which is a general measure of goods and services produced in a country. The new indicators also would include non-material “wealth,” like access to education and health care.
背景导读
2009年9月14日，法国总统萨科齐在巴黎大学索邦学院发表讲话时说，在判断经济的健康程度时，法国将在GDP这一通常的指标之外，还考虑幸福程度。

他认为，应当对国民经济核算方式进行改革，将国民幸福感纳入衡量经济表现的指标。

如果采用这种新的计算方式，计入公共卫生医疗服务、福利制度以及长假，法国经济表现立刻就会得以好转。

萨科齐此举最重要的目标，是把法国经济增长率至少提高一个百分点。

US President Barack Obama says the nation’s governors will be held accountable（负有责任的）for money flowing into their states as part of his economic stimulus plan. The money should start arriving this week. The plan includes billions of dollars to help states hard hit by the recession keep important programs and services in operation. The first money to flow from Washington will be used to help states provide health care for those in need. The president says $15 billion will be transferred from the federal government to state coffers（金库）on Wednesday. During a meeting with most of the 50 governors at the White House, President Obama stressed the importance of accountability. He said when it comes to implementing（实行）the $787 billion stimulus package there is no room for error. Mr. Obama said he is naming Earl Devaney to head a new office that will monitor the distribution and use of stimulus funds. And he said Vice President Joe Biden will oversee the implementation of the plan. 背景导读
美国50个州的州长2009年2月21日齐聚首都华盛顿，召开为期三天的会议，讨论如何应对经济危机，以及分配7870亿联邦救助金。

会议期间，州长们对奥巴马的经济刺激计划进行了激烈辩论，对如何应对金融危机各抒己见。

美国总统奥巴马23日发表讲话称，会有一个专门的办公室监督这笔救助金的使用。

World markets were all off sharply at the end of the week after a drop on Wall Street Thursday that saw the Dow index（道琼斯指数）hit a six-year low. Grim corporate news in Asia and Europe kept the negative pressure on. In Sweden, carmaker Saab has filed for bankruptcy（破产）protection and is hoping to spin off（资产分派）from its US parent company, General Motors. The overseas markets keep probing new depths and that is a clear sign that investors do not see a quick end to this deep global downturn despite unprecedented government intervention efforts so far, around the world. In export-driven Asia, more bad news. In Thailand, January exports showed a 26.5 percent drop. That is the steepest fall in a dozen years. The Tokyo index lost nearly two percent Friday while Hong Kong dropped 2.5 percent. In Europe, the Swedish automaker Saab, which is owned by General Motors, has gone to court and filed for bankruptcy protection. Saab is seeking to create a fully independent business.
背景导读
美国媒体2009年5月27日报道，受经济危机影响，多个国家的经济指数仍在继续下滑。

通用汽车公司如果申请破产保护，可能改变道琼斯工业指数现有股票构成。

目前，通用旗下的萨博部门已经处于瑞典破产法庭的保护之下，而德国欧宝部门则正在寻找买家。

This week, leaders of the top industrial and developing economies gathered in the eastern United States. They met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a summit on the world’s financial future. Leaders of the Group of Twenty have now met three times in less than a year to deal with the worst recession since the 1930s. Many of their governments have used spending programs to inject five trillion dollars into their economies. These stimulus（激励）efforts have had some success. Now, the question is how and when to withdraw（收回）that support without harming a recovery, and how to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis. The leaders agreed to make the G20 the main group for their international economic cooperation, instead of the G8（八国集团）. The G20 is nineteen countries and the European Union. It includes fast-growing economies in the developing world like China, India and Brazil.
背景导读
二十国集团成立于1999年9月25日，其成员包括美国、日本、德国、法国、英国、意大利、加拿大、俄罗斯、中国、阿根廷、澳大利亚、巴西、印度、印度尼西亚、墨西哥、沙特阿拉伯、南非、韩国、土耳其和作为一个实体的欧盟。

2008年11月25日，二十国集团领导人首次在美国首都华盛顿举行峰会，商讨如何应对不断加剧的国际金融危机。

2009年4月，二十国集团在英国首都伦敦举行了第二次金融峰会。

第三次二十国集团金融峰会于2009年9月24日至25日在美国匹兹堡召开。

除讨论推动世界经济复苏、转变经济发展方式等议题外，改革国际金融体系是第三次峰会的一个重要议题。

US President Barack Obama has made his third trip this week to build public support for his plan to stimulate the nation’s economy. Mr. Obama visited a road construction project near Washington to make his case for spending more federal funds to rebuild infrastructure（基础设施建设）. President Obama stood near a road being built, in an area long known for traffic congestion（拥堵）, and said
building new infrastructure is a big part of his plan for reviving the economy. Mr. Obama is proposing what he says is the largest increase in infrastructure spending since President Dwight Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System（州际高速公路体系）in the 1950s. The president said funding infrastructure projects will also help create jobs in other areas of the economy. He specifically mentioned the Caterpillar Company, which makes much of the heavy equipment used in road projects. Caterpillar recently announced more than 20,000 layoffs（解雇）.
背景导读
美国当选总统奥巴马2008年12月6日公布经济复苏计划，其中一项主要内容是加大基础设施建设投入。

考虑到联邦政府的基础设施建设资金可能因地方政府官僚作风不能及时下放，因此他对各州制定了一条简明规定：要么用它，要么放弃它。

如果州政府未能迅速向州内道路桥梁投资，就会失去这笔钱。

按计划，新政府加大基建投入的同时会采取节能措施削减开支。

自然篇
An El Nino event occurs when water temperature in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean rises abnormally（异常地）. The movement of warmer, moist air to the east leaves drier weather in the western Pacific. The Climate Prediction Center（气候预报中心）in the United States has warned that after months of rising temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, the onset of an El Nino pattern was becoming more likely between now and August. The water is now half a degree warmer than average. Researchers at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology（澳大利亚气象局）agree that an El Nino event is likely. They say if recent trends in Pacific climate patterns persist, there is a strong chance that an El Nino pattern will emerge in the coming months. Such conditions could be disastrous for farmers in Australia’s drought-prone（易干旱的）southeast who can expect little relief from years of below average rainfall.
背景导读
据澳大利亚气象局2009年6月12日表示，目前异常的厄尔尼诺天气仍徘徊在太平洋盆地，并可能持续到今年年底。

澳大利亚仍可能经历典型的厄尔尼诺天气状况。

澳大利亚东部地区七月和八月期间天气干燥，而八月和九月初期间许多地区气温异常偏高。

厄尔尼诺天气通常会导致下半年澳大利亚东部地区降雨量低于平均水平。

UN aid agencies say this year’s flooding across West Africa may match the severity（严重性）of the floods that occurred in 2007. Those killed some 300 people and displaced 800,000. This year’s toll （伤亡人数）has not reached that level. But the torrential（汹涌的）rains have not stopped. They are expected to continue for several more weeks, enough time to add to the already extensive damage that has occurred. UN Humanitarian spokeswoman Elizabeth Byrs says Burkina Faso has been the hardest hit. She says at least five people have been killed and 110,000 forced to flee their homes, mainly in the capital, Ouagadougou. Byrs says this is extremely worrying as more rain and more flooding is sure to occur. She says the country has not yet recovered from the economic losses suffered in 2007.
背景导读
联合国人道主义事务协调办公室2009年9月4日在日内瓦举行的记者招待会上通报说，由于今年雨季的雨量过多，非洲西部多个国家遭受洪灾。

布基纳法索受灾人数超过11万人，有5人死亡。

加纳所有的省份都遭到洪水侵袭，迄今已有27人在灾害中丧生。

联合国灾害评估小组4日抵达布基纳法索，对灾害造成的损失情况进行评估。

Green Seal President Arthur Weissman says most people who were surveyed said they are recycling（回收利用）. But Weissman says the survey by Green Seal and the firm EnviroMedia Social Marketing shows that consumers are uncertain how to tell whether a product helps the environment.
One in 10 relied on advertising and one in five said that product reputation helped them determine whether a product is green. One in five said that word of mouth—getting advice from friends—was an important source of information. Weissman says that is where Green Seal plays a role. The independent group certifies（认证）products and services as environmentally friendly through a life-cycle evaluation—looking at the raw materials and the manufacturing process, transportation and recycling of old products. Weissman says environmental stresses can come at any stage. Paper, for example, has little impact on the environment as it is being used, but requires large amounts of energy and resources for its production.
背景导读
一项由美国绿色认证组织（Green Seal）与社会环境营销组织（EnviroMedia Social Marketing）联合进行的研究表明，即使美国经济正陷入衰退，仍有八成消费者购买绿色产品和服务，有时花费更多。

同时指出多种因素影响消费者作出购买决定。

The flood waters in northern Namibia and southwestern Zambia began slowly to recede three days ago but it is likely to take two or three weeks until communities once again become accessible. Simon Nhongo, the United Nations Resident Coordinator（联合国驻地协调员）based in Windhoek, tells VOA until then, people cannot access basic services. The communities of the regions were preparing for the annual harvest of pearl millet and corn within weeks. Nhongo says the outlook is bleak（无希望的）and that about 30 percent of the affected communities were already experiencing food shortages. He says the impact could be felt for as long as twelve months. Communities in the central regions of northern Namibia will have access, as they do each year, to fish that comes down from Angola during the annual flood. This fish is dried and kept for use throughout the year. However, Nhongo says communities in the Caprivi who rely on fishing in the Zambezi and Okavango throughout the year, will be less fortunate.
背景导读
联合国人道主义事务协调办公室2009年3月27日在日内瓦说，纳米比亚、安哥拉、赞比亚等南部非洲国家正遭受44年来最严重的洪灾，当地的人道主义局势将进一步恶化。

这是南部非洲国家自1965年以来遭受的最为严重的洪灾，而且预计降雨仍将持续，洪灾将更加严重。

洪水泛滥还可能引发包括霍乱在内的传染性疾病的大规模暴发。

Water scarcity from the key issues dominates the Forum. Last week, the United Nations released its latest research on water, which paints a bleak picture of increasing demand and diminishing（递减的）supplies. Gerhard Payen is an adviser on water to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President of The International Federation of Private Water Operators—an association that connects international organizations with private sector providers of water and sanitation（下水道设施）services. He says the UN report is an important wake up call to the world. The Middle East, according to the UN report, is a potential flashpoint（爆发点）—particularly between Israel and its neighbors—because of dwindling（渐渐减少）water supplies. Turkey, the host of the World Water Forum, is offering a solution that could help ease those tensions. The Turkish government is proposing to sell water to Israel from its eastern Mediterranean coast.
背景导读
为期一周的第五届世界水论坛大会于2009年3月16日上午在景色宜人、地跨两洲的土耳其伊斯坦布尔隆重开幕，这是继1997年摩洛哥、2000年荷兰、2003年日本、2006年墨西哥成功举办四届水论坛后的又一次重大世界水事活动，其主题是“跨越水的鸿沟”。

共有来自13个国际机构以及100多个国家和地区的2.5万各界人士参与本届论坛及相关活动。

The Copenhagen（哥本哈根）meeting drew about 2,000 scientists from around the world, and the news they delivered was not encouraging as they warned of an increasingly warmer world with more frequent droughts, and food and health problems. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change（政府间气候变化工作小组）chairman Rajendra Pachauri summed up the fallout（附带结果）if temperatures increase. Scientists warn the impact of climate change is hitting the world faster than previous predictions by Pachauri’s IPCC, which amounts to a more conservative（保守的）consensus（一致）of top world researchers. Climate change expert Konrad Steffen, of the University of Colorado（科罗拉多州立大学）in the United States, explained the impact of climate-induced sea level rises to coastal areas. World leaders of the top 20 economies are expected to discuss climate change during talks on the global economic downturn next month in London. Late this year, scientists and politicians are to gather in Copenhagen for a key global climate-change summit in an effort to thrash out a consensus on cutting heat-trapping（聚热的）greenhouse gasses.
背景导读
2008年，全球气候谈判没有一个定论。

2009年是全球气候变化谈判至关重要的一年。

在《京都议定书》即将到期和全球金融危机蔓延的大背景下，2009年全球在应对气候变化问题上将面临极大的挑战和机遇。

2009年，国际社会将召开一系列会议，目标是在2009年12月召开的丹麦哥本哈根气候变化大会上就削减全球温室气体排放量达成新的协议。

As temperatures hovered around 44 degrees Celsius across northern, eastern and central India, officials in several states reported scores of heat-related deaths. Many of the victims belong to India’s poorest states such as Orissa and Jharkhand. High temperatures are common starting May, but seasonal monsoon（季风）rains usually bring some cooling showers in June. However there has been no respite（缓解）from the scorching（酷热的）weather due to poor rains in recent weeks. The impact of the prolonged heat spell has been aggravated by acute（严重的）power and water shortages in many parts of the country. In New Delhi, angry residents in parts of the city have held street protests to draw attention to the dry taps（水龙头）and lengthy power outages（中断供应）. Officials say there is little they can do to ease the situation. Levels in water reservoirs（贮水池）have fallen, and power stations （发电站）are unable to cope with the huge surge in demand as air conditioners work overtime.
背景导读
印度媒体2009年6月25日报道，印度北部、中部和东部等地过去一周的平均气温超过40摄氏度。

首都新德里白天气温近来徘徊在43摄氏度左右。

持续高温天气已导致印度全国至少120人死亡。

持续高温以及伴随出现的停电、缺水引发新德里和孟买两大城市的民众举行抗议活动。

The affects of climate change have been a major point of discussion for international firefighting experts gathered in Sydney to look at ways to fight bushfires（森林火灾）. Delegates from Asia, the United States and Europe attending a two-day International Wildfire Management Conference see improved technology and research as weapons against wildfires around the world. Southeast Australia is one of the most fire-prone regions anywhere and international experts have been keen to learn from the catastrophic（灾难性的）events in the state of Victoria earlier this year. A series of blazes, many sparked by lightning strikes or by suspected arsonists（纵火犯）, killed more than 170 people. Walls of flames powered through communities, propelled（推进）by strong winds. The fires were fed by dry conditions caused by very hot temperatures and a long drought, which many blame on climate change. The disaster has focused attention on Australia’s “stay-or-go” policy, where homeowners either fight the flames or leave their property.
背景导读
澳大利亚东南部因连日罕见的高温和大风引发山林大火，截至当地时间2009年2月9日晨，大火已经造成至少108人死亡，堪称澳大利亚历史上最为惨烈的山林火灾。

山林大火在澳大利亚夏季十分常见。

The water vapor was found 11.5 billion light years from Earth, using the 100-meter Effelsberg radio telescope（无线电波望远镜）at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Leipzig, Germany. A light year is the amount of time it takes for light to travel through space in a single year. Astronomers say the water vapor is in the form of a disc, called a maser（微波激射）, orbiting a black hole. Black holes are regions in the universe where gravity（引力）is so strong everything around them, including light, is sucked in. John McKean, who is part of the research team at the Max Planck Institute, says some black holes, are inactive. And McKean says masers are safe from their gravitation pull, offering astronomers an opportunity to trace the gases swirling around（绕……旋转）black holes. The study on the discovery of ancient water in the universe is published in the journal Nature.
背景导读
德国的马克斯·普朗克射电天文学研究所针对射电天文学领域中的天文学问题进行观测，重点在射电光谱学。

隶属于该研究所的伊费尔斯堡无线电波天文台，使用反射镜直径达100公尺的无线电波望远镜，在离地球115亿光年处发现水蒸气。

这一发现将为科学家在外太空寻找生命迹象提供帮助。

The largest fire has burned about 500 square kilometers of the Angeles National Forest（安其拉国家森林公园）, north of Los Angeles. Some 3,600 firefighters are attacking the flames in steep（险峻的）terrain（地带）, using bulldozers（推土机）, tractors and hand tools. They are also setting backfires（为防野火蔓延迎面点火）to clear away dry brush, and using helicopters and airplanes to drop water and fire retardant（阻燃剂）. They got some help on Tuesday from slightly higher humidity as they worked to protect homes in hillside communities. Officials say they have carved out（开辟）nearly 20 kilometers of fire lines to slow the advance of the flames. Firefighters are working to protect
communication and scientific facilities on Mount Wilson, which overlooks downtown Los Angeles. The site is home to transmitters for most of the city’s television stations, as well as some radio stations, several mobile phone companies and police communication systems.
背景导读
2009年8月底逼近洛杉矶市区的林站山火是洛杉矶现代历史上最大的一场森林火灾，大火蔓延到威尔逊山附近，对那里的广播与通讯设施以及具有历史意义的威尔逊山天文台构成了威胁。

火灾于10月初被扑灭，超过四分之一的安琪拉国家森林公园被烧毁。

文化篇
One of the most curious forms of tourism is called agritourism（农业旅游）. People pay rural families for the chance to move in for a few days and learn firsthand what farm life is all about. The families make a few dollars, and the agritourists learn such skills as making butter, slopping（喂养）pigs, cleaning out horse stalls（马槽）, even cutting Christmas trees and baking cookies. The last of those chores（家庭琐事）was especially popular during the holiday season just past, when lots of people moved in with Midwest farm families. Often, adult agritourists take their children along as a sort of object lesson: Look here, kids, this is what real work is all about! Maybe that tourist would change his mind if he stopped back at the farm at planting or harvest time, but he came away impressed, for sure. By the way, some parts of a farm visit—hog butchering（屠杀）and deer skinning, for example—are strictly optional activities!
背景导读
休闲观光农业作为一种产业，是20世纪60年代初首先在西方发达国家兴起和发展，而后在全球蓬勃发展起来的。

随着科学技术进步和生产力水平迅速提高，人们的财富和闲暇时间增加，城市居住环境恶化，信息社会节奏加快，传统景点景区遭受污染、破坏，为了缓解生活和工作压力，享受生活，放松身心，或为保护生态环境，人们在有时间和能力消遣的条件下，就可以到乡村中和农业基地中去寻找绿色的自然、田园的风光，或寻找别具特色的民俗风情以及那种返璞归真，回归自然的纯真。

President Obama speaks often of his American mother and his Kenyan father. It turns out that he is also Irish. His roots go back to the same county that is home to Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen. And as the two met at the White House for the first time, Mr. Obama spoke of a common bond（联系). In keeping with tradition, the leader of the Republic of Ireland presented Mr. Obama with a crystal bowl of shamrocks（三叶草）, the three-leafed clover that is the symbol of Ireland. But Mr. Cowen made clear that his visit was about more than a celebration of Irish heritage. He talked about the peace process that ended decades of conflict in Northern Ireland between Irish separatists and British forces. Recently, militants opposed to Northern Ireland’s ties to Britain killed a police officer and two soldiers in separate incidents near Belfast. The prime minister said the Irish people do not support such action. 背景导读
爱尔兰总理考恩当地时间2009年3月17日在美国白宫出席了爱尔兰传统的圣帕特里克节的庆祝活动。

奥巴马在与他的会面中不仅就双边关系和国际热点问题交换了意见，还拿圣帕特里克节举例赞美爱尔兰文化对美国文化产生的深远影响。

他当天特意戴了条绿色的领带，并非常幽默地开起了玩笑，称自己母亲的家族最早可以追溯到爱尔兰，而考恩只比自己大两岁，两人可能是亲戚关系。

In speeches women trade union representatives in Thailand, marking international women’s day activities, called for greater job security as the global economic downturn makes deep cuts into employment in export-oriented industries. The rallies, led by workers from the textile（纺织）and electronics industries, called on the government to provide more welfare to the unemployed workers and support industries hit by the downturn. Speakers called for promotion of a welfare state, free education, tax reform, and a reduction in excessive spending in areas such as the military and the promotion of labor politics. Thailand’s textile and electronics industries, driving forces of its industrial export strategy over recent decades, are dominated by female workers. In many factories as many as three quarters of the employees are women. But the recession（衰退）and slide（跌落）in export demand has left women factory workers bearing the brunt（冲击）of cutbacks.
背景导读
泰国许多女性产业工人在纺织和机电行业工作。

她们要求政府制定政策，在目前全球经济低迷时期加大保护就业安全以及社会福利的力度。

她们利用2009年国际妇女节举行集会，呼吁政府改善失业工人的社会福利，支持工业渡过低迷时期。

泰国总理阿披实接受了女性工团主义者递交的一份要求清单。

他说，政府正在制定政策，支持工作女性，同时将改革泰国的社会保障体系。

It was just a few years ago, it seems, that e-mail was a new, even exciting, way to communicate. Nowadays it is old hat. Send an e-mail. Wait for a response. Usually it only involves two people. The new way of communicating, known as social media or social networking, involves a potentially huge audience observing the conversation, and joining in. “They’re for having dialoge and real time conversation,” said social media expert Geoff Livingston, a fellow at the Society for New Communications Research and author of a book on new media called “Now is Gone.” He says the new concept behind such popular websites as Facebook, My Space and Twitter creates both a challenge and an opportunity for any organization, like a government department, that wants to get a message out to the people it cares about.
背景导读
近年来，社交网站的兴起，为人们带来了一场革命式的社交风暴。

在拉近人与人之间距离的同时，社交网站也从很多方面潜移默化地改变着我们的生活方式。

2009年，社交网站获得了爆发式增长。

据尼尔森在线统计，Twitter的用户同比增长了1382%，美国单月新增用户就高达700万人，Facebook继续超越Myspace成为社交网站行业的老大。

5月1日，美国白宫不仅在社交网络“我的空间”（Myspace)和“脸谱”（Facebook)上开设网页，而且还通过微型博客服务网站Twitter将其官方网站上的信息实时发出。

A tale of a drug deal gone bad, No Country for Old Men（《老无所依》）was named best picture （最佳影片）. Brothers Ethan and Joel Coen shared the honor of best director for the film, and earned Oscars for its screenplay, which was adapted from a novel by Cormac McCarthy. Joel Coen said the brothers have made films since they were youngsters in Minnesota（明尼苏达州）. The pair previously won the original screenplay Oscar for their 1996 film Fargo（《冰血暴》）. Javier Bardem was named best supporting actor（最佳男配角）for his role as a psychopathic killer in No Country for Old Men.。