BBC新闻：拜登过渡团队遇到阻碍

燕山大学 刘立军 供稿

【TRANSCRIPT】

Hello. I'm Debbie Russ with the BBC News. The US President-elect Joe Biden says his transition team has faced obstruction from the political leadership of the Department of Defense, and is not getting enough information on key national security areas. In his speech, Mr. Biden described this as nothing short of irresponsible. Right now, as our nation is in a period of transition, we need to make sure that nothing is lost in the handout between administrations. My team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter our enemies. We need full visibility into the budget planning underway at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit. The president-elect accused the Trump administration of causing enormous damage to many national security agencies.

The US House of Representatives has voted to override President Trump's veto of a $740 billion defense bill that was passed by congress earlier this month. The chair of the debate said the 2/3 majority of votes had been achieved. On this vote, the yeas are 322, the nays are 87, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the bill is passed, the objections of the president to contrary notwithstanding. The clerk will notify the Senate of the action of the House. Mr. Trump blocked the legislation complaining that it would limit troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Europe and lead to the removal of Confederate leaders names from US military bases. A majority of 2/3 in both the Senate and the House of Representatives would be required to reverse Mr. Trump's decision. The Senate will vote on Tuesday. Earlier, the House voted in favor of increasing the aid sent to individuals under the latest coronavirus stimulus package from $600 to 2,000. The initiative was suggested by President Trump, but was opposed by his Republican Party.

The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced much tougher coronavirus restrictions to tackle what he called an alarming and unprecedented rate of COVID-19 infections. The new tier-3 measures include a curfew and the compulsory use of masks in public spaces. From Johannesburg, here's Nomenser Masicho. President Ramaphosa said hospitals in many provinces are already close to capacity, and that health care workers are exhausted. South Africa has now passed 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. A new variant of the virus identified earlier this month is thought to be more contagious than the previous version. But Mr. Ramaphosa said the means to combat the virus were the same as before. He said it was about common sense and personal responsibility that everyone needed to play their part. Nomenser Masicho reporting. You're listening to the world news from the BBC.

Adapted from http://www.kekenet.com/broadcast/202012/622765.shtml

【VOCABULARY】

1. obstruction n. the fact of trying to prevent sth./sb. from making progress 阻挡；阻碍；妨碍。例如：the obstruction of justice 妨碍司法公正

2. deter v. to make sb. decide not to do sth. or continue doing sth., especially by making them understand the difficulties and unpleasant results of their actions 制止；阻止；威慑；使不敢。例如：The high price of the service could deter people from seeking advice. 这么高的服务费可能使咨询者望而却步。

3. adversary n. (formal) a person that sb. is opposed to and competing with in an argument or a battle （辩论、战斗中的）敌手；对手

4. override v. to use your authority to reject sb.'s decision, order, etc. （以权力）否决；推翻；不理会。例如：The chairman overrode the committee's objections and signed the agreement. 主席不顾委员会的反对，签署了协议。

5. veto n. the right to refuse to allow sth. to be done, especially the right to stop a law from being passed or a decision from being taken 否决权。例如：to have the power/right of veto有否决权

6. nays n. 反对票；投反对票者 ( nay的名词复数 )

7. notwithstanding adv. (formal) despite this 尽管如此。例如：Notwithstanding, the problem is a significant one. 然而，这个问题仍很重要。

8. legislation n. a law or a set of laws passed by a parliament 法规；法律。例如：an important piece of legislation 一条重要的法规

9. curfew n. a law which says that people must not go outside after a particular time at night until the morning; the time after which nobody must go outside 宵禁令；宵禁时间。例如：You must get home before curfew. 你必须在实行宵禁以前回到家中。

【QUESTIONS】

Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.

Hello. I'm Debbie Russ with the BBC News. The US President-elect Joe Biden says his transition team has faced (Q1) ______________________ from the political leadership of the Department of Defense, and is not getting enough (Q2) _________________ on key national security areas. In his speech, Mr. Biden described this as nothing short of irresponsible. Right now, as our nation is in a period of transition, we need to make sure that nothing is lost in the (Q3) _____________ between administrations. My team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to (Q4) ____________________________ our enemies. We need full visibility into the (Q5) _________________________ underway at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our (Q6) _____________ may try to exploit. The president-elect accused the Trump administration of causing enormous damage to many national security agencies.

The US House of Representatives has voted to override President Trump's (Q7) ____________ of a $740 billion defense bill that was passed by congress earlier this month. The chair of the debate said the 2/3 majority of votes had been achieved. On this vote, the yeas are 322, the nays are 87, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the bill is passed, the objections of the president to contrary (Q8) ______________. The clerk will notify the Senate of the action of the House. Mr. Trump blocked the (Q9) __________ complaining that it would limit troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Europe and lead to the removal of Confederate leaders names from US military bases. A majority of 2/3 in both the Senate and the House of Representatives would be required to reverse Mr. Trump's decision. The Senate will vote on Tuesday. Earlier, the House voted in favor of increasing the aid sent to individuals under the latest coronavirus stimulus package from $600 to 2,000. The (Q10) ___________________ was suggested by President Trump, but was opposed by his Republican Party.

The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced much tougher coronavirus restrictions to (Q11) ______________ what he called an alarming and unprecedented rate of COVID-19 infections. The new tier-3 measures include a curfew and the (Q12) ______________ use of masks in public spaces. From Johannesburg, here's Nomenser Masicho. President Ramaphosa said hospitals in many provinces are already close to capacity, and that health care workers are (Q13) ___________. South Africa has now passed 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. A new variant of the virus identified earlier this month is thought to be more (Q14) __________________ than the previous version. But Mr. Ramaphosa said the means to combat the virus were the same as before. He said it was about common sense and personal (Q15) _____________________ that everyone needed to play their part. Nomenser Masicho reporting. You're listening to the world news from the BBC.

【KEY】

Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.

Hello. I'm Debbie Russ with the BBC News. The US President-elect Joe Biden says his transition team has faced (Q1) obstruction from the political leadership of the Department of Defense, and is not getting enough (Q2) information on key national security areas. In his speech, Mr. Biden described this as nothing short of irresponsible. Right now, as our nation is in a period of transition, we need to make sure that nothing is lost in the (Q3) handout between administrations. My team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to (Q4) deter our enemies. We need full visibility into the (Q5) budget planning underway at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our (Q6) adversaries may try to exploit. The president-elect accused the Trump administration of causing enormous damage to many national security agencies.

The US House of Representatives has voted to override President Trump's (Q7) veto of a $740 billion defense bill that was passed by congress earlier this month. The chair of the debate said the 2/3 majority of votes had been achieved. On this vote, the yeas are 322, the nays are 87, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the bill is passed, the objections of the president to contrary (Q8) notwithstanding. The clerk will notify the Senate of the action of the House. Mr. Trump blocked the (Q9) legislation complaining that it would limit troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Europe and lead to the removal of Confederate leaders names from US military bases. A majority of 2/3 in both the Senate and the House of Representatives would be required to reverse Mr. Trump's decision. The Senate will vote on Tuesday. Earlier, the House voted in favor of increasing the aid sent to individuals under the latest coronavirus stimulus package from $600 to 2,000. The (Q10) initiative was suggested by President Trump, but was opposed by his Republican Party.

The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced much tougher coronavirus restrictions to (Q11) tackle what he called an alarming and unprecedented rate of COVID-19 infections. The new tier-3 measures include a curfew and the (Q12) compulsory use of masks in public spaces. From Johannesburg, here's Nomenser Masicho. President Ramaphosa said hospitals in many provinces are already close to capacity, and that health care workers are (Q13) exhausted. South Africa has now passed 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. A new variant of the virus identified earlier this month is thought to be more (Q14) contagious than the previous version. But Mr. Ramaphosa said the means to combat the virus were the same as before. He said it was about common sense and personal (Q15) responsibility that everyone needed to play their part. Nomenser Masicho reporting. You're listening to the world news from the BBC.

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