(单词翻译:单击)
路透社新闻
【精彩回顾】》》》---今日心情:
--Super Junior新专辑发布
--2012欧洲杯西班牙4:0大胜意大利成功卫冕
--香港恶劣习性引人担忧
1【Afghanistan declared major US ally】阿富汗宣布美国为其主要盟国
播放后点击【REPLAY】重播
TEXT：Afghanistan has been declared a major ally of the U.S. Largely symbolic in status, the announcement reinforces Washington's message that Afghans won’t be abandoned as foreign troops withdraw. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered the news on an unannounced visit to Kabul. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, HILLARY CLINTON, SAYING : "I am pleased to announce today that President Obama has officially designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, we see this as a powerful symbol of our commitment to Afghanistan's future." As war winds down, the status upgrade may help Afghanistan have access to U.S. defence supplies and training for local troops. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON SAYING : "Obviously we know Afghanistan has an agenda ahead of itself to make key economic reforms to fight corruption to strengthen the role of law to attract more trade and investment, and I want to commend president Karzai for his strong public pledges to stand about corruption and build institutions that will be critical for Afghanistan's future and Mr. President you will always have our support in your efforts." The news came on the eve of a major Afghan donors' conference in Japan. Just under $4 billion in annual development aid is expected to be pledged. This is on top of the $4.1 billion committed by NATO and its partners in May. Sarah Charlton, Reuters.
参考译文:阿富汗已经宣布美国成为其主要的盟国。这很大程度是地位的象征，宣告强调了此前华盛顿发出的信息，称即使国外军队撤离，阿富汗人民也不会被抛弃。在对喀布尔的一次非公开性访问中，国务卿希拉里传达了这个消息。希拉里称：“今天我很高兴的宣布，奥巴马总统已经正式宣布将阿富汗作为北约成员国外的主要盟友，这是我们致力于建设阿富汗未来的强有力的象征。”随着战争的缓解，地位的升级可能会帮助阿富汗有机会获得美国的防御补给以及当地军队的培训。希拉里称：“很显然，我们知道阿富汗有自己的方案来进行主要的经济改革，抵抗腐败，巩固法律的作用以及吸引更多的贸易和投资，在这里，我想赞扬卡尔扎伊总统公开宣誓反对腐败并建立将对阿富汗未来起决定性的制度，我们也将提供给你源源不断的支持。”这个消息来是在日本的一个主要阿富汗捐赠者会议前夕。每年预期保证有略低于40亿美元的发展援助。今年五月由北约和其伙伴承诺的达到最多的41亿美元。
2【Devastating floods sweep China】巨大洪水席卷中国
TEXT:Heavy rainfall is pounding parts of northern and southwestern China, triggering floods that are destroying crops and infrastructure. By Saturday afternoon, 38,000 residents from one northern province had been affected by the floods. Thousands of houses in the area have collapsed and vast swathes of farmland have been inundated, causing over 40 million USD of damage, according to state broadcaster CCTV. In nearby areas, torrential rains caused many major roads to collapse and sent rivers gushing over the banks. Meanwhile, in southwestern Sichuan Province, the storm had affected over 2 million people, and 30,000 had been relocated as of Thursday. China's meteorological authorities on Sunday forecast more heavy rain northern, southwestern and eastern parts of the country in the coming three days, according the officials Xinhua news agency. Travis Brecher, Reuters
参考译文:在中国北部及西南部部分地区正遭受强降雨的袭击，引发的洪水正在摧毁庄家和基础设施。直到星期六下午，北部一省份38,000名居民已经遭到洪水的影响。数千栋房子倒塌，大量的农田被淹没，根据中央电视台CCTV报道，洪水已造成4,000万美元的损失。在附近地区，强降雨已经引起多处道路坍塌，河水盖过河堤。与此同时，在四川西南部，暴风雨已经影响了超过200万的人，自星期三起已经有30,000人被迫迁移。据官方新华社报道，中国气象部门周日预测，在未来三天内，中国的北部，西南部以及东部部分地区将仍有大雨。
3【Tom Cruise tops Forbes highest paid actor list】福布斯评片酬最高男演员 汤姆克鲁斯位列榜首
TEXT:Tom Cruise led Forbes' annual list of the 100 highest paid actors released on Tuesday (July 3), earning nearly twice that of second place Leonardo DiCaprio and recapturing his spot among Hollywood's top-earning performers after his recent blockbuster movie "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol." Cruise, who turned 50 on July 3 amid speculation over whether his box office pull could be hurt by his impending divorce from Katie Holmes, earned $75 million between May 2011 and May 2012, according to Forbes' list. Last year's top earner DiCaprio tied for second place on the list, with his earnings dropping after the 2010 blockbuster "Inception" and his most recent film, "J. Edgar" disappointing at the box office. Adam Sandler was the other second place earner. Sandler's income included his paycheck from the 2011 film "Jack and Jill." Both DiCaprio and Sandler made $37 million. Former professional wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson came in fourth, earning $36 million including the paycheck from his film "Fast Five" that took in $626 million worldwide, and at No. 5 was comedian Ben Stiller with $33 million, whose next film "The Watch" about a group of Neighborhood Watch dads, is due for release in July. In compiling the list, Forbes considers factors including upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work. Lindsay Claiborn, Reuters.
参考译文:福布斯周二公布每年100位最高片酬的男演员，汤姆克鲁斯以几乎与第二名莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥两倍的片酬位列第一，并凭借最近大片《碟中谍4：幽灵协议》重获好莱坞最高片酬演员。7月3日是克鲁斯的50岁生日，人们在猜测他与凯蒂·霍尔姆斯的即将离婚是否会影响到票房的收入，根据福布斯榜单，在2011年5月至2012年5月期间克鲁斯收揽7500万美元。去年最高片酬获得者迪卡普里奥在2010年大片《盗梦空间》以及最近电影《胡佛》令人失望的票房后收入下降，位列第二名。亚当·桑德勒同样位列第二。桑德勒的收入主要包括2011年电影《杰克和吉尔》的片酬。约翰逊以3600万美元位列第四位，这包括来自《速度与激情5》的片酬，该电影全球票房达62，600万，喜剧演员本·斯蒂勒以3300万美元位于第五位，他的下部电影《手表》讲述的是一群邻里监督组织里的父亲们，预计在今年七月公映。在列表的评选编辑上，福布斯考虑到了各种因素，包括预先支付，分得利润，片酬以及代言广告费。
4【France, Germany mark 50 years of peace】法德纪念和解50周年
TEXT:Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel stroll the historic French city of Reims. The French and German leaders are marking the 50th anniversary of the reconciliation between their two countries. It was here in 1962 that France and Germany officially buried the hatchet following World War Two. With Europe labouring through a debt crisis, Hollande said that spirit of co-operation shouldn't be forgotten. FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, SAYING: "The European Union is going through trying times. It's not the first time, it won't be the last time. But it can be an occasion for a rebound, a jolt, a new start." Meanwhile, Merkel called for a closer monetary union for Europe. GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "Europe can get through this Herculean undertaking. Europe can emerge stronger out of this crisis that when it entered it." Still, France and Germany remain deeply divided about how to tackle the debt crisis, with Germany calling for austerity and France for spending. Critics say there is little evidence that chasm will be bridged anytime soon. Andrew Raven, Reuters
参考译文:法国总统弗朗索瓦奥朗德和德国总理安吉拉默克尔漫步在历史悠久的法国兰斯城市。法德两国领导人纪念两国和解50周年。第二次世界大战后，1962年两国在这个地方正式和解。因欧洲一直在受债务危机的困扰，奥朗德称两国的合作精神不应该被忘记。奥朗德说：“欧盟正在经历艰难的时刻，这并不是第一次，这也不会是最后一次，这可以是一次反弹，挫折，新开始的机会。与此同时默克尔表示要加紧欧洲货币联盟。默克尔说：“欧洲可以完成这项艰巨的任务，在这场危机中欧洲可以变得更强大。”同样在如何处理债务危机上两国仍存在很大分歧，德国呼吁财政紧收，而法国呼吁减少开销。批评人士称目前几乎没有任何迹象表明分歧将会消除。
注：本节目每天选取各大外文网站最新热门视频，原滋原味。因视频来源于外文网，所以链接或缓冲时间有时可能会偏长，请耐心等待。如果对选材难易程度或安排方面有任何意见，欢迎留言讨论。
VOA常速新闻
VOA常速新闻
【Olympic Construction Brings Big Changes to E. London】
TEXT:Rebuilding East London was part of the 2012 Olympics plan from the very beginning, with an environmental cleanup, new housing, stores and parks, as well as the sports facilities. The goal was to make this a prosperous, integral part of London in a way it had never been.
So Olympics organizers created Olympic Park Legacy Company to plan for the future from the very beginning. The company promises park land, access to first class sports facilities, thousands of jobs and a more vibrant local economy.
"This park has been invested in," said Peter Tudor, one of the senior officials behind Olympic Park Legacy Company. "It used to be almost wasteland. There were some factories here. There were some disused areas. There was a lot of junk that had been dumped here. But now it's a beautiful park and it becomes a new park for the city."
Most of what is now the Olympic Park was either abandoned or occupied by factories and businesses. One of them was the Forman and Sons fish smoking business, run by Lance Forman, who decided to build his new factory, along with a restaurant, art gallery and party venue, just a few hundred meters from the old one, in the shadow of the new Olympic Stadium.
"People come here now, people who lived in London all their lives, and they come to events or to our restaurant and they look out of the window and they say 'Oh my God, I didn't realize this part of London existed.' Well I think that when the Olympics happens, you're going to have half a million people here on our doorstep every day. They will love it and they will want to come back," said Forman.
But some local residents are not happy with the redevelopment that the Olympics brought, including Julian Cheyne, whose apartment building was torn down to make way for the Park.
"I'm not saying there hasn't been a transformation," Cheyne explained. "The question is whether it's a desirable transformation in what they've done now, or whether it was so bad in first place. The kind of language which is used, 'urban desert' and a 'scar,' is simply not true."
Cheyne believes the Olympic facilities will not benefit the people who live nearby and says redevelopment was beginning to happen anyway.
Much of the impact of the Olympics in East London will not be known for years, maybe decades. But Peter Tudor of Olympic Park Legacy Company is eager to get started.
"We've been planning for this for a long time and we can't wait to get our hands on the park and get to work," Tudor said. "We can make a difference with these venues. Come back in a few years' time and we'll show you how we've done it."
With a string of broken promises in some past Olympic cities, many people will be doing just that.
VOA慢速新闻
VOA慢速新闻
【Using the Brain to Move a Robotic Arm】
视频下载（点击右键另存为）
This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
Cathy Hutchinson is a tetraplegic. She has not been able to move her arms, legs or speak since suffering a stroke nearly fifteen years ago. Recently, she learned how to control a robotic arm using her thoughts. She now can use brain activity to serve herself a drink.
Cathy Hutchinson是一名四肢瘫痪者。自从15年前中风以来，她的手臂、双腿都无法活动，也无法说话。最近她学会了用思维来控制一只机械臂。她现在可以通过大脑活动给自己倒杯饮料。
The American woman is one of two people who took part in a research project known as BrainGate2. The researchers have spent years studying how to help people who are paralyzed regain movement in their arms and legs.
她是BrainGate2研究项目的两名测试者之一。研究人员花了数年时间研究如何帮助瘫痪者再度活动四肢。
John Donoghue is a neuroscientist with Brown University and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He also was part of the project.
John Donoghue是布朗大学以及美国退伍军人事务所的一名神经学学者，他也是该项目研究人员之一。
JOHN DONOGHUE: “People who are paralyzed have their brain disconnected from their body. So they are not able to go out and do everyday things that you and I can do, like reach for a glass of water or scratch your nose. So our idea is to bypass that damaged nervous system and go directly from the brain to the outside world so the brain signals can, not control muscle, but control machines or devices like a computer or a robotic limb.”
JOHN DONOGHUE：“瘫患者的大脑与身体已断绝了联系，所以无法走出去，无法做你我能做的任何事，比如拿杯水或刮鼻子。所以我们就想绕过受损的神经系统，直接将大脑与外部世界联系起来，这样大脑信号就可无需控制肌肉，而是控制像电脑或机器人假肢之类的机器或设备。”
The two paralyzed people had small sensors connected to the part of the brain that controls movement. The devices measured brain activity and sent that information to a computer.
这两名瘫痪者被植入了一个连接到大脑中控制运动的部分的小型传感器。这种设备可以测量大脑活动，并将大脑活动信息传送给计算机。
The computer has special software that turns the information into digital commands for operating other devices. The researchers used a highly developed robotic arm to recreate human actions.
该计算机拥有一个特殊软件，可以将这些信息转换为操作其它设备的数字命令。研究人员使用了一个高度发达的机械臂来重现人类活动。
Scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the German Aerospace Center also took part in the study.
马萨诸塞州总医院、哈佛医学院和德国航空中心的科学家们都参与了这项研究。
The BrainGate team had its first success in two thousand six. A tetraplegic stabbing victim was able use the brain-computer interface system to control a computer cursor. John Donoghue says the latest development using robotic arms is a major victory.
BrainGate团队在2006年首获成功。一名四肢瘫痪者当时能够使用大脑-计算机接口系统控制计算机光标。John Donoghue称，最近在使用机器人手臂上的进展是个重大胜利。
A video of the latest experiment shows Cathy Hutchinson using the robotic arm to pick up a cup of coffee. She guides the cup toward her mouth, moves it forward and drinks through a straw.
一个最新实验的视频显示，Cathy Hutchinson使用机械臂拿起一杯咖啡，并将杯子移动到嘴边通过吸管喝到咖啡。
Lead investigator Leigh Hochberg says the first time she did it was a magical moment.
首席研究Leigh Hochberg说，她第一次完成这个动作时是一个神奇的时刻。
LEIGH HOCHBERG: “To see her with that robotic arm reach out and pick up that cup of coffee and serve herself that coffee for the first time in nearly fifteen years, it was an incredible moment.”
LEIGH HOCHBERG：“看到她用机器人手臂够着并拿起咖啡杯，15年来第一次能自己喝咖啡，这是个不可思议的时刻。”
The research team carried out almost two hundred tests with two different robotic arms. The two individuals were able to pick up their target objects forty-three to sixty-six percent of the time.
该研究小组就使用两种不同的机械臂进行了近两百次测试。这两名瘫痪者都能够（使用机械臂）拿起目标物体，成功率为43%到66%。
The researchers are calling the information very promising. But they say it will take years to fully develop the technology for everyday use.
研究人员称，这些信息非常有前途。但他们说，还需要多年的时间来将这一科技充分开发到日常使用中。
A report on the BrainGate study appeared last week in the scientific journal Nature.
一份关于BrainGate的研究报告上周发表在《自然》科学杂志上。
词汇解析
1.status
n.身份, 地位
Age has status in the villages.
在乡村里年长者受人尊敬。
情形, 状况
We all are interested in the status of world affairs.
我们都关心世界形势。
2.designate
vt.指派, 委任
The chairman has designated her as his successor.
主席已指定她作为他的接班人。
I'm designating you to act for me while I am away.
当我不在时, 我指派你来代替我。
标明, 指明, 命名
Will you designate the flowers you wish?
你能说出你想要的花吗?
3.pound
n.磅
These cost ten pence a pound.
这些东西10便士一磅。
英镑
I advanced 100 pounds more on these books.
这些书我又多预付了100英镑。
vt. & vi.连续重击
His heart pounded with excitement.
他的心兴奋得怦怦直跳。
The boxer pounded his opponent.
那拳击运动员猛击对手。
The waves were pounding on the shore.
惊涛拍岸。
4.torrential
adj.似急流的;猛烈的;汹涌的
We got caught in a torrential downpour.
我们遇上一场瓢泼大雨。
The River Frome had burst its banks after torrential rain.
暴雨过后弗罗姆河决堤了。
5.blockbuster
n.重磅炸弹, 了不起的人或事
That new movie is a blockbuster.
那部新片真了不起。
6.buried the hatchet
休战，和解
They had already buried the hatchet.
他们已经握手言和。
After their long argument the two brothers have at last buried the hatchet.
长期争吵之后,兄弟俩终于和解了。
The two men had been enemies a long time, but after the disaster they buried the hatchet.
这俩人长期互相为敌，但那场灾难之后，他们重归于好。
