【听力/BBC】Culture: Review of the Year 年终回顾

崬小裳

Culture: Review of the Year 年终回顾
http://www.bbc.co.uk/china/learningenglish/takeawayenglish/tae/2008/12/081230_review_of_2008.shtml

2008 will be remembered by the British people as a year of economic crisis. Things have steadily worsened as the year has gone on with companies going into administration, job losses, falling house prices and the collapse of banking institutions.

Britain is just one of the many victims of a wider global financial crisis and sadly the predictions for 2009 do not show any sign of improvement for the British economy.

2008 also sadly saw the worst earthquake in China in over 30 years. The Great Sichuan Earthquake registered 8 on the Richter scale and killed around 70,000 people in May, not to mention the tens of thousands who were injured or went missing.

On a happier note, China also hosted its first Olympic games this summer in Beijing. It was a very successful games with an amazing opening ceremony and a staggering 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records set.

China topped the medals table with 51 gold medals and Great Britain had its most successful Olympics in over a century with 19 gold medals and 47 medals in total.

2008 will also be remembered in history as the year Barack Obama was elected as the first black President of the United States. This was particularly poignant in a country where black people were once slaves and where segregation existed as little as half a century ago between black and white people.

In the British world of entertainment, Madonna and Paul McCartney’s high-profile divorces were finalised.

Reality TV remained as popular as ever where celebrities learning to ice skate, ballroom dance and survive in the jungle dominated headlines.

TV talent shows also ruled the airwaves with 8 million people voting for Alexandra Burke to win the X Factor, Britain’s most famous talent contest. Her first single ‘Hallelujah’ has become this year’s biggest-selling UK song.

wyd2008

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wyd2008

GLOSSARY 词汇表 (收听发音, 请单击英语单词)

economic crisis 经济危机 going into administration 被接管 victims 受害者 registered 登记 staggering 大量的 set 创造（纪录） poignant 强烈的，深刻的 segregation （种族）隔离 high-profile divorces 瞩目的离婚案 dominated headlines 垄断报端

steadily worsened 逐步恶化 banking institutions 金融机构 show any sign of improvement 显示任何改进迹象 Richter scale 里氏 records 纪录 topped the medals table 名列奖牌榜首 slaves 奴隶 half a century ago 半个世纪前 finalised 终结 ruled the airwaves 垄断时空的