新闻万花筒：BBC视角之英国等多国承诺援助瓦努阿图群岛

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Good morning. As we have been hearing, the monster Cyclone Pam has devastated the islands of Vanuatu. President Lonsdale has appealed for a helping hand, and I'm so pleased that Britain, along with a number of others, has responded by pledging up to two million pounds in aid.

The Vanuatu disaster came at the end of a week in which Parliament passed a bill which made the aid spend of naught point seven percent of gross national product a legal requirement and became the first G7 country to meet the UN's 45-year-old target. Despite arguments for such aid contributing to stability and security, some opponents have called it absurd and foolish, not least in the light of needs at home.

A different kind of foolishness was on display on Friday when Comic Relief raised a record seventy eight million pounds to take its thirty year total to one billion. As Billy Connolly said, 'All the silly nonsense of Red Nose Day is about the serious business of helping people change their lives'. It's a remarkable achievement to raise money out of Dermot O'Leary's dancing and David Walliams' kissing - and a remarkable testimony to the generosity of the British people.

When it comes to asking for a helping hand, you can preach it as a moral imperative or you can celebrate a common humanity through a combination of stories of need and shared laughter. Indeed, foolishness is not a bad way to change the world. In his recent book, 'Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men and Other Non-Violent Techniques to Galvanise Communities, Overthrow Dictators or Simply Change the World', Srdja Popovic one of the founders of the Otpor movement which played a key part in seeing off Milosevic in Serbia, argues that change happens as a result of careful planning, enthusiasm and importantly humour. The foolish and the absurd can subvert the status quo and give a different picture of the world.

This was in fact part of the ministry of Jesus. He used the image of a camel trying to squeeze itself through the eye of a needle to subvert the assumption that the rich could easily get into the Kingdom of God. At a deeper level, God's non-violent self-giving love embodied in the life and death of Jesus can be dismissed as foolish but I and others see it at the very heart of being fully human.

In 2006 Vanuatu was classified as the happiest place on earth, not least because of the welcome, hospitality and care for the outsider, despite the poverty of its people. Perhaps as we give so we can learn.

 

词汇解析

nerve

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.神经；勇气；敏感处；叶脉；厚脸皮

v.鼓起勇气

（复）nerves: 神经紧张.

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

You'll need plenty of nerve to sit beside him when he is driving.

他开车的时候，你得有足够的胆量才敢坐在他旁边。

用作动词 (v.)

I nerved myself to face my accusers.

我下决心迎击指责我的人。

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prime

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

adj.最好的；首要的；典型的

n.壮年；全盛时期；青春

n.[数]质数

vt.事先指点；在（金属、木材等上）打底漆

vi.变得首要

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

He reached his prime and then, when he had the most to live for, he died.

他到了壮年时期,该做出最大贡献,活得最好的时候,却死掉了。

Britain has a queen, but it is the prime minister and the cabinet who govern.

英国有女王,但执政的是首相和内阁。

用作名词 (n.)

It states that every even number greater than two can be expressed as the sum of two primes (a prime is a number that is only divisible by itself and by 1, such as 7 and 13).

其陈述是：每一个大于2的偶数都可以表达成两个素数之和(素数是指只能被1和它本身整除的数，如7和13)。

用作及物动词 (vt.)

You must prime the wood before you paint it.

油漆这木制东西前,你得先在上面涂上底漆。

用作不及物动词 (vi.)

The telecom hotels are prime targets for bombing.

电信宾馆是轰炸的首要目标。

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agency

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.代理；代理处；政府机构

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

I hope we can see eye to eye about the other terms of the agency then.

我希望到那时候我们能在代理协议的其他条款上能取得一致意见。

The agent is the person who works for a government agency in secret.

特工人员是为政府部门秘密工作的人。

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remains

难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

英汉解释

n.剩余物；遗迹；遗体

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

After the wheat crop has been gathered, many farmers burn the remains and plough the ash into the soil, so as to enrich it.

小麦收割完成后，农夫们把剩余物烧掉，然后用犁把灰埋入地里，使土地更肥沃。

Choi's remains true today for cremation.

崔真实的遗体今天进行火葬。

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trade

难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

英汉解释

n.贸易；交易；行业；同行；顾客；营业额；交易量

v.做生意；从事贸易；购物；营业；(在证券交易所)交易；交换

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

China does a lot of trade with many countries.

中国和许多国家进行多方面贸易。

用作动词 (v.)

I refuse to trade with that company again.

我拒绝再度和那家公司做生意。

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unfair

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adj.不公平的；(商业上)不正当的

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

The detention of the whole class was unfair.

滞留全班学生是不公平的。

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expert

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.专家；能手

adj.熟练的；内行的

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

She is a reputable expert.

她是个有声望的专家。

用作形容词 (adj.)

The surgeon cut away the tumour with expert skill.

外科大夫用熟练的技术把肿瘤切去。

 

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