时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:2006年VOA标准英语(二月)


英语课

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
28 February 2006


President Jacques Chirac delivers his speech during a meeting to discuss an international tax and the fight against poverty and disease in the developing world   
  
French President Jacques Chirac is urging the international community to adopt an airline tax to bankroll programs to fight poverty and disease.

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Speaking at the start of the two-day Paris meeting, President Chirac said France planned to begin imposing 1 the airline tax as of July.

Addressing representatives of 95 countries gathered at the conference, Chirac called the French tax on air flights a simple and neutral experiment. He said the tax revenues, estimated to be about $240 million this year, would be spent on programs to fight malaria 2, tuberculosis 3, and HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

Chirac has been lobbying the international community to adopt the airline tax initiative for the past few years. In France, passengers taking flights, as of July 1, will pay an extra $1.20 to about $47 a ticket, depending on the class and distance they fly. France and Brazil, another supporter of the tax, hope to establish an international facility to purchase drugs for HIV/AIDS patients in developing nations.

A number of other countries also support the tax. So does U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who praised Mr. Chirac in Paris for showing leadership in finding innovative 4 financing sources to fight a host of development challenges in poorer countries. Only one other country, Chile, has followed France in taking concrete steps in imposing an airline tariff 5.

The concept remains 6 controversial. Airline companies oppose the tax, arguing it places another burden on the financially troubled industry. The United States is also against the idea of a mandatory 7 tax. But Chirac hopes up to 20 nations attending the Paris conference will sign up to the initiative.



1 imposing
adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的
  • The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
  • He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。
2 malaria
n.疟疾
  • He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
  • Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。
3 tuberculosis
n.结核病,肺结核
  • People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
  • Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。
4 innovative
adj.革新的,新颖的,富有革新精神的
  • Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
  • He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。
5 tariff
n.关税,税率;(旅馆、饭店等)价目表,收费表
  • There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
  • The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。
6 remains
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
7 mandatory
adj.命令的;强制的;义务的;n.受托者
  • It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
  • There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。
学英语单词
2-bornanone
actiniasterol
african-inspired
alene
allegras
anti-aircraft fire control computer
attention (attn)
backscattering gage
baykal range (baykalskiy khrebet)
big labo(u)r
Bir Jdīd
boundant
brevissimicolpate
Brudzinski
carbon amplifier
CDISC
clay warp
cold-damp affecting spleen
Commencement of Insurance
consumer mortgage credit
contemplable
corned meat
cortical column
cylinder lubricating pump
debauchable
deictics
direction of motion
duolandrevus coulonianus
dusky sharks
dwell-up
efficiency of heart
elevator plant
elg
ELU
European porcelain
evil fate
explosion pipet
extendedbackground
external interrupt control
feng-huangs
find fault with
flightism
foreign pesonal holding company
fuel pump bowl clamp
governor cover
graff
grease bleeding
greased-deck concentration
haematocytometers
haidas
hexepyranose
home-builts
Hong Kong treasury bill
infrared line
isoamyl-malonic acid
kill-or-be-killed
labile factor
low-slag cement
mammillo-
marginal ring depression
melusine finish
mgic
minifigs
morneault
mucinous
national geography
New Australians
nyeris
Pampow
pathological disposition
pave over
Pedicularis recurva
perrots
porous cast iron
psychographs
Pudāmigaon
ratio of indirect wages
reannexation
Santiago, Sa.de
seal ring assembly
selectrin
self-abandon
shawshank redemption
slabby coal
source program tape
Spalding's sign
statement of affair
static data key
steeringhold
swab case
tert-pentylbenzene
text transfers
Theophyllol
There are none so blind as those who will not see.
TRFACTOR
under-production
vanish into the blue
video tape recording system
wroaths
zero replacement editing
zoonotic erysipelas