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News Report
One
The United States central bank has
raised an important interest rate
by
one-fourth of 1 percent. The federal funds rate, a
rate paid by banks
for short-team
loans, is now one-half of 1 percent.
Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead
the Federal Reserve System,
spoke after
the announcement. The decision was based on a few
factors.
Yellen said Economic growth is
expected to continue in the U.S. Another
reason to increase interest rates,
Yellen noted, was the low official rate of
inflation . The central bank has said
its target inflation rate is 2 percent. It
says that rate would help support
employment and keep prices stable.
However, inflation currently is not at
the target rate, but below 1 percent.
The federal reserve chief also said the
strong labor market provided
another
reason to raise rates. The U.S. Economy is adding
about 20000
jobs each month.
1.
What is the
news report mainly about?
2 . What do
we learn about the target inflation rate set by
the central bank?
News Report Two
The campaign group Amnesty
International says it has evidences
that Russian air strikes in Syria since
September have killed hundreds of
civilians, causing widespread to basic
facilities. Amnesty suggests the
strikes are in violations of
international humanitarian law and accuses
Russia of attempting a cover-up. After
interviewing witnesses, doctors
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and human
rights groups, Amnesty reports that homes and
hospitals were
hit as well as a market
and a Muslim building. In most cases, the location
and timing of the attacks correspond
with Russian defense ministry
reports
on air strikes though it says it was targeting so-
called IS. Militants.
Despite dropping
thousands of bombs in Syria, Russian officials
have
never acknowledged causing any
civilian casualties there. There were
proud of their effective pinpoints
strikes against terrorists and had
dismissed previous claims to the
country as part of an anti-Russian
information war by the west
3.
What did
Amnesty International say about the Russian air
strikes?
4.
What
was Russia’s reaction towards civilian casualties?
News Report Three
Road traffic crashes kill 1.25
million people each year worldwide. But
the Word Health Organization (WHO) say
they are preventable.
The report
surveyed 180 countries, and it shows the number of
annual
deaths from traffic crashes is
stabilizing. [5]And that is good news the
number of motor vehicles grows
worldwide.
But the data also show
that road crashes are the No.1 cause of death
among young people aged 15 to 29. Young
adults around the world are
the worst
driving risks. Even in the U.S., drivers aged 15
to 24 account
for about 30 percent of
all driving-related accidents.
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The WHO
report also finds a big gap in road safety and
deaths
between poor and rich countries.
Poor countries have only 54 percent of
world’s vehicles. But those countries
have some of the worse safety
statistics in the report.
‘‘Africa has only two percent of the
word’s vehicles, but has the highest
death rat
e on the road. ’’
That is what Etienne Krug, the head of the
WHO Department of Non-communicable
Diseases, says. Sweden, the
Netherlands
and the United kingdom are leaders in preventing
traffic
deaths. The highest death rates
are in Africa and the Middle East.
5.
Why is the
survey result good news?
6.
What does the survey report show?
7.
What do we
learn about the road crashes in poor countries?
Conversation One
W: Hi, Mr. Johnson. When do you usually
get up?
M:I usually get up about five
,and then go for jog before breakfast, We
usually have breakfast at around 6:30.
Then I have time to read the papers.
W:
Which paper do you read?
M: Well, the
Financial Times, the Times and the Independent. I
don’t
exactly read them from cover to
cover.
W: I see.
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M: After
reading. I have for the office. I’m usually behind
my desk by
7:30. The first job of the
day is the post. My secretary sorts out those
letters which need immediate attention.
Then at about 9:00, I have a daily
meeting with my deputy. We run through
the agenda for the day.
W: What’s a
typical day like?
M: Well,
there’s no such things as a typical day, but I
have regular
morning meetings with my
Finance and Sales Directors. Of course, I
travel a lot , then I keep up-to-date
by telephone.
W: What about lunch?
M: I try to have lunch in the company
canteen as often as possible. Of
course, sometimes I have lunch out with
some customers.
W: What about the
afternoons?
M: I often go down to our
plant and see how things are going. We have
weekly management committee meetings on
Friday afternoon. Then there
are
monthly board meetings, usually the first Monday
of the month.
W: When do you finish
work?
M: At about seven. If there is
nothing evening, I’ll go home. More often
than not, there’s a dinner
engagement.
W: All right,
thank you for accepting my interview, Mr. Johnson.
8.
What does Mr.
Johnson usually do before breakfast?
9.
What is Mr.
Johnson’s first job in his office?
10.
W
hat is Mr. Johnson’s
typical day like?
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