NCE4_L8_Trading Standards

Lesson 8 Trading Standards

Anna Peng

pyj6196@https://www.360docs.net/doc/905252008.html,

Text - para. 1

Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables. No, say the Americans: our fowl are fine, we simply clean them in a different way. These days, it is differences in national regulations, far more than tariffs, that put sand in the wheels of trade between rich countries.

Text - para. 1

It is not just farmers who are complaining. An electric razor that meets the European Union's safety standards must be approved by American testers before it can be sold in the United States, and an American-made dialysis machine needs the EU's okay before it hits the market in Europe.

Text - para. 2

As it happens, a razor that is safe in Europe is unlikely to electrocute Americans. So, ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, why have two lots of tests where one would do? Politicians agree, in principle, so America and the EU have been trying to reach a deal which would eliminate the need to double-test many products.

Text - para. 2

They hope to finish in time for a trade summit between America and the EU on May 28th. Although negotiators are optimistic, the details are complex enough that they may be hard-pressed to get a deal at all.

Text - para. 3

Why? One difficulty is to construct the agreements. The Americans would happily reach one accord on standards for medical devices and then hammer out different pacts covering, say, electronic goods and drug manufacturing. The EU -- following fine continental traditions -- wants agreement on general principles, which could be applied to many types of products and perhaps extended to other countries.

From: The Economist, May 24th, 1997

claim

to state that something is true, even though it has not been proved

The company claims that their product 'makes you thin without dieting'.

claim responsibility/credit (for sth)

(=say officially that you are responsible for something that has happened)

The group claimed responsibility for a series of bombings. to officially demand or receive money from an organization because you have a right to it

If you're still not satisfied, you may be able to claim compensation .

tariff

a tax on goods coming into a country or going out of a country 关税

The government may impose tariffs on imports.

to raise tariff barriers against foreign goods

put sand in the wheels of

妨碍, 阻挠; 破坏

The Obama administration has put sand in the gears of trade to appease a key domestic constituency.

oil/grease(上油) the wheels (of sth)

(=help something to work more smoothly and easily)

The money people spend at Christmas oils the wheels of

the economy.

set the wheels in motion/set the wheels turning

(=make a particular process start)

It only took one phone call to set the wheels in motion. [infml] a/the big wheel (=an important person)

He became a big wheel in the East India Company.

It is/was + 被强调部分(主语、宾语或状语) + who/that ... 【练习】

1. 发怒的不是我。

1. It is not I who am angry.

2. 只有当你差一点失去某一个人时，你才会充分意识到你是多么珍视他们。

2. It is only when you nearly lose someone that you become fully conscious of how much you value them.

3. 威廉姆斯小姐作为消遣所读的就是这些小说。

3. It is these novels that Miss Williams enjoyed reading as

a pastime.

4. 是她躺在过道上，是那个陌生人在俯视她。

4. It was she who was lying in the corridor and the stranger who bent over her.

lot

a group of people or things considered together

Could you help me carry this lot upstairs?

I did three lots of exams last summer.

His friends are a strange lot.

your lot is your work, duties, social position etc, especially when they could be better

The unions have always tried to improve the lot of their members.

She seems happy enough with her lot.

lot

especially AmE an area of land used for building on or for another purpose

the vacant lot (=empty land) behind the Commercial Hotel a used-car lot; parking lot

by lot: if someone is chosen by lot, several people each take a piece of paper or an object from a container, and the person who is chosen is the one who gets a particular marked paper or object

In Athens at that time, judges were chosen by lot.

draw/cast lots:to choose something or someone by lot We drew lots to decide who should go first.

eliminate

to completely get rid of something that is unnecessary or unwanted

eliminate a need/possibility/risk/problem...

The teacher should try to eliminate the possibility that the child has a hearing defect.

Fatty foods should be eliminated from the diet.

summit

an important meeting or set of meetings between the leaders of several governments

a five-nation summit meeting

the top of a mountain

Many people have now reached the summit of Mount Everest.

[fml] the summit of sth: the greatest amount or highest level of something

His election as President represented the summit of his career.

negotiate

to discuss something in order to reach an agreement, especially in business or politics

?The government refuses to negotiate with terrorists.?Union leaders have negotiated an agreement for a

shorter working week.

?His first aim is to get the warring parties back to the

negotiating table (=used to refer to official discussions) to succeed in getting past or over a difficult place on a path, road etc

He swung the steering-wheel round to negotiate a corner.

hard-pressed

having a lot of problems and not enough money or time The new exams will only add to the workload of already hard-pressed teachers.

→be hard put/pressed/pushed to do sth [infml]: to have difficulty doing something

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone better for the job.

construct

to build something such as a house, bridge, road etc These skyscrapers are constructed entirely of concrete and glass.

to form something such as a sentence, argument, or system by joining words, ideas etc together

Boyce has constructed a new theory of management. [technical] to draw a mathematical shape

Construct a square with sides of 5cm.

accord

of sb's/sth's own accord:

without being asked or forced to do something

?He decided to go of his own accord.

?The door seemed to move of its own accord.

a situation in which two people, ideas, or statements agree with each other

?These results are in accord with earlier research.

?It is important to the success of any firm that its partners should be in complete accord.

a formal agreement between countries or groups

the Helsinki accord on human rights

with one accord:

[fml] if two or more people do something with one accord, they do it together or at the same time

With one accord they all stood up and cheered.

hammer sth out

to decide on an agreement, contract etc after a lot of discussion and disagreement

?Leading oil producers tried to hammer out a deal.?After much discussion the negotiators hammered out a compromise settlement.

→hammer in: to keep saying something until people completely understand it

The coach hammered his message into the team.

pact

a formal agreement between two groups, countries, or people, especially to help each other or to stop fighting ?The two countries signed a non-aggression pact.

? a peace pact between the rebels and the government