BBC news 2009-11-29 加文本

1.The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has laid down terms for the Afghan President Hamid Karzai to tackle corruption and speed up the training of Afghan forces.

lay down规定, 制定

例句：He lays it down that the school should be kept clean and quiet.
      他规定, 学校应当保持安静和干净。

      Prices are laid down by the manufacturer.
      价格是由厂商制定的。

2.Friends of the human rights activist Mouchtar Diallo said his detention on the very day the United Nations officially began its work here, may indicate a lack of respect by the soldiers in power for the international body.

on the very day,very的用法

very可修饰形容词和副词的原级或最高级，不修饰比较级。修饰比较级常用much, far, even, rather等。例如:
　　①He plays football very well. 他足球踢得很好。
　　②She is one of the very best teachers in our city.
　　她是我们市里最好的老师之一。
　　③The population of China is much larger than that of America.
　　中国人口比美国人口多得多。

very可用作形容词,有“真正的,正是……的,十足的”等意。例如:
　①You are the very person I want to see. 你正是我要见的人。
　　②I will do it this very afternoon. 我就在今天下午办这件事。
　　③He is a very fool. 他是个十足的傻瓜。

3.Many people rely on boats because the roads are so bad, and the country is covered with a vast network of rivers.

rely on信赖, 依赖,依靠

例句：You can rely on me for help.
      你可指望我来帮忙。

      You can't rely on the weather.
      天气是靠不住的。

4.The investigations centres on whether he took bribes in return for contracts in the overseas territory of French Guyana in South America.

in return for作为…的报答

例句：He'll get something in return for his good deeds.
      他会得到一些东西，作为他的善行的报酬。

centre on重点在于

例句：Most of the debate has centered on ownership issues.
      大多争论都围绕所有权问题展开。

以……为中心

例句：Their large metropolitan counties center on three southern cities.
      他们的繁华大都会都集中在三个南方城市。

5.Anti-capitalist protesters have set fire to cars and smashed the windows of banks and cafes during a rally in the Swiss city of Geneva.

set fire to放火烧, 点着了…
 
例句：The police hasn't found out who set fire to the storehouse.
      警方还没查出是谁放火烧了仓库。

6.They were objecting to talks being held in the city on Monday by the World Trade Organization, which they say works on behalf of big business and exploits the developing world. 

on behalf of代表…

例句：At the airport he read an address of welcome on behalf of the association.
      在机场上他代表该协会致了欢迎词。