BBC news 2010-01-13 加文本

1.Parliament in Nigeria has voted to send a delegation to Saudi Arabia to check on the health of President Umaru Yar'Adua.

check on查对, 核实, 检查

例句：Will you check on the time the train leaves?
      请你核对一下火车开出的时间好吗?

      Father went to have the doctor check on his health.
      父亲去请医生检查身体。

同义词：

check out检查, 核对, 核实

例句：Does his story check out?
      他的叙述查实了吗?

     They checked out all the goods in the store.
     他们清点了仓库里的货物。

2.Up until now, only a handful of people close to President Yar'Adua have been kept abreast of his health condition.

keep abreast of(使)保持与…并列; 了解…的最新情况

例句：Read the papers if you want to keep abreast of time.
      如果你想跟上时代就要看报。

      Even this arrangement did not keep wages abreast of the rising living cost.
      即使这样的安排也不能使工资水平跟上日益上涨的生活费用。

3.Even senior ministers have been kept out of the loop, and like the rest of the population have had to rely on rumours.

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 may rely on my early arrival.
      你放心好了, 我会早到的。

4.They will fear this killing might be used as a further reason to crack down on their activities.

crack down采取严厉措施, 制裁

例句：The police are really beginning to crack down on drivers who park their cars just where they like.
       警察真要对那些随便停放汽车的司机采取严厉措施了。

5.The figures suggest that the American tax payers have so far gained rather than lost money from the banking bail-out.

rather than(要)…而不…, 与其…倒不如…

例句：We'll have the meeting in the classroom rather than in the auditorium.
      我们与其在教室里开会, 不如在礼堂开会。

      They thus increased their annual grain production rather than diminished it.
      他们这样增加了而不是减少了粮食年产量。