BBC news 2011-07-21 加文本

短语讲解：

1. The Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has launched an uNPRecedented attack on the Vatican, accusing the Roman Catholic hierarchy of putting the power and reputation of the Church ahead of child rape victims.

accuse of指责, 谴责; 控告
例句：We accused him of taking bribes.
我们控告他受贿。

2. Historically, the Catholic Church has been revered in Ireland, not least by successive Irish governments, not any more.

not least尤其是, 特别是
例句：The book caused a lot of bad feeling, not least among the students.
那本书招致许多人的反感, 尤其是学生。

3. He accused the Vatican of deliberately playing down the rape and torture of children in order to try to protect its reputation.

play down轻描淡写, 故意缩小…的重要性
例句：She tried to play down his part in the affair.
她极力贬低他在这一事件中的作用。
in order to为了
例句：We started early in order to arrive before dark.
为了在天黑前到达,我们很早就动身了。

4. This was the closest yet that David Cameron has come to admitting it was a mistake to hire Andy Coulson.

come to到达; 达成
例句：After much talk they came to an agreement.
经过多次商谈, 他们达成了协议。

5. In the meantime, though, the prime minister would stick to the principle that a man was innocent until proven guilty.

in the meantime在…期间,同时
例句：The war dragged on. In the meantime, an economic crisis took place in that country.
战争持续着。在这期间那个国家发生了经济危机。

6. He argued the prime minister had been compromised by his links with Andy Coulson, and that that in turn had made it difficult for the police to do their job.

in turn反过来
例句：Theory is based on practice and in turn serves practice. 
理论的基础是实践, 反过来理论又为实践服务。

7. The United States says it will allow its aid to be sent to famine-affected areas of Somalia controlled by the Islamist al-Shabab militia as long as none of it is used to benefit the militants.

as long as既然, 由于; 只要, 如果
例句：You may stay here as long as you like.
你高兴在这儿待多久就待多久。

8. An international group of health experts has warned that a global target to wipe out polio by the end of next year is likely to be missed.

wipe out彻底摧毁, 消灭
例句：The plague once could wipe out a village.
鼠疫曾一度可以夺走整个村庄村民的生命。

9. The experts say countries like India and Afghanistan have made great progress through vaccination campaigns, but the disease has resurfaced in Chad and is on the rise in Pakistan.

make progress前进,进步
例句：study hard and make progress every day.
好好学习，天天向上。

10. Mr Ortega, who's running for a third consecutive term, told supporters celebrating the anniversary of the Sandinista revolution that damage caused by the US in Nicaragua amounted to $17bn.

run for竞选
例句：The Governor is going to run for the Senate after this term. 
州长在她这次任期届满之后准备参加参议院的竞选。 

12. Staff at the shop say they are very grateful, but the police have asked the donor to come forward so they can make sure that the money isn't connected with any crime

connect with使有关系
例句：The police have sufficient evidence to connect the suspect with the explosion.
警察有充足的证据认为该疑犯与爆炸案有关。