BBC news 2011-08-03 加文本

短语讲解：

1. The budget agreement raises the borrowing limit by more than $2tn and, in effect, imposes spending cuts of a similar amount over 10 years with no new taxes.

in effect有效; 实际上, 事实上
例句：His reply is in effect an apology.
他的答复事实上是一种道歉。

2. It was the will of the people working itself out in a political system that was never meant to be pretty.

work out作出; 制订出
例句：It wasn't too long before we had worked out a plan acceptable to all.
没多久我们就制订出一个大家都能接受的计划。

3. After all, they crafted a crisis out of what used to be a routine vote by insisting raising the debt ceiling should be linked to deep spending cuts with no tax increases.

after all毕竟; 究竟
例句：Don't get discouraged by setbacks, we are new to the work after all.
别因挫折而灰心, 这工作对我们来说毕竟还是陌生的。
used to过去一向,过去时常
例句：I used to love to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
我过去很喜欢去大都会美术馆。

4. In the light of the agreement, the ratings agency Fitch is maintaining the United States AAA credit rating.

in the light of鉴于, 由于, 按照
例句：In the light of these changes, we must revise our plan.
鉴于这些变化, 我们必须重新修订我们的计划。

5. A court in Vietnam has upheld a seven-year jail sentence imposed on a prominent human rights campaigner for spreading propaganda against the state.

impose on把…加于
例句：Heavy duties are imposed on imports.
对进口物品课以重税。

6. The US-based dissidents say they used the meeting in Washington to urge the US to call on the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down immediately.

call on要求, 请求
例句：He called on his friends to help him.
他向朋友求助。
step down辞职，下台
例句：The manager had to step down on account of poor health.
那位经理由于身体不好, 只能辞职不干。

7. Activists on the ground admit that on that day weapons were seized from a number of police stations which were stormed after civilians had been shot dead.

a number of一些
例句：A number of new products have been successfully trial-produced.
许多新产品已试制成功。

8. An Irish politician who'd hoped to become Ireland's first openly gay president has pulled out of the race following allegations about an attempt to help his former partner.

pull out (使)离开; 退出
例句：We must pull our company out of the financial crisis as soon as possible.
我们必须使公司尽早摆脱财政危机的困境。

9. Several years ago, David Norris wrote a letter to the Israeli authorities, asking for leniency for the man Ezra Nawi, who'd been convicted of having sex with an underage boy.

convict of宣判(某人)犯有(某罪)
例句：The criminal was convicted of murder.
罪犯被判决犯有谋杀罪。

10. The paper is also accused of making inappropriate payments to police officers.

accuse of指责, 控告
例句：He is accused of killing ten young women.
他被指控杀了十名年轻妇女。