BBC news 2011-11-13 加文本

短语讲解：

1. Silvio Berlusconi was often described as a consummate survivor, managing to slip out of political and legal trouble again and again.

describe as描述为
例句：His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.
雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。
slip out of逃脱；摆脱
I would like to slip out of the hand immediately these goods. 
我愿意把这些货物立即脱手。 

2. It has swept him away, and now Italy has entered a new era.

sweep away清除; 扫除, 刮走, 冲走
例句：Newspaper editorials spoke of the need to sweep away corruption.
报纸社论论述了清除腐败的必要性。

3. The Arab League has taken tougher action against Syria than anyone expected.

take action采取行动, 行动起来
例句：The police had to take firm action to deal with the riots.
警方不得不采取果断行动来对付骚乱。

4. The league has even threatened to refer the issue to the United Nations.

refer to提交…作处理〔决定〕
例句：He referred the case to the High Court.
他把案子提交给高级法庭处理。

5. And opposition groups have been invited to Arab League headquarters so they can agree on a unified position.

agree on 对某事〔物〕有同样看法, 商定〔同意〕某事, 商定做某事
例句：They agreed on leaving there the next day.
他们一致同意第二天离开那里。

6. It said the moves were illegal, and Damascus accused the league of serving a Western and American agenda.

accuse of指责, 控告
例句：He was accused of murder.
他被指控犯了谋杀罪。

7. State media quoted an interior ministry spokesman as saying four Bahrainis were arrested in Qatar and handed over to Bahrain earlier this month.

hand over让与, 移交;送交
例句：He has resigned and will hand over charge of his office today.
他已辞职, 将在今日办移交手续。

8. A rare protest by thousands of members of Portugal's armed forces has taken place in Lisbon.

take place发生; 举行
例句：The threatening strike did not take place after all.
可能来临的罢工终究没有发生。

9. But there was anger at government proposals to decimate armed forces numbers and cut back wages and promotions.

cut back减少, 削减
例句：We must cut back on expenditure in order to remain solvent.
我们应减少开支, 以备急用。

10. Prosecutors say a member of her gang, who'd already been arrested, called the woman to warn her police were looking for her. She visited him in jail and hid for four days.

look for寻找(某人或某物)
例句：Why are the police looking for you?
为什么警察在四处找你?