Anti-globalisation protest

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Anti-globalisation protest (actuality)
Gary:“Anti-globalisation” protestors take to the streets to make their feelings known.
 
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News story
Gary:“Globalisation” is a buzzword in our news bulletins（告示）, though according to some commentators 1, it’s by no means a new phenomenon. Mark Gregory is the BBC World Service Business Correspondent. I’ve been speaking to him about globalisation, and I asked him first for his definition of the term.
 
Clip Mark Gregory, BBC World Service Business Correspondent
Well, “globalisation” has become a kind of catch-all phrase that’s used to describe a process of seemingly ever-greater economic integration（经济一体化）– a process in which economic events in one place pretty soon have huge implications almost everywhere else. So there’s lots of different aspects to it. From the consumers’ point of view, increasingly people think in terms of global brands: NIKE sells its “Sneakers” throughout the world, Coca-cola is bought in many different countries of the world. That’s one aspect of it. Then, of course, there’s the sort of … the economists 3 are focused on things like the enormously increased volumes of international trade. And many commentators associate that with this nebulous（星云的，朦胧的） process of globalisation. And then, of course, there’s just the increasing pace of technological 4 change – the fact that using modern communications via the internet you have instant communications everywhere; and, of course, using jet travel, you can travel from one place to another all over the world. So, increasingly, what happens in one place seems to affect almost everywhere else … and that’s what’s clubbed together as “globalisation”.
Gary:Technological developments have made communication and travel much easier, so that the world seems to be a smaller place. This has resulted, for example, in greater international trade and foreign investment, both of which are signs, or manifestations 6（显示，证明） of what the experts call “globalisation”. There are also cultural aspects of the globalisation process – such as the increasing use of English and the appearance of similar (often American) products in different parts of the world. Mark Gregory again.
 
Clip Mark Gregory, BBC World Service Business Correspondent
The manifestations include global companies, the names that everybody’s heard of: Sony, Microsoft, IBM. And also the fact that you’ve got common brands that are on sale in many different parts of the world. You’ve got global financial institutions: the IMF, the World Bank and so forth 7. You have global financial markets.
Gary: So if we look at all those things which you’re lumping together and calling “globalisation”, can we start to unpick, perhaps, the reasons, the causes, for those things happening?
Mark: Well, it’s partly technology … the fact that transport is so much quicker than it used to be, the fact that we have the internet, that kind of thing. There’s also the growth of global financial institutions – the World Bank, the International Monetary 8 Fund, the growth of global financial markets, the growth of global companies – huge, enormous companies. So, increasingly, it makes sense to talk in terms of … well, it’s ridiculous to say that everything is “globalised”, but that the boundaries（分界线，边界）, the economic barriers between countries have broken down. And so … many companies and much of the economy works on a … has a global perspective.
Gary: So, we’re saying that technology is one of the reasons behind globalisation. What about trade agreements, what role have they played?
Mark: Well, a lot of people have placed enormous emphasis on the move towards the liberalisation （开放）of trade. And this is through institutional things in the last half a century or so, since the first of the General Agreements on Tariff 9 and Trade, we’ve had the bringing down of tariff barriers between countries.
Gary: So what are some of the benefits of this new world we’re living in?
Mark: Well, the theoretical benefits are that, if you have globalisation with all those things that we’ve been talking about, you have greater efficiency and thus greater wealth - and that in some cases, some poor countries have lifted themselves out of poverty because of their access to global markets. And those people would say that people are a lot better off and a lot better educated in China than they were fifteen years ago, because of that country’s phenomenal economic growth. And that’s been tied in to the fact that China’s involved in international trade. And countries like South Korea and Japan grew in the same way before it. So, there have been some definite winners and it’s, if you like, globalisation provides a forum 10 in which opportunities for many people and many countries are greatly increased.
Gary: But if there are winners, are there losers as well?
Mark: Of course, a lot of people would say that these impacts have not only been positive, some have been negative; and that the process of globalisation is a process in which, if you like, some countries win and others lose. So that, for example, if you’ve got very cheap labour like China, you expand enormously in areas that involve cheap labour, to the detriment 11 of（有害于） other countries which have got quite cheap labour. And yet if you’ve got very good technology like Japan, say, you do very well, which means that there are also losers: other people who don’t have quite such good technology as Japan who’ve lost out. And a lot of people say, well, that’s actually negative. And, of course, globalisation is often is associated with the growth of Global Corporations, in which there are fewer restrictions 12 on what they can do. Some people say this is good, and others say well, there are many problems with it.
Gary: Finally then, Mark, as a journalist, when you’re reporting news stories about globalisation, are there any particular language issues to bear in mind?
Mark: Yes, the war against multi-syllable（音节） words, I think. “Globalisation” that in itself has got quite a few little syllables 13 – my maths isn’t good enough to work out how many it is. And then, of course, you’ve got “multi-lateralism” – that’s the process in which lots of countries are involved, as opposed to “bi-lateralism” – the process in which just two countries are involved. Lots of syllables, and lots of jargon 14 floating around. So to try and avoid some of that is, if you like, a kind of constant war. On the one hand, people have to know … to understand the jargon; but where possible, you have to avoid it. Also, jargon changes over time. We used to have “multinational 15 companies”. Now the buzzword is “transnational companies”. And the reason for that is, of course, is that now people think of companies as so multinational that they don’t belong in lots of different countries, they kind of belong across – hence the word “trans”. We live in a world in which events in one place have enormous ramifications（分支） for almost everywhere else. So, if you like, you’ve got to be able to tease out what those are. And the fact that we now live in such a complicated place, there’s a lot, if you like, of reporting required just to explain: well, how has the world changed? and to explain it in such a way that it makes sense.
Gary:One manifestation 5 of globalisation is the spread of similar products around the world. These include well-known brands such as Coca-Cola and Nike … and - with a slogan “One World: One Taste” - the American fast-food chain McDonald’s. There are 30, 000 restaurants in more than 120 countries, and McDonald’s has become a symbol of the American way of life. But it seems that food tastes in the United States may be beginning to change … Research shows that people are eating fewer burgers and hot dogs and trying to eat healthier food. Our reporter Rob Watson has been finding out more, and we meet him first at a drive-thru burger restaurant in Washington DC.
 
Clip - Rob Watson's recording 16 in Washington
[full transcript 17 is not available]
Gary:In the United States millions of hamburgers are sold every day. For many Americans this is the national dish.
 
Clip - Rob Watson's recording in Washington
[full transcript is not available]
Gary:But there are new rivals on the scene. 
 
Clip - Rob Watson's recording in Washington
[full transcript is not available]
Gary:At Chipotle’s in downtown Washington, for example, they’re selling fresh Mexican food – burritos stuffed with beans and rice. Actually, this chain is owned by McDonalds as well. Perhaps it’s part of their response to the growing demand for a healthy diet. 
Clip - Rob Watson's recording in Washington
[full transcript is not available]
Gary:If one of the features of globalisation is that what happens today in America happens in the rest of the world tomorrow, then there may soon be a new chain of restaurants alongside your local McDonalds. But are eating habits really changing? Here’s a final word from Michael Sansolo, senior vice 2 president of education and research for the Food Marketing 18 Institute. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)




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1
commentators

  
 


n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员


参考例句：





Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》












2
vice

  
 


n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的


参考例句：





He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。












3
economists

  
 


n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )


参考例句：





The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》












4
technological

  
 


adj.技术的；工艺的


参考例句：





A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。












5
manifestation

  
 


n.表现形式；表明；现象


参考例句：





Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。












6
manifestations

  
 


n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）


参考例句：





These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》












7
forth

  
 


adv.向前；向外，往外


参考例句：





The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。












8
monetary

  
 


adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的


参考例句：





The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。












9
tariff

  
 


n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表


参考例句：





There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。












10
forum

  
 


n.论坛，讨论会


参考例句：





They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。












11
detriment

  
 


n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源


参考例句：





Smoking is a detriment to one's health.吸烟危害健康。
His lack of education is a serious detriment to his career.他的未受教育对他的事业是一种严重的妨碍。












12
restrictions

  
 


约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）


参考例句：





I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制












13
syllables

  
 


n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )


参考例句：





a word with two syllables 双音节单词
'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓，它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记












14
jargon

  
 


n.术语，行话


参考例句：





They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.












15
multinational

  
 


adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司


参考例句：





The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。












16
recording

  
 


n.录音，记录


参考例句：





How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。












17
transcript

  
 


n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书


参考例句：





A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。












18
marketing

  
 


n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西


参考例句：





They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。