1.   Those perks allow some employees to retire early and receive pension premiums.

这些优惠让一些雇员提前退休并享有退休金。

premium

 additional payment, eg one added to wages or interest payments; bonus 额外费用 ; 津贴 ; 奖金 ; 花红 :

* A premium of 2 per cent is paid on long-term investments. 对投资期限较长者可获百分之二的奖励 .

 

2.   Trimming retirement privileges is an explosive issue in France. Efforts to do so helped bring down one previous conservative government, in 1995.

在法国修改退休优惠制度是一个容易引起争论的话题。 1995 年一届保守党政府就因此事而下台。

privilege

special right or advantage available only to a particular person, class or rank, or to the holder of a certain position 特有的权利、利益或好处 :

* Parking in this street is the privilege of the residents. 在这条街上停车是此处居民特有的权利 .

explosive

(a) likely or easily able to explode 爆炸性的 ; 易爆炸的 :

* Hydrogen is highly explosive. 氢极易爆炸 . 

(b) that arouses strong feelings or leads to violent outbursts 使人冲动的 ; 导致猛烈爆发的 :

* Politics can be an explosive subject. 政治问题容易引起激烈的争论 .

conservative

 opposed to great or sudden change 反对做大的或突然的改变的 ; 保守的 ; 守旧的 :

* Old people are usually more conservative than young people. 老年人通常比年轻人保守 . 

 

3.   Gilly Llewellyn, from the conservation organization WWF, says pollution and oil and gas drilling are among many threats that could damage the Coral Sea's ecosystem.

GL 是世界野生动物保护组织的成员，她称 , 包括污染和石油，天然气采集在内的许多威胁都可以破坏珊瑚海的生态环境。

ecosystem

ecological unit consisting of a group of plants and living creatures interacting with each other and with their surroundings 生态系统 .

 

4.   Environmentalists point to the alarming statistic that coral reefs are declining five times faster than the rainforests.

环保主义之指出了一个惊人的数据统计：珊瑚礁的减少速度比雨林的消失速度要快 5 倍。

reef

a strip or ridge of rocks, sand, or coral that rises to or near the surface of a body of water.

礁，暗礁：上升到水面或接近水面的条状或脊状岩石、泥沙或珊瑚

 

5.   Other upcoming films include Grace is Gone, starring John Cusack as the father of two girls who loses his wife in Iraq, and Rendition, starring Reese Witherspoon as a woman whose Egyptian-born husband is abducted by U.S. agents.

另一部即将上映的电影是《格雷斯走了》，主演 JC 扮演两个女孩的父亲，他的妻子死于伊拉克。同时《引渡逃亡》，由 RW 出演一名女子，她的埃及出生的老公被美国特工劫持。

abduct

take (sb) away illegally, using force or deception; kidnap 诱拐 ; 绑架 .

 

6.   Lions for Lambs, a film directed by and starring Robert Redford, tells the story of an idealistic professor who must come to grips with the decision of two of his students to fight in Afghanistan.

电影《狮入羊口》由 RR 自导自演，讲述了一个理想主义教授与其两学生在阿富汗战斗的决定互相揪扭的故事。

idealistic adj. （形容词）

Of, relating to, or having the nature of an idealist or idealism.

理想主义或理想主义者的，与理想主义或理想主义者有关的，或具有二者之性质的

 

7.   He says the current films are different from those of World War II, when John Wayne and Errol Flynn devastated the enemy on studio back lots.

洛杉矶加利福尼亚大学戏剧，电影和电视学院的老师 JK 称现在的影片同二战时候的不同，当时 JW 和 EF 在摄影棚里面拍摄击溃敌人的情景。

devastate

completely destroy (sth); ruin 彻底毁坏（某事物） ; 毁灭 ; 摧毁 :

* a house devastated by a bomb 被炸弹炸毁的房子

 

8.   Once Pearl Harbor took place in 1941, Hollywood pitched in to the war effort in many many different ways, including newsreels, feature films, training films.  

1941 年珍珠港事件爆发后，好莱坞在许多不同方面都努力同入战争中，其中包括新闻影片，长片，训练影片。

newsreel  n. （名词）

A short film dealing with recent or current events.

新闻短片：放映最近或当前事件的短小电影

 

9.   Critic Alan Silverman says Hollywood moves slowly, and films typically take two years from conception to release.

评论员 AS 称好莱坞发片缓慢，许多影片从构思到最后发行需要两年的时间。

conception

(a)or being conceived 怀孕 ; 受孕 :

* an unplanned conception 计划外怀孕 . 

(b) thinking of (an idea or a plan) （主意或计划的）构思 , 构想 , 设想 :

* The plan, brilliant in its conception, failed because of inadequate preparation. 那计划的构想倒是十分宏伟 , 但终因准备不足而告吹 .

 

10. Film professor Jonathan Kuntz says these films will probably not be blockbusters, with sequels and spin-offs on Television.

他还说随着总统明年大选的临近，在这类题材上打赌是个不错的选择。电影教授 JK 称由于电影续集和衍生就以电视剧形式播放，这类电影不可能有什么大轰动。

blockbuster

something, such as a film or book, that sustains widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales.

  流行佳作：一些受到广泛普及和销售量巨大的事物，例如电影或书