例句：What's almost as incredible as the reality of a new， independent South Sudan is that the referendum took place.
最让人难以置信的是，如同一个新的、独立的苏丹南方政府的事实一样让人惊讶，公投真的发生了。
11. mainstream['me?nstri?m]n.主流
例句：Nobody could go completely against the mainstream of the history.
没有人能够完全逆历史主流而行。
语法知识点Grammar points
1. It was， according to royal officials， a personal decision， but King Juan Carlos's surprise announcement that he will abdicate in favor of this son comes after a difficult few years for the king.
王室官员称这是个人的决定，但胡安·卡洛斯一世令人吃惊地决定，在经历了几年困难后，他决定让位给儿子。
According to royal officials是插入语，对句子的结构不构成影响。that he will abdicate in favor of this son是由that引导的同位语从句，是对announcement的解释说明。
2. Meanwhile， thousands of anti-monarchist demonstrators have gathered in Madrid to call for a referendum on whether Spain should become a Republic.
同时在马德里，数千名反君王游行者聚集起来呼吁举行公投，决定西班牙是否成为共和国。
thousands of……意为“数千的”，是虚数概念；call for意为“呼吁”；whether Spain should become a Republic是宾语从句。
3. He said the deep financial crisis had stirred up an impulse for renewal in Spain and that a new generation was demanding the main role in preparing that future.
他说严重的财政危机令国家混乱，同时也要求西班牙进行革新，称需要由新的一代来担当为未来做准备的重要角色。
本句中，主语和谓语分别是he， said，宾语由两个并列的宾语从句组成，由and隔开。第一个宾语从句省略了引导词that，用的是过去完成时，表示在said之前stir up这个工作已经完成了。第二个宾语从句由that引导，时态是过去进行时，表示demand这个动作与在said的时候正在进行。
15：巴西世界杯一个月后开幕The Brazilian World Cup：One month later
13/05/2014
In exactly one-month time， the World Cup finals kick off in Brazil. 64 matches，12 cities and a month of football. Brazilians so far have been quite gloomy about the competition battered by the constant news of unfinished stadiums and infrastructure problems. But the enthusiasm for football in Brazil is still huge.
The Maracana is a big overall concrete stadium. Palm trees just remind you that you are somewhere tropical. Those are people outside taking selfies in front of this. It's a big Flamingo game going on here. From a look of this， we are gonna have one seriously excited country.
Yeah， yeah. Of course. Because we love so much football. People doing the game are really passionate.
Someone said to me：'Don't get sick. Your doctors are gonna be watching a match. Don't get in trouble with the police， your lawyer will be watching the match. Don't get hungry， the supermarkets are gonna be closed.'Everything stops.
Well， I think you are gonna be crazy.
All these stadiums have been renovated. We've had two new stadiums completely from scratch.
译文：
一个月后的今天，世界杯决赛将在巴西拉开帷幕。64场比赛，12个城市代表队将展开为期一个月的足球之战。目前，巴西场馆建设还未完成，基础设施存在问题，使得巴西人相当郁闷，但巴西人对足球的热情依旧。
马拉卡纳是大型的混凝土场馆。棕榈树提醒人们所处的位置是热带地区。许多人在体育馆前自拍。现在正在进行的是一场大型弗朗明哥比赛。这样看来，巴西将会以高度的热情迎接世界杯。
是的，是的，当然。因为我们太热爱足球了。从事足球运动的人都充满热情。
有人对我说：“不要生病，因为你的医生可能正在看球赛；不要摊上官司，因为你的律师可能在看球赛；不要饿肚子，因为超市会关门。”一切都静止了。
我认为大家都会为之疯狂。
所有这些场馆都进过了整修，还重新新建了两个场。
单词解析Word analysis
1. the WorId Cup世界杯
例句：Our football team is pointing for the World Cup games.
我们的足球队正在进行紧张的训练，迎接世界杯。
2. kick off【足】开始
例句：The waiting is over. The World Cup is about to kick off.
漫长的等待终于结束了，南非世界杯即将鸣锣开战。
3. gIoomy['glu?m?]adj.沮丧的，情绪低落的；阴暗的
例句：You must rid yourself of this gloomy mood.
你必须使自己摆脱这种闷闷不乐的忧郁情绪。
4. infrastructure['?nfr?str?kt??]n.基础设施；公共建设；下部构造
例句：They have at least fully recovered their infrastructure and other services， if not better than before tsunami.
他们至少已经完全恢复了基础设施和其他服务，即使不是比海啸之前更好。
5. tropicaI['tr?p?k(?)l]adj.热带的；热情的；酷热的
例句：The tropical heat blistered the coast.
热带的酷热烤晒着海岸。
6. gonna['g?n?]abbr.（美）将要（等于going to）
例句：So what were they gonna do？
所以他们会怎么做呢？
7. renovate['ren?ve?t]vt.更新；修复；革新；刷新
例句：We must renovate our social life to keep abreast of the times.
我们必须革新我们的社会生活以适应时代的要求。
语法知识点Grammar points
1. Brazilians so far have been quite gloomy about the competition battered by the constant news of unfinished stadiums and infrastructure problems.
目前，巴西场馆建设还未完成，基础设施存在问题，使得巴西人相当郁闷。
So far意为“到目前为止”“battered by……”做competition的后置定语，意为“还未建好的场馆及基础设施问题引起的竞赛”。
2. Palm trees just remind you that you are somewhere tropical.
棕榈树提醒人们所处的位置是热带地区。
remind sb that+从句，意为“提醒某人某事”。
16：美国新的排污指标应遵循清洁、廉价的原则New emissions rules are clean and affordable
10/06/2014
As we recorded this podcast， President Obama and the environmental protection agency in the US were due to announce fresh targets to cut pollution from power plants by 30%by 2020. Environmentalists claim it as a victory. But opponents say it could be damaging economic effects， especially for coal producing areas.
The America produces more green-house gases than any other country in the world， but in fact， produces more than double per person than China does. And around 40%of those greenhouse emissions comes from energy production. This power plant alone in West Virginia burns an incredible 16，000 tons of coal each day when it's working at full capacity providing electricity to around 2 million homes. But President Obama is about to announce rules which are the most significant in American history in terms of trying to limit climate changes. He is going to talk about trying to cap the amounts of carbon dioxide that's produced by power plants like this one. That is something that has greatly pleased environmentalists but of course upset many in the coal industry.
