France’s President Emmanuel Macron used a first-world-war commemoration to say “we must have a Europe that can defend itself on its own.” France has long made such calls, against British insistence that NATO remain Europe’s first line of defence(第一道防线). But Brexit and Donald Trump’s wobbly commitment to NATO have scrambled that formula. The main hurdle is meagre European defence spending(国防支出).
wobbly /ˈwɒblɪ/: not very good or not likely to be successful 不太好的; 不大可能成功的 »The meeting yesterday got off to a wobbly start. 昨天的会议开头不顺利。
SYN: shaky, unstable, unsafe
scramble /ˈskræmbəl/vt.: to put (parts of something) in the wrong order/bring into random order把…搞乱，搅乱；使混乱 » the scrambled plan被搅乱的计划
SYN: jumble , muddle, disorganise
formula: a rule or style unintelligently or slavishly followed. （愚蠢或盲目遵守的）常规，惯例；老一套 » one of those formula tunes. 那些陈腔滥调之一。
SYN: convention, ritual.
hurdle /ˈhɜːdəl/a problem or difficulty that you must deal with before you can achieve something 障碍，困难»Finding enough money for the project was the first hurdle. 首先需要克服的困难是为该项目筹措足够的资金。
SYN: obstacle , handicap, hindrance, impediment, obstruction, sparse
meagre /ˈmiːɡə/(of something provided or available) lacking in quantity or quality 不足的，微薄的；质量差的 » they were forced to supplement their meagre earnings. 他们不得不想办法补充自己的微薄收入。
SYN: inadequate, scanty, scant, insufficient, negligible
An independent report commissioned by Facebook found the site had been used to incite violence in Myanmar and helped enable human-rights abuses, particularly against the Rohingya Muslim minority. As many as 20m people in the country use the platform, many as their main source of news. Facebook accepted the findings and conceded it hadn’t done enough on the issue.
commission [T] to formally ask someone to write an official report, produce a work of art for you etc 委托撰写; 委托制作»The report was commissioned by the Welsh Office. 这份报告是受威尔士事务部委托写的。
SYN: entrust, authorize, empower, delegate
incite /ɪnˈsaɪt/ to deliberately encourage people to fight, argue etc 煽动，鼓动，激起 »They were charged with inciting racial hatred. 他们被指控煽动种族仇恨。
SYN: provoke, inflame, instigate, spur, stimulate, fan, fuel
concede: to admit that something is true or correct, although you wish it were not true承认 »I conceded that I had made a number of errors. 我承认自己犯了一些错误。
SYN: admit, confess
The United Nations said that 202 mass graves(集体墓穴,万人冢) have been discovered so far in Iraq, filled during Islamic State’s bloody reign between 2014 and 2017. The pits could contain the remains of more than 12,000 victims, it reckons, amounting to “possible genocide(种族灭绝)”. Families, with no central authority(中央政府)to go to, face frustration in their hunt for loved ones’ whereabouts.
pit: a large hole in the ground 坑，穴，洼，壕沟，地洞 » Eric lost his footing and began to slide into the pit.埃里克一脚踩空，开始往坑里滑。
SYN: hole, ditch, trench, trough, hollow, excavation
remains (pl) : the body of someone who has died 遗体»Her remains are buried in Westminster. 她的遗体葬在威斯敏斯特。
SYN: body, cadaver, carcass, corpse
amount to: to be the same as or equal to something else 相当于；等于
»The court's decision amounts to a not guilty verdict. 法庭的裁决等于是宣判无罪。
» amount to little 没有什么价值，没有什么重要
SYN: be equivalent to, be tantamount to
whereabouts/ˈ(h)wɛərəˈbauts/ [treated as sing. or pl.]the place where someone or something is 下落，行踪；所在» His whereabouts remain secret. 他的下落仍是个秘密。
SYN: location, position, place, situation, site
Trouble mounted for Arron Banks, the businessman who bankrolled Leave.EU, the unofficial Brexit campaign during the referendum. Britain’s data watchdog is fining the organisation and Mr Banks’s insurance firms £135,000 ($176,000) for privacy breaches. Last week Leave.EU was referred to authorities over allegations, denied by Mr Banks, that much of its money came—illegally—from overseas.
mount: to increase gradually in amount or degree 渐渐增加，增长
»Tension here is mounting , as we await the final result. 我们等待着最终结果，这里的气氛越来越紧张。
»Casualties on both sides of the battle have continued to mount. 交战双方的伤亡人数继续增加。
SYN: increase, accumulate, escalate, soar, spiral
bankroll /ˈbæŋkˌrəʊl/ to provide the money that someone needs for a business, a plan etc对…融资，为…提供资金；资助 »a software company bankrolled by the Samsung Group 一家由三星集团提供资金的软件公司
SYN: finance, fund, underwrite, sponosr
Leave.EU, 官网https://leave.eu/ 主页面如下图
watchdog /ˈwɒtʃˌdɒɡ/a person or organization responsible for making certain that companies obey particular standards and do not act illegally 监督人；监察机构 » The Countryside Commission was set up as the government's official watchdog on conservation.设立了乡村委员会，作为政府保护自然资源的官方监察机构。
SYN: ombudsman /ˈɒmbʊdzmən/, monitor, inspector, scrutineer
fine vt.: to make someone pay money as a punishment对…处以罚款
SYN: penalize, punish, impose a fine on, exact a penalty from, charge
breach /briːtʃ/ an action that breaks a law, rule, or agreement违背，违反
SYN: nonobservance, contravention, infraction, infringement, noncompliance, transgression, trespass, violation
refer (sth to): pass a matter to (another body, typically one with more authority or expertise) for a decision 提交（另一机构，尤指更权威或更专业的）做出决定
» The prisoner may require the Secretary of State to refer his case to the Parole Board. 囚犯可要求国务大臣将他的案子提交给假释委员会。
SYN: pass, direct, forward
划线句子：Last week Leave.EU was referred to authorities over allegations, denied by Mr Banks, that much of its money came—illegally—from overseas，其中 denied by Mr Banks 是插入语，即allegations were denied by Mr. Bank., that 引导的是同位语从句，具体阐述allegations的内容，即allegations that much of its money came—illegally—from overseas.
Under pressure to avert a planned nationwide strike (n.), Nigeria’s government agreed to increase the minimum monthly wage by 67% to 30,000 naira ($83). The Nigerian Labour Congress, one of Africa’s biggest unions, will still stand by to strike(v.) should implementation of the new wage drag. The government may struggle to pay higher wages itself though: revenues have been dwindling.
avert: to prevent something unpleasant from happening 防止，避免〔不快之事〕 »The tragedy could have been averted if the crew had followed safety procedures. 如果乘务人员按照安全规则操作，这场悲剧是可以避免的。
SYN: prevent, avoid, shun, forestall
strike /straɪk/ a period of time when a group of workers deliberately stop working because of a disagreement about pay, working conditions etc 罢工; 罢市»Workers had been out on strike for 8 months. 工人已经罢工 8 个月了。※ Do not say 不要说 'go on a strike'.
SYN: walkout, industrial action
Naira/`naɪrə/ the basic monetary unit of Nigeria 奈拉（尼日利亚基本货币单位）
union/trade union [BrE] /labor union [AmE] : an organization formed by workers to protect their rights 工会 »union members 工会会员
SYN: alliance, association, coalition
stand by (to do sth): to be ready to do something if necessary 准备行动 »Police stood by to arrest any violent fans. 警察时刻准备着逮捕有暴力行为的球迷。
句子解析： should implementation of the new wage drag. 这是一个should引导的虚拟语气省略句，还原即为 if implementation of the new wage should drag. 这个should往往可以提前到主语之前，同时省略掉if。» Should you have an accident, synthetic quilts are quite easy to wash. 万一尿了床，化纤被子是很容易洗的。
drag vi.: if time or an event drags, it seems to go very slowly because nothing interesting is happening 进行得缓慢，拖沓 »Friday afternoons always drag. 星期五下午时间总是过得很缓慢。
SYN: stall， slow-walk
dwindle /ˈdwɪndəl/: to gradually become less and less or smaller and smaller 逐渐减少，缩小，变小 »The elephant population is dwindling. 大象的数量在减少。
SYN: diminish, decrease, decline, reduce, subside, shrink
Rising oil prices buoyed two state-run energy giants. Profits at Rosneft(俄罗斯石油公司 ) nearly tripled in the third quarter, compared with last year, hitting 142bn roubles($2.2bn). The Russian firm was also boosted by increased crude production(原油产量) and the weaker rouble. In Brazil, meanwhile, Petrobras(巴西石油) announced that net profit grew 25-fold to 6.6bn reais ($1.8bn) over the same period.
buoy /bɔɪ/to keep profits, prices etc at a high level 维持〔利润、价格等的高水平〕 »Increased demand for computers buoyed their profits. 计算机需求量的增加使他们的利润维持在很高的水平。
SYN: boost (下文出现), encourage
reais : Plural of real => Real: the basic monetary unit of Brazil since 1994 雷阿尔（巴西1994年以来的基本货币单位）
Under Armour(安德玛，服装品牌) says it stopped executives from expensing visits to strip clubs(脱衣舞俱乐部) in February, but said it must still fix the firm’s macho culture after a Wall Street Journal exposé. Kevin Plank, the sportswear-maker’s boss, was named as one of those who took clients to erotic joints, though he says he never conducted business there on the company dollar.
exposé/ek'spəʊ.zeɪ/ a public report of the facts about a situation, especially one that is shocking or has been kept secret （尤指对令人震惊或保密之事的）曝光报道 »Ban exposé of corrupt practices by lawyers 对律师们腐败行为的揭露性报道
SYN: disclosure, divulgence, exposure, revelation, uncovering, account, article
erotic /ɪˈrɒtɪk/of, relating to, or tending to arouse sexual desire or excitement 色情的；（易于）引起性欲的；（易于）引起性兴奋的 » Mapplethorpe's photographs are profoundly erotic. 马珀索普的照片非常性感。
SYN: sexual, carnal, lustful, seductive, sensual, sexy
joint: a cheap bar, club, or restaurant廉价酒吧[俱乐部，餐厅] »a hamburger joint 汉堡包店
SYN: club, nightclub
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