听力原文： Reykjavik A teenager says he convinced the White House he was Iceland's presiden

听力原文： Reykjavik

A teenager says he convinced the White House he was Iceland's president and managed to schedule a call with George W. Bush but was found out before he got to talk to the U.S. president.

"My call was transferred around a few times until I got hold of Bush's secretary and managed to book a call meeting with Bush the following Monday evening," Vifill Atlason, 16, told the reporters.

The teenager posed as Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson when he made the call on Dec 1.

Icelandic police turned up at his door two days later—the day of the planned call—and took him in for questioning.

The teenager said he was unable to recall where he discovered the telephone number for the White House.

At a White House news conference Monday, Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said her understanding was that Atlason had called a public line "that anybody can call" according to a transcript.

Local police confirmed the National Security Unit at the national police headquarters had asked them to bring Atlason in.

Washington

The U.S. Senate late on Thursday approved a broad energy bill to increase the fuel efficiency of U. S. cars and trucks by Congress for the first time since 1975 and significantly boost production of renewable motor fuels like ethanol.

The modified bill was approved 86 to 8 and now goes to the full House of Representatives for a vote, expected next week, on the changes the Senate made to the legislation. If approved by the House, as is likely, the measure will then be sent to President George W. Bush.

Shortly after the Senate vote, the White House said the president would sign the bill into law.

The legislation would raise fuel efficiency of cars and trucks by 40 percent to an average 35 miles per gallon by 2020, cutting U.S. oil demand by 1.1 million barrels a day.

Kyoto

Business sentiment among big Japanese manufacturers has sunk to a two-year low, a Bank of Japan survey showed on Friday, reinforcing expectations that any rise in interest rates will be delayed to late next year.

Rising raw material costs, plummeting construction activity because of tighter building rules and fears of a U.S. recession due to the credit crisis all played a part in eroding optimism.

But the BOJ's December tankan survey also showed companies are sticking to robust capital spending plans, and sentiment at small manufacturers showed a surprising improvement.

"The outlook has sharply deteriorated, and the risk of economic downturn has increased," said Yasuhiro Onakado, chief economist at Daiwa SB Investments. "A rate hike by the Bank of Japan may have to wait until after the middle of next year."

Gaza

About 30 Israeli tanks and armored vehicles pushed into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Tuesday, sparking clashes with Palestinians in which five militants were killed, medics and militant groups said.

Residents said the raid, a day before Israel and Palestinians are due to hold their first talks since relaunching a U.S.-backed peace push, was the largest in their area since Israel pulled troops and settlers out of the territory in 2005.

Four Islamic Jihad gunmen were killed in clashes with Israeli ground forces and an air strike killed a local commander from the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of militant groups, medics and residents said.

Fifteen Palestinians, many of them gunmen, were also wounded in the incursion, which a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described as a "heinous crime" that undermined the peace process.

Los Angeles

Hollywood directors said on Thursday they will seek to start contract talks with major film studios in January, giving striking screenwriters more time to restart their own stalled negotiations.

Industry watchers believe the launch of Directors Guild of America

A．He convinced the White House that Iceland's President wanted a call with George W. Bush.

B．He told the White House staff that he was Iceland's President and almost talked to George W. Bush.

C．He booked a call meeting with the White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

D．He told the local police where he found the telephone number for the White House.