高级英语听力 lesson 6

 

 

 Lesson Six

 

    Section One: News in Brief

 

    Tapescript

    1. The Senate has voted to override¹ President Reagan's veto of sanc-

    tions against South Africa by a decisive seventy-eight to

    twenty-one.  As the House has already voted to override, the sanc-

    tions now become law.  NPR's Linda Wertheimer reports.

    'American civil rights leaders, including Mrs. Caretta Scott King,

    watched the Senate debate from the Senate family gallery as mem-

    bers argued not so much about sanctions and the efficacy of sanc-

    tions, more about the choice between affirming the bill already pas-

    sed by Congress or supporting the President.'

 

    2. American food aid to southern African countries could be cut off

    if South Africa carries out its threat to ban imports of US grain.

    Foreign Minister Pic Botha said if US sanctions were imposed, his

    government would stop imports and would not allow its transport

    service to carry US grain to neighboring countries.

 

    3. The White House today denied that it planted misleading stories

    in the American news media as part of a plan to topple Libyan lead-

    er Muammar Quddafl.  The Wtishington Post reported this morning

    that stories were leaked this summer alleging³ Qtiddafi was resuming

    his support for terrorist activities, even though National Security

    Adviser⁴ John Poindexter knew otherwise.  Today, White House

    spokesman Larry Speakes said Poindexter denied the administration

    had involved the media in an anti-Quddafi campaign but Speakes

    left open the possibility a disinformation campaign was conducted in

    other countries.

 

_Section Two: News in Detail

 

Tapescript

    The question in Washington today is this: Did the federal gov-

@ment try to scare Libya's Colonel Muammar Quddafl in August

by way of a disinformation campaign in the American media?  The

'Washington Post Bob Woodward reports today that there was an

 

_     elaborate disinformation program set up by the White House to

     convince Quddafi that the United States was about to attack again,

     or that he might be ousted⁶ in a coup⁷.  The White House today denies

     that officials tried to mislead Quddafi by using the American media.

     NPR's Bill Busenburg has our first report on the controversy⁸.

        The story starts on August 25th when the Wall Street Journal

     ran a front page story saying that Libya and the United States were

     once again on a collision course.  Quoting multiple official sources,

     the paper said Quddafi was plotting new terrorist attacks and the

     Reagan Administration was preparing to teach him another lesson.

     The Journal reported that the Pentagon was completing plans for a

     new and wider bombing of Libya in case the President ordered it.

        That story caused a flurry of press attention.  Officials in

     Washington and at the western White House in California were

     asked if it was true.  " The story was authoritative⁹" said the White

     House spokesman Larry Speakes.  Based on that official confirma-

     tion, other news organizations, including the New York Times, the

     Washington Post, NPR and the major TV networks, all ran stories

     suggesting Libya should watch out.  US naval¹⁰ maneuvers¹¹ then taking

     place in the Mediterranean¹² might be used as a cover for more attacks

     on Libya as in the past.

         Today's Washington Post, however, quotes from an August

     14th secret White House plan, adopted eleven days before the Wall

     Street Journal story.  It was outlined in a memo¹³ written by the Pres-

     ident's National Security Advisor¹⁴ John Poindexter.  That plan called

     for a strategy of real and illusory events, using a disinformation

     program to make Quddafl think the United States was about to

     move against him militarily.  Here are some examples the Post cites,

     suggesting disinformation was used domestically: Number one, while

     some US officials told the press Quddafi was stepping up his terrorist

     plans, President Reagan was being told in a memo that Quddafl was

     temporarily quiescent¹⁵, in other words, that he wasn't active.  Number

 

_ two, while some officials were telling the press of internal infighting

 in Libya to oust⁵ Quddafi, US officials really believed he was firmly

 in power and that CIA's efforts to oust him were not working.

 Number three, while officials were telling the press the Pentagon was

 planning new attacks, in fact nothing new was being done Existing

 contingency plans were several months old, and the naval maneuvers

 were just maneuvers.  The Post says this policy of deception¹⁶ was ap-

 proved at a National Security Planning Group meeting chaired by

 President Reagan and his top aides.

 

_ Section Three: Special Report

 

 Tapescript

 @   Two new studies were published today on the links between tel-

 evision coverage¹⁷ of suicide and subsequent teenage suicide rates.  The

 Now England J6urnal of Medicine reports that both studies suggest

 that some teenagers might be more likely to take their own lives after

 seeing TV programs dealing¹⁸ with suicide.  NPR's Lorie Garrett re-

 ports.

     The first suicide study, done by a team from the University of

 California in San Diego, examines television news coverage of sui-

 cides.  David Philips and Lundy Carseson looked at forty-five sui-

 cide stories carried on network news-casts between 1973 and '79.

 The researchers then compared the incidence of teen suicides in those

 years to the dates of broadcast of these stories.  David Philips says

 news coverage of suicides definitely prompted an increase in the

 number of teens in America who took their lives.

      ,The more TV programs that carry a story, the greater they in-

 crease¹⁹ in teen suicides just after-wards.  "

     The suicide increase among teens was compared by Philips to

 adult suicide trends.

      'The teen suicides go up by about 2.91 teen suicides per story.

 And adult suicides go up by, I think, around two adult suicides per

 stor . The increase for teens, the percentage increase for teens is

 

_     very, very much larger than the percentage increase for adults.  It's

     about, I think, fourteen or,fifteen times as big a response for teens

     percentagewise as it is for adults.'

         The TV news coverage appears to have prompted a greater in-

     crease than is seen around other well-known periods of adolescent

     depression, such as holidays, personal birthdays, the start of school

     and winter.  Philips could not find any specific types of stories that

     seem to trigger a greater response among depressed²⁰ teens.  Philips

     says it seems to simply be the word "suicide' and the knowledge that

     somebody actively²¹ executed the act that pushes buttons in depressed

     teenagers.  Psychiatrists²² call this 'imitative behavior.'

          " What my study showed was that there seems to be imitation

     not only of relatively²³ bland²⁴ behavior like dress, dressing²⁵ or

     hairstyles, but there seems to be imitation of really quite deviant be-

     havior as well.  The teenagers imitate apparently²⁶ across the board,

     not just suicides, but everything else as well.'

          In a separate study, Madeline Gould and David Shaeffer of

     Columbia University found that made-for-television movies about

     suicide also stimulated²⁷ imitative behavior.  Even though the movies

     were intended to portray²⁸ the problem of teen suicide and offered, in

     some cases, suicide hot line numbers and advice on counselling, the

     team believes the four network movies prompted eighty teen

     suicides.  One of the made-for-TV movies examined by the

     Columbia University team was a CBS production.  George Schweitz-

     er, a CBS's Vice² President, is well aware of this research.  He says, 'It

     is terribly unfortunate that any teens took their lives after the broad-

     cast, but if they had it to do over,' says Schweitzer, 'CBS would still

     run the movie."

          " Studies, like these do not measure the most, what we think is

     the most important thing, which I don't think can be measured, and

     that is the hundreds and hundreds and probably thousands of teen-

     agers who were positively²⁹ moved by these kinds of broadcasts."

 

_     Moved to call suicide hot lines, moved to seek counseling, and

 6wved to discuss their depressions with family members.  Schweitzer

 does not dispute today's studies: some teens may be moved to

 suicide.

     ' But ignoring the issue for fear of that, I think, would be far

 more disastrous³⁰ than addressing important social issues to help

 create awareness³¹ and again to have a positive effect.'

     But researcher David Philips suggests the media could decrease

 the teen suicide problem by avoiding some suicide stories all together

 and changing the way the others are covered.  For example, says

 Philips, " Don't make suicide seem heroic." He cites the story of 'a'

 Young Czechoslovakian dissident who set himself on fire.  But t

 dissident action was taken to draw attention to government repres-

 sion in Czechoslovakia.  Should the news media really have ignored

 such a story?  'I think it's a really difficult question.  There are all

 these goods on all sides of the issue.  And thank God, I don't have to

 be the one to disentangle that issue.'

     One prominent expert in this field said the young people moved

 .to take their lives, following a news story or movie, are particularly

 vulnerable, suicidal individuals.  In the absence of television stories,

 some other events in their lives might well have triggered their ac-

 tions.  So while most psychiatrists agree there is an imitative compo-

 nent to teenage suicides, that tendency, they say, should not lead so-

 ciety to repress information.  On the contrary, some say we are now

 'facing a major epidemic³² of adolescent suicide in America.  We must

 publicize and confront the problem.  Last year some fifty-five'hun-

 dred adolescents between fifteen and twenty-four years of age took

 their lives.  At least ten times that tried.  Some estimates are that 275

 thousand teens attempted suicide last year.  The rate of teenage sui-

 cide in America has tripled since 1955.

1 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

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 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

6 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

7 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

10 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

11 maneuvers   

n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
• Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句

12 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

13 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 quiescent   

adj.静止的，不活动的，寂静的

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that such an extremist organization will remain quiescent for long.这种过激的组织是不太可能长期沉默的。
• Great distance in either time or space has wonderful power to lull and render quiescent the human mind.时间和空间上的远距离有一种奇妙的力量，可以使人的心灵平静。

16 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

17 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

19 crease   

n.折缝，褶痕，皱褶；v.(使)起皱

参考例句：

• Does artificial silk crease more easily than natural silk?人造丝比天然丝更易起皱吗？
• Please don't crease the blouse when you pack it.包装时请不要将衬衫弄皱了。

20 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

21 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

22 psychiatrists   

n.精神病专家，精神病医生( psychiatrist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They are psychiatrists in good standing. 他们是合格的精神病医生。 来自辞典例句
• Some psychiatrists have patients who grow almost alarmed at how congenial they suddenly feel. 有些精神分析学家发现，他们的某些病人在突然感到惬意的时候几乎会兴奋起来。 来自名作英译部分

23 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

24 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

25 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

26 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

27 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

28 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

29 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

30 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

31 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

32 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。