英国新闻听力 88

BBC News with Julie Candler.

As diplomatic efforts to find a ceasefire in Gaza continue, the United States and Israel have signed an agreement, aimed at preventing Hamas from smuggling¹ weapons into the territory, a key Israeli demand. The deal was announced in Washington during a visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, hours before the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaves office. Ms. Livni said there was an emphasis on regional and international cooperation.

I’ve said from the outset that an end to the fighting will come, will not come through a simple call for a ceasefire, but through a determined², united and effective effort by the international community against terror group such as Hamas, and this is what we are doing today.

Condoleezza Rice said she hoped the agreement would many any truce³ that is achieved a durable⁴ and sustainable one. The accord is separate for many ceasefire that’s reached between Hamas and Israel in talks mediated⁵ by the Egyptians in Cairo as Kim Ghattas reports from Washington.

The exact details have yet to be released but it’s expected that Washington will provide Israel with logistical and intelligence assistance and resources to prevent arms smuggling by Hamas into Gaza. It also emphasizes a regional and international cooperation, especially on maritime⁶ interdiction⁷ to make sure weapons don’t reach Gaza by sea. It is a separate agreement from the ceasefire talks taking place in Cairo, but it will supplement any truce by addressing the issue of Hamas’s arms, a key concern for Israel.

Reports from Israel say the security cabinet will vote on Saturday to decide whether to declare a unilateral ceasefire.

The Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg has paid tribute to the pilot of a plane that crash landed in the Hudson River for the way he brought the aircraft down and ensured that all 155 people got our safely. Mr. Bloomberg said if anyone met Ernest Hemingway definition of heroism⁸ as "grace under pressure", it was Chesley Sullenberger. The Mayor has given Mr. Sullenberger and his crew the keys to New York City.

The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said agreement could soon be reached on resuming gas supplies to Europe that have been disrupted by Moscow’s dispute with Ukraine. He was speaking after talks in Berlin, from where Steve Rosenberg has sent this report.

This gas crisis isn’t over yet, but Vladimir Putin hinted the solution could soon be found. Europe’s largest energy companies, he said were close to reaching in agreements on forming a consortium that would purchase the so-called technical gas needed to get Ukraine’s pipeline⁹ that work running again and get the Russian gas flowing to Europe. The Russian Prime Minister criticized the European Union for attributing equal blame to Ukraine and Russia for the dispute that he said was in fact offering support to Kiev.

World News from the BBC.

The European Commission has begun legal action against the US software giant Microsoft, accusing it of breaking EU competition rules by linking its Internet Explorer browser¹⁰ to its Windows operation system. The commission says Microsoft is harming competition between web browsers¹¹.

A Tutsi rebel faction¹² in the Democratic Republic of Congo has announced a ceasefire with the government. Leaders of a breakaway faction of the CNDP said their militia¹³ would be placed at the disposal of the Congolese army. The announcement is likely to put new pressure on the main rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda to sign up to a full ceasefire.

The electoral authorities in Venezuela say a referendum will be held next month to decide whether to remove limits on the re-election of President Hugo Chavez and other officials. The head of the electoral counsel said the vote to be held on February 15th would be clean and transparent¹⁴. President Chavez has said he needs another ten years in office to consolidate¹⁵ what he calls his socialist¹⁶ revolution. Will Grant reports from Venezuela.

This is an issue which has sharply divided Venezuelans, is Mr. Chavez lost a vote on same question in December 2007. The opposition¹⁷ argued the entire process is unconstitutional and amounts to a power grab by Mr. Chavez. The president supporters denied that, and say that the future of the country’s socialist revolution is its stake. Neither side wants a repeat of the violence which marred¹⁸ the last referendum campaign, in which a number of protesters were killed.

A city in Mexico is threatening to jail couples found kissing in public as part of a campaign to improve morals. The city government in the central city of Guanajuato is also banning swelling¹⁹, begging and street offenders²⁰ in an effort to encourage better public behavior. The city’s conservative mayor said prolonged kissing in the streets embarrasses school children and could result in a fine of up to three days in prison.

1 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

4 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

5 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

6 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

7 interdiction   

n.禁止；封锁

参考例句：

• the Customs Service's drug interdiction programs 海关的毒品查禁方案
• In addition to patrol duty, blastboats are dispatched for planetary defense and interdiction missions. 除了例行巡逻，炮艇还被赋予行星防御和封锁的任务。

8 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

9 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

10 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

11 browsers   

浏览器

参考例句：

• Three-layer architecture is a model made up of browser, web server and background database server. 这种体系结构是由Browser、Web Server、Database Server组成的浏览器／Web服务器／后台数据库服务器三层模型。 来自互联网
• Another excellent approach is to abandon the browser entirely and, instead, create a non-browser-based, Internet-enabled application. 另一个非常好的方法是干脆放弃浏览器，取而代之，创建一个不基于浏览器，但却是基于互联网的应用。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

13 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

14 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

15 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

16 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

17 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

18 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

19 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

20 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。