英国新闻听力 92

BBC News with Aleem Maqbool.

President Obama has entered the White House for the first time since assuming office earlier today. He traveled there with his wife Michelle in a huge parade. They got out of their car to acknowledge the thousands of cheering people. Earlier in his inaugural¹ address, President Obama, the country's first African-American president, said it was a measure of American liberty that he had become president when less than 60 years ago his Kenyan father might have been refused service in a restaurant. As he delivered his inaugural address to the American people and the world, President Obama said he was entering office at a time of crisis.

"Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred². Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our healthcare is too costly³, our schools fail too many and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries⁴ and threaten our planet."

Mr. Obama said it was time to return to the true values of earlier generations to remake America and he called on all citizens to make a difference through their actions.

"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world，duties that we do not grudgingly⁵ accept but rather seize gladly. This is the price and the promise of citizenship⁶."

On international relations, President Obama said America would show leadership once again. He said he would hand Iraq back to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. Jonathan Marcus reports.

Military power alone cannot protect the United States, said President Obama. Nor could military might entitle America to do as it pleases. He spoke⁸ of power growing through its prudent⁹ use and the importance of the force of American example. Here we are all the elements of the concept of smart power-- an amalgam¹⁰ of military, diplomatic, political and cultural tools that we are going to see much more of in the days to come. Military might was not being abandoned altogether. Mr. Obama tellingly referred to the fact that his nation was at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Mr. Obama spoke of seeing a new way forward with the Muslim world. He stressed a new desire for engagement with opposing regimes. To them, he said, "we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

World leaders have welcomed Barack Obama's inauguration¹¹. The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed¹² to work closely with President Obama. Messages of support also came from the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the German Chancellor¹³ Angela Merkel and the Japanese Prime Minister Taro¹⁴ Aso.

World news from the BBC.

The 2 million people packed into the area outside the Capitol building gave Barack Obama huge roars of approval during his inauguration ceremony. There was an alarm later at Mr. Obama's inauguration lunch when the veteran Senator Ted⁷ Kennedy collapsed¹⁵. Mr. Obama has expressed his concern for Senator Kennedy who has been treated for a brain tumor¹⁶.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he's deeply grieved by the destruction he has seen during a visit to Gaza following Israel's military offensive against Hamas. He said the scenes were heart-breaking and he condemned¹⁷ what he called an excessive use of force by Israel. Mr. Ban said he would do all he could to help the people of Gaza rebuild their lives. On a visit later to the southern Israeli town of Sderot, Mr. Ban also said that Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel were unacceptable.

The American General David Petraeus says agreement has been reached for new overland transport routes into Afghanistan. The United States has been seeking alternatives to NATO supply routes through Pakistan. Barbara Plett reports.

General Petraeus said agreements have been reached for additional logistical routes to Afghanistan through the north. They were concluded with central Asian states and also Russia, he said. Currently, most of NATO supplies are transported overland through Pakistan. But support for the NATO war effort in Afghanistan is unpopular here and supply trucks have increasingly been attacked by local Taliban militants¹⁸.

Russian gas supplies have been restored to Europe two weeks after they were halted in a row between Moscow and Ukraine. The European Union welcomed the resumption of supplies but said the row had damaged its relations with the two countries.

British officials have arrested 15 crew members of a South African Airways¹⁹ plane after a substantial amount of cannabis was found aboard their flight when it arrived in London. A customs spokesman said 50 kilos of the drug worth more 200,000 dollars on the streets of Britain were found in the crew's baggage.

 

1 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

2 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

5 grudgingly   

参考例句：

• He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

7 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

10 amalgam   

n.混合物；汞合金

参考例句：

• To counter this myth,we explained that we're really an amalgam of little guys.为了打破这个神话，我们解释说，我们确实是由一群小小的老百姓所组成的混合体。
• American literature is to our eyes a curious amalgam of familiar and strange.我们认为，美国文学把我们所熟悉的和陌生的东西奇妙地结合起来了。

11 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

13 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

14 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

15 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

16 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

17 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

18 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

19 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。