英国新闻听力 99

Iraq's first major elections since 2005 have passed off relatively¹ peacefully. The Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, said the vote for provincial³ councils was a victory for all. In Washington, President Obama described it as an important step. Jim Muir reports from Baghdad.

Only three incidents, minor⁴ by Iraqi standards, were reported from all around the country, probably less than on an average ordinary day. Iraqi officials were clearly relieved. They deployed⁵ thousands of security personnel to guard the polls and imposed a strict ban on the movement of vehicles. That ban was lifted before the voting had even ended. In Sunni areas where the turnout was a meager⁶ 2% in similar polls four years ago, voting was reported heavy. That's one of the big political changes these elections are expected to register.

The authorities in Egypt say they've begun to install cameras and motion sensors⁷ along its border with Gaza to try to stop weapon smuggling⁸ by Palestinian militants⁹. Tighter surveillance of the tunnels between Egypt and Gaza is one of Israel's key conditions for maintaining the ceasefire that ended its offensive against Hamas. Ulan Nile reports from Cairo.

Egyptian security sources say that they've now begun to install the equipments along the 14-kilometre border. Experts from the United States are said to be involved. The hope is that the sensors will alert the authorities to any new tunnel construction and detect smuggling activity. Israel heavily bombed the Rafah border area during its military offensive in Gaza. But many underground passages are understood to remain intact. Smugglers have mainly used the tunnels to import goods made scarce by the Israeli blockade. Israel insists they've also been used to transfer weapons to Hamas.

A senior family planning official in China has warned of an alarming increase in the number of babies born with birth defects. Yang Fan from China's National Population and Family Planning Commission, said environmental pollution was the cause of the problem. State media reports him as saying that a child was born with physical defects every 30 seconds.

The Afghan government says it's setting up a new paramilitary force to patrol areas where the Taliban insurgency¹⁰ is most threatening. The Interior Minister, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, told a news conference that the force would be controlled by his ministry¹¹, but was being funded by the Americans.

"The Interior Ministry and its leadership is fully² confident that these forces can play an important role in providing security for our people, security for the country's highways, security for our schools, and their children who are going to school. Neither the Interior Ministry nor the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is in favour of establishing separate militia¹² forces or arming militias¹³ at all

Mohammad Hanif Atmar.

World News from the BBC.

The two main centre-left parties in Iceland say they've won the necessary backing to form a new government. The coalition¹⁴ between the Left-Greens and the Social Democrats¹⁵ is expected to assume office on Sunday. It takes over from a centre-right coalition that left office following an unprecedented¹⁶ economic downturn which has seen the collapse¹⁷ of the country's currency.

A fire at a nursing home in the Komi Republic in northern Russia has killed at least 23 people. One local official was quoted as saying there was a delay in reporting the fire, and that the building was engulfed¹⁸ in flames when firefighters arrived at the scene. Reports say it took them up to two hours to bring the blaze under control.

More than 100 people across Italy are being investigated over allegations that they rigged traffic lights and vehicle monitoring cameras to levy¹⁹ tens of thousands of illegal motoring fines. Those under investigation²⁰ include police officers and municipal officials. From Rome, Duncan Kennedy.

Called the T-Redspeed system, it's been an operation for two years in around 300 areas across Italy. A series of cameras linked to traffic lights capture 3D images of vehicles if they jump the lights or are speeding. It's believed more than a million drivers have been trapped by the system. But it's now claimed that the lights were rigged to change from yellow to red in three seconds instead of the regulation - five or six seconds. The fraud was uncovered by a senior police officer, who noticed an unusually high number of fines being issued.

The opposition²¹ leader in Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, has told his supporters he's taking over running the country. He told a big anti-government rally in the capital Antananarivo that a request for the immediate²² resignation of the president would soon be filed in Parliament. However, the president has said he remains²³ in charge and that the crisis will be defused by legal means. The Indian Ocean Island has seen a week of violent anti-government demonstrations²⁴.

1 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。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

7 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 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。

10 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

11 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

12 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。

13 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

17 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

18 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

20 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

21 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。

22 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

23 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

24 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。