英国新闻听力

The giant British oil company BP says it will pay to clean up the huge oil slick threat in America’s Gulf¹ Coast. But it insists it’s not to blame for causing the spillage. BP’s Chief Executive Tony Hayward said the accident that started the leak occurred on the rig operated by offshore² drilling contractor³ Transocean. President Obama has said the leak threatens unprecedented⁴ environment disaster. Vanessa Buschschluter reports.

Tony Hayward arrived in the United States on Monday, and immediately hit the airwaves. He said there was no doubt BP would pay for the clean-up. It is our responsibility and we accept it in full, he said. But he also pointed⁵ out that the equipment which broke down and led to spill on the Deepwater Horizon rig belonged to Transocean who operated it. A spokesman for Transocean said that they would wait all the facts before drawing their conclusions.

Officials say at least 23 people have been killed in the southern United States after severe thunderstorms caused flash floods. At least 40 people died in Tennessee State, five in Mississippi and four in Kentucky and downtown Nashville was evacuated⁶.

Less than three weeks after ash from a volcano in Iceland caused a major shutdown of European airspace. The Irish authorities have re-imposed flight restrictions⁷ because of ash being blown south. The Irish Aviation Authority says it’s restricting flights into and out of Ireland for six hours on Tuesday. Mark Simpson reports.

Just when it was thought the threat from volcanic⁸ ash was over, there’s more air trouble disruption. Advice from the Irish Aviation Authority means all flights in and out of the Republic of Ireland tomorrow morning have been canceled. Chief Executive Eamonn Brennan said the decision was taken for safety reasons. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest possible disruption at airports in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. But the air travel authorities say they will issue guidance if the situation changes overnight.

The American State Secretary Hillary Clinton has renewed criticism of Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Addressing at a United Nations Conference aimed at strengthening the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Mrs. Clinton said Iran was the only country represented at the gathering⁹ to have been found in violation¹⁰ of its UN obligations. She said the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was trying to distract attention from the row over his country’s nuclear program.

“We know there are some countries who will choose not to be constructive¹¹. This morning Iran’s president offered the same tired, false and sometimes wild accusations¹² against the United States and other parties at this conference. But that’s not surprising. As you all heard this morning, Iran will do whatever it can to divert attention away from its own record and to attempt to evade¹³ accountability.”

Earlier, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused nuclear weapon states of threatening both who did not have such arsenals¹⁴.

The only gunman to survive the attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai in November, 2008 has been found guilty of murder and waging war on India. Ajmal Amir Qasab, a Pakistani national, was convicted on almost all of 86 charges. The trial judge said it was not a simple act of murder, it was war. During the attacks ten gunmen killed more than 160 people.

United States officials say they’ve made substantial progress in their search for a man who left a car bomb which failed to explode in a busy tourist area of New York. The Attorney General Eric Holder¹⁵ said the police and the FBI were following a number of good leads. Their main focus is on a white male in his 40s who was seemed behaving suspiciously in the area.

Two of the biggest airlines in the United States, United and Continental¹⁶, have confirmed they intend to merge¹⁷ to create the world's largest carrier. The combined airline will be called "United" and expects annual revenues of about 29 billion dollars. Duncan Bartlett reports.

The deal between United and Continental is designed to bring the two airlines back to a position in which they can start making money again. Both companies reported heavy financial losses last year, but they hope that by teaming up, they can save money by sharing resources and staff. Continental and United claimed that once the merge is completed, they will serve more than 144 million passengers per year and fly to 370 destinations in 59 counties. The deal was still need to be endorsed¹⁸ by their shareholders¹⁹ and given an approval by the competition regulars in the United States.

The IMF official responsible for negotiating with Greece over financial bailout of its dead Greek economy who said Greek people realized they are facing a defining moment in their history. Paul Thompson said the Greek government had realized that it must carry out major reform and it was very important to begin prosecuting²⁰ tax evaders.

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

3 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

4 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。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

11 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

12 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

13 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

14 arsenals   

n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成

参考例句：

• We possess-each of us-nuclear arsenals capable of annihilating humanity. 我们两国都拥有能够毁灭全人类的核武库。 来自辞典例句
• Arsenals are factories that produce weapons. 军工厂是生产武器的工厂。 来自互联网

15 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

16 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

17 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

18 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

20 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。