英国新闻听力 美国流行巨星Prince去世

The American singer Prince has died at his home in Minneapolis. He was 57. The flamboyant¹ musician sprang to fame in early 80s with hits such as 'I wanna be your love' and 'Little Red Corvette'. He'd been suffering from poor health and recently cancelled two concerts. David Sillito looks back at his career. The singer released his first album in the last 70s and by the 80s he was one of the biggest stars in pop music, one of a few black artists to appear regularly in the early days of MTV. His music output was extraordinary. He wrote hits The Bangles, Sinead O’Connor as well as a run of multi-million selling alums of his own. His last releases was late last year. Fans of Prince have gathered in the rain on the hillside opposite his home and studios at Paisley Park in Minneapolis. Andrew Swanson from Minneapolis Public Radio is with the fans. She says Prince left a great legacy² for the state. He is by far the most famous musician that we have that continued to live here and support the scene here. Obviously he's gonna have a very longlasting influence on the community here.

President Obama has appealed to British voters to opt³ to remain part of the European Union ahead of a referendum in June. Jon Sopel reports. In an article of today's Daily Telegraph, Barack Obama challenges the argument that this is no business of the US. Though he doesn't say so explicitly⁴, the implication of this entire article is that Britain risks damaging itself economically and losing influence internationally if it votes to leave. The president did need to make this intervention⁵ and could have been much more nuanced that he has is a mark of the profound concern felt in Washington about the implications of a British departure from the EU.

Volkswagen has offered to buy back half a million of its vehicles in the United States as part of an agreement with the US Justice Department over the carmaker's emission⁷ scandal. The judge in San Francisco doesn't give details about how much owners will be paid but said the compensation would be substantial. He said owners would also be given the option of having their cars fixed⁸. Under the agreement, VW will also be required to commit funds to promoting green technology.

Venezuela is to introduce power cuts of four hours a day from next week. The outages will last for 40 days as the country struggles under a severe drought that has limited the output from its hydroelectric plants. It's the latest setback⁹ in the Venezuelan economy which has been hit by a sharp fall in the price of its main export oil. BBC news.

The UN special envoy¹⁰ for Syria says he ascertained¹¹ that peace negotiations¹² will continue next week. Staffan de Mistura dismissed as 'diplomatic posturing¹³' the decision by Syria's main opposition¹⁴ representatives to leave the talks early. Members of the Higher Negotiation's Committee left Geneva in protest at intensified¹⁵ government airstrikes but Mr de Mistura urged all sides to renew the ceasefire and accelerate humanitarian¹⁶ aid.

The Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto has said he's sending a bill to the congress, proposing the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes and increasing the amount allowed for personal use. Mr Pena Nieto said marijuana use should be seen as a public health issue and users should not be considered criminals. The initiative proposals, the possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana for personal use, will not be considered a crime. This meas consumption will stop being criminalized. He had previously¹⁷ opposed efforts to liberalize drug laws but has fallen into lines with other countries in the region who have become disenchanted with the war on drugs.

The director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation¹⁸ has suggested the agency paid more than 1 million dollars to hack¹⁹ into the cellphone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers. The FBI director James Comey said he did not reveal a precise amount paid to an unidentified third party for the software used to unlock the iPhone. Before it cracked the code itself, the FBI had launched a legal claim against the iPhone maker⁶ Apple to gain access to the device. Syed Farook and his wife shot and killed 14 people in San Bernardino in December.

More than 1000 beacons²⁰ have been lit across Britain and other parts of the Commonwealth²¹ to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen Elizabeth. The Queen herself, the world's oldest monarch²² and Britain's longest-serving sovereign lit the first not far from Windsor Castle. Earlier, well-wishers handed presents, cards and flowers to the Queen when she left the castle to meet them. BBC news.

美国歌星“王子”在明尼阿波利斯家中去世。享年57岁。20世纪80年代早期，音乐奇才凭借《I wanna be your love》、《小红克尔维特》等歌曲迅速走红。去世之前，身体状况每况愈下，并取消了两场演唱会。请听大卫·西利托的报道。70年代末，“王子”发表首张专辑，80年代，他已成为流行音乐巨星，在“音乐电视网”创立初期，MTV黑人音乐家少之又少，而他就是其中之一。音乐作品数量惊人。他曾为“手镯合唱团”，辛妮·奥康纳写歌，专辑销量超数百万。去年年底发布最新专辑。在工作室兼住家“派斯利公园”对面山坡，歌迷在雨中举行悼念仪式。请听安德鲁·斯汪森为您从明尼阿波利斯发回的报道。她称“王子”为美国留下了宝贵遗产。到目前为止，“王子”仍是最伟大的在世巨星，并一直为音乐发展不懈努力着。显而易见，他的影响仍将持续很久很久。

英国“留欧”公投将于今年6月举行，奥巴马呼吁英国公民为“留欧”投票。请听乔恩·索培尔的报道。奥巴马在英国《每日电讯报》上发表文章，奥巴马称“留欧”问题与美方无关。虽然没有明确说明，但整篇文章的总体态度是，“脱欧”或将损坏英国经济，失去国际影响力。美方“介入”势在必行，但此次却十分微妙，若英国“脱欧”，华盛顿必将十分关切。

大众已就“排放门”事件与美司法部达成协议，同意回购50万辆柴油汽车。旧金山法官并未透露车主赔偿金，但称数额巨大。车主可选择改良汽车。根据该协议，大众仍需为发展绿色技术支付赔偿基金。

从下周起，委内瑞拉全境将每天轮流断电四小时。因受干旱影响，水力发电站水位告急，该措施预计持续40天。因出口原油暴跌，委内瑞拉经济受挫。BBC新闻。

联合国叙利亚问题特使证实，叙利亚和谈将于下周继续展开。尽管叙主要反对派代表暂不“正式出席”，但德米斯图拉否认“外交姿态”一说。因政府军空袭愈演愈烈，叙反对派“高级谈判委员会”成员离开日内瓦，但德米斯图拉敦促各方恢复停火协议，加快人道主义救援速度。

墨西哥总统恩里克·培尼亚·涅托表示称，为促进医用大麻合法化，增加个人使用剂量，他已向国会提交提案。他称大麻使用为公共健康问题，使用者并非罪犯。根据提案规定，个人使用剂量在28克（含）以下均不违法。个人使用大麻将不会定罪。此前，涅托曾反对放宽禁毒法，但却因禁毒战而与其它国家合作。

联邦调查局局长表示，圣博娜迪诺涉案枪支解锁费超100万美元。詹姆斯·科米并没有透露支付给第三方的具体数字。此前，FBI曾为解密手机而状告苹果公司。去年12月，塞义德·法鲁克和妻子曾在圣博娜迪诺枪杀14人。

为庆祝英女王90岁生辰，超千座灯塔将在英国和海外属地点燃。作为世界上最年长，英国在任时间最长君主，英女王在温莎堡不远处点燃第一座灯塔。早间，女王离开温莎堡与公众见面，民众为女王献上礼物、贺卡以及鲜花。BBC新闻。

1 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

4 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

7 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

10 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

11 ascertained   

v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The previously unidentified objects have now been definitely ascertained as being satellites. 原来所说的不明飞行物现在已证实是卫星。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I ascertained that she was dead. 我断定她已经死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

13 posturing   

做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was posturing a model. 她正在摆模特儿的姿势。
• She says the President may just be posturing. 她说总统也许只是在做样子而已。

14 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。

15 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

17 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

18 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。

19 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

20 beacons   

灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台

参考例句：

• A chain of beacons was lit across the region. 整个地区点起了一系列灯塔。
• Lighthouse and beacons flash at night. 晚上灯塔与信号台闪着光。

21 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

22 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。