英国新闻听力 美国立法允许911受害者亲属控诉沙特 奥巴马否决无效

President Obama says a dangerous precedent¹ has been set by the decision of the U.S. Congress to overrule his veto of legislation, allowing families of victims of the September 11th attacks to sue the Saudi government. Mr. Obama said the bill eliminated the notion of sovereign immunity², opening up U.S. forces or officials working overseas to possible legal action.

The oil producers cartel, OPEC, has agreed an outline deal to cut production in a bid to shore up the price of crude. It's the first of such agreement in eight years where prices jumped 5% on the news.

The Head of the medical charity, MSF, has called on the U.N. Security Council to prohibit attacks on medical facilities, after airstrikes in Syria on rebel-held East Aleppo put two hospitals out of action. Joanne Liu said a brutal³ and relentless⁴ onslaught had left eastern Aleppo with just seven surgeons to treat some 250,000 people.

A teenage gunman has killed his father, before shooting and wounding two children and a teacher at a primary school in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The gunman was wrestled⁵ to the ground by a firefighter and taken into custody⁶.

Turkey's National Security Council has recommended extending the state of emergency brought in after July's failed coup⁷ attempt. More than 30,000 alleged⁸ supporters of the coup have been arrested since it was imposed.

The Governor of California has signed a bill, ending a ten-year statute⁹ of limitations on rape¹⁰ and similar sexual offences. The move was prompted by accusations¹¹ by several women against the actor and comedian¹², Bill Cosby, during the 1970s and 80s. Bill Cosby has denied any wrongdoing.

The remains¹³ of ten United States soldiers killed during the Mexican-American War are being returned 170 years after their deaths. The troops are believed to have been volunteers who fought during the Battle of Monterey in Mexico in 1846.

奥巴马总统表示，尽管其投否决票，但依然没能阻止美国国会首开危险特例、准许9/11受害者亲属控诉沙特政府的决议通过立法。但据奥巴马称，此次法案消除了主权豁免权的概念，为海外工作的美国人开启了诉诸法律的通道。

石油输出国联盟OPEC（石油输出国家组织）同意签订框架协议，减少石油产量，以拉高原油价格。此举为8年来独一无二，因据相关新闻报道称，其拉高指数高达5%。

全球慈善医疗机构之巨擘——无国界医生组织 (Doctors Without Borders, Medecins Sans Frontiers -- MSF)主席廖满嫦呼吁联合国安理会阻止破坏医疗设施的行为，该呼吁是在由叛军控制的阿勒波东部遭受空袭，并导致2家医院无法运转后。廖满嫦表示，阿勒波东部遭受的残暴攻击导致只余7名外科医生治疗25万人。

美国南卡罗来纳州的一所小学内，一名持枪少年在枪击导致2名儿童及1名老师受伤后，将其生父杀害。最终，1名消防员在与其扭打过程中将其制服在地。该少年目前已被拘留。

土耳其国家安全委员会建议延长其国由于七月政变失败而进入的紧急状态。据称，3万多名政变支持者在政变揭露后被捕。

加州州长签订了一项法案，结束了长达十年来对强奸与类似性侵犯行为的限制条例。此举是受20世纪七八十年代几名女性对喜剧演员比尔（Bill Cosby）的控诉启发。对于该控诉，比尔一概不认。

在美墨战争中丧生的士兵中，10名士兵的遗体在战争结束后170年的今天被送回美国。据称，该军队的所有士兵均属自愿参加1846年的蒙特雷战役。

1 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

2 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

5 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

7 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

10 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

11 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。

12 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

13 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。