英语听力精选进阶版 6109

Goodbye Ken¹, Hello Boris 送旧迎新

London has a new mayor, after its citizens voted in the Conservative Party candidate Boris Johnson, ahead of Labour's Ken Livingstone.

Well-known for his wild blonde hair, his self-deprecating humour and his reputation for gaffes² and blunders, Mr Johnson has been a colourful figure in British politics for many years.

While few doubted his energy and charisma³, Boris Johnson's narrow victory has surprised his critics, who questioned whether he was a serious enough politician to win.

His remarks have often caused controversy⁴, such as when in 2006 he had to apologise to the entire country of Papua New Guinea after suggesting it was known for "cannibalism⁵".

In the same year his criticism of a healthy eating campaign also made headlines, when he said parents should be able to feed children what they like, healthy or not.

But bumbling Boris has always had an ambitious streak⁶; when he was asked as a child what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said "the world king".

He now replaces Ken Livingstone, who had been London’s mayor since 2000.

Left-wing 'Red Ken' will be remembered for his role in helping⁷ London win the 2012 Olympic Games, as well as his introduction of the congestion⁸ charge, which is widely thought to have reduced traffic in the capital.

So will Boris Johnson's victory mean a change of direction for London over the next four years?

He promises to be tough on crime and anti-social behaviour, and to work to help bring together Londoners of different ethnic⁹ backgrounds.

Whatever happens, given Boris Johnson's colourful past, it is unlikely that the next four years will be dull.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

mayor 市长

Conservative Party candidate 保守党候选人

Labour 工党

self-deprecating humour 自嘲式幽默

gaffes and blunders 出言不逊；动辄放炮

colourful figure 多姿多彩的人物

charisma （领导人物的） 超凡魅力

narrow victory 险胜

surprised his critics 使其批评者惊讶

caused controversy 引起争议

cannibalism 同类相食；吃人

healthy eating campaign 健康饮食运动

made headlines 成为报端新闻

bumbling 不拘小节的

ambitious streak 一向雄心勃勃

left-wing 左翼的

congestion charge 机动车进城费

tough on crime 对犯罪问题持强硬立场

anti-social behaviour 违反社会公德的行为

ethnic background 种族背景

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

3 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 cannibalism   

n.同类相食；吃人肉

参考例句：

• The war is just like the cannibalism of animals.战争就如同动物之间的互相残。
• They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive.他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。

6 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。