英语听力精选进阶版 7175

Background:美国官员对参与一起重大医疗诈骗案的73个人提出指控。据信这些人都和亚美尼亚黑手党有关联。

The indictments² paint a picture of a far-reaching and powerful organised crime network, which prosecutors³ say "puts the traditional mafia to shame". Most of those accused are of Armenian family origin. They allegedly operated under the protection of Armen Kazarian, a man described as an elite⁵ organised crime boss, now in a Los Angeles jail.

The group is accused of setting up more than 100 phantom⁶ clinics spanning 25 American states, and then invoicing⁷ the government for treatment that never took place. Investigators⁸ uncovered evidence of US$ 163 million in false billing, which targeted Medicare, the federal insurance program for the elderly. Prosecutors say it's the largest ever Medicare fraud committed by a single criminal entity⁹, adding that the whole doctor-patient relationship was a "mirage¹⁰".

FBI agents arrested 52 people on Wednesday. A total of 73 alleged⁴ gang members have been charged with racketeering and related offences. The indictment¹ says some of the proceeds from the operation were couriered back to Armenia in cash.

Glossary¹¹ 词汇表

indictment 控告，诉状 

far-reaching 深远的，影响大的 

to put ... to shame 小巫见大巫，远远不如 

allegedly 被指控 

phantom 挂假名的诊所，幽灵 

to span 跨越，分布 

to invoice¹² 开...发票 

mirage 虚幻物，海市蜃楼 

racketeering 敲诈钱财 

proceeds 收入

Questions and Answers

True or False: Prosecutors say this is a traditional mafia crime. 

False. Prosecutors say this fraud is much more serious than the ones perpetrated by this traditional criminal organisation¹³.

How was the gang trying to get money from the government? 

The group claimed to have been treated in non-existent clinics and asked the government to pay them back for their alleged expenses.

True or False: In this case, doctors and patients didn’t meet. 

True. Prosecutors say that there wasn't a relationship between them.

What happened to the money the gang got fraudulently? 

The US authorities say that some of the money was sent to Armenia.

1 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

2 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 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

5 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

6 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

7 invoicing   

货品计价

参考例句：

• We're also responsible for invoicing customers, and for credit control. 我们也负责给顾客开发票，和信贷控制。 来自实用商务英语会话
• The government sets base import prices to check under-invoicing from exporters. 印度政府设定进口基价是为了制止出口商少开发票金额。

8 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

10 mirage   

n.海市蜃楼，幻景

参考例句：

• Perhaps we are all just chasing a mirage.也许我们都只是在追逐一个幻想。
• Western liberalism was always a mirage.西方自由主义永远是一座海市蜃楼。

11 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。

12 invoice   

vt.开发票；n.发票，装货清单

参考例句：

• The seller has to issue a tax invoice.销售者必须开具税务发票。
• We will then send you an invoice for the total course fees.然后我们会把全部课程费用的发票寄给你。

13 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。