英语听力精选进阶版 7354

BBC News with Gaenor Howells

The government of the incumbent¹ leader of Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo says it will cut diplomatic ties with any countries recognising ambassadors named by his rival Alassane Ouattara. The statement came as a delegation² from the West African regional grouping Ecowas, which recognises Mr Ouattara as the winner of recent presidential elections, held separate talks in Abidjan with the two men. Ecowas is demanding that Mr Gbagbo step down or face the possibility of removal by force. John James reports from Abidjan.

So far, there's been no indication this mediation³ effort has met with any more success than those led by the former South African President Thabo Mbeki and the chairman of the African Union Commission Jean Ping. Meanwhile, a UN peacekeeping patrol came under attack by a crowd in a pro-Gbagbo area of Abidjan. One vehicle was burnt, and a peacekeeper was injured by a machete.

Christian⁴ and Muslim leaders in Nigeria have accused the country's politicians of stoking religious violence. They were meeting following a series of clashes in the central city of Jos. From Lagos, Tomi Oladipo reports.

Speaking in Lagos, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria accused some politicians of attempting to make the country ungovernable. This joint⁵ statement comes after a weekend of violence in Jos in central Nigeria. At least 80 people have been reported killed, and 190 injured in the attacks which began on Christmas Eve. The atmosphere in Jos remains⁶ tense, and armed security forces are patrolling the streets.

The Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said he'll be the first to recognise southern Sudan if it votes for independence in the referendum due on 9 January. Mr Bashir told thousands of supporters at a rally that a new southern Sudan would be welcomed as a brotherly state.

Thousands of homes and businesses in Northern Ireland are without running water after a thaw⁷ in the recent cold weather led to burst water mains. The local water company has described the situation as unprecedented⁸ and is handing out bottled supplies from its depots⁹. But many people have been without water since last Friday and are complaining that they cannot get hold of bottled water or reach emergency information lines.

"I've been and bought bottled water from the supermarket. We are trying and using the buckets to flush the toilet, filling the kettle up to wash the bowls. For the baby, it's just hard to groom¹⁰."

"The awful thing is that there's nobody answering phones. And it was only that my daughter who's staying with us for a couple of days put on the computer, and we found that there was water to be given out here."

President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered Russian prosecutors¹¹ to investigate the management of Moscow's two main airports after fights broke out involving frustrated¹² passengers. They were stranded¹³ when bad weather forced the cancellation¹⁴ of hundreds of flights. Travellers were seen trying to beat up staff at Sheremetyevo airport, and passengers at Domodedovo airport stormed passport control.

World News from the BBC

Russia has strongly condemned¹⁵ Western criticism of the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former oil tycoon¹⁶ who was convicted on Monday of financial crimes for a second time. The foreign ministry¹⁷ in Moscow said attempts to put pressure on the court were unacceptable and outsiders should mind their own business. It described as groundless a comment by the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the verdict raised questions about selective prosecution¹⁸.

Police in Italy say an anarchist¹⁹ group which sent parcel bombs to foreign embassies in Rome was responding to an appeal by a group that's carried out a similar campaign in Greece. Bombs exploded at the Swiss and Chilean embassies in Rome last week, injuring two people, and another was defused at the Greek embassy on Monday.

The American economics professor who paved the way for low-cost air travel, Alfred E Kahn, has died aged²⁰ 93. Mark Gregory looks back at his legacy²¹.

Alfred E Kahn was instrumental in garnering²² the support needed to push through the US Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. The act stripped away an elaborate 40-year-old system of controls. That meant all decisions by airlines on ticket prices and routes were subject to approval by a government agency. Deregulation rapidly led to massive cuts in air fares. Some famous names in American aviation like Pan Am disappeared entirely²³ as they failed to adapt to the new era.

A poll conducted by the governor of the American state of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, is reported to show a majority in favour of pardoning the iconic 19th century Wild West outlaw²⁴ Billy the Kid. Mr Richardson has until Friday when he leaves office to decide whether to act. Billy the Kid, who is reputed to have killed more than 20 people while still in his teens, was shot dead in 1881 after escaping from jail where he faced execution.

BBC News

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

3 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 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。

7 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

8 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。

9 depots   

仓库( depot的名词复数 )； 火车站； 车库； 军需库

参考例句：

• Public transportation termini and depots are important infrastructures for a city. 公交场站设施是城市重要的基础设施。
• In the coastal cities are equipped with after-sales service and depots. 在各沿海城市均设有服务部及售后维修站。

10 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

11 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。

12 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

14 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

15 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

16 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

17 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

18 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

19 anarchist   

n.无政府主义者

参考例句：

• You must be an anarchist at heart.你在心底肯定是个无政府主义者。
• I did my best to comfort them and assure them I was not an anarchist.我尽量安抚他们并让它们明白我并不是一个无政府主义者。

20 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

21 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。

22 garnering   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• And at the forefront was Bryant, garnering nothing but praise from his coaches and teammates. 而站在最前沿的就是科比，他也因此获得了教练和队友的赞美。 来自互联网

23 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

24 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。