英语听力精选进阶版 7356

BBC News with Jim Lee

There has been international criticism of the decision by a Russian court to keep the former oil tycoon¹ Mikhail Khodorkovsky in prison for an extra six years. The German Chancellor² Angela Merkel said it seemed that political motives³ played a role. Britain said it was deeply concerned, and the US also expressed condemnation⁴. Adam Brooks⁵ reports.

A State Department spokesman said the Khodorkovsky trial appeared to be an abusive use of the legal system for improper⁶ ends. He said the US remained concerned at allegations of serious due process violations⁷. A Russian judge sentenced Mikhail Khodorkovsky to 14 years in prison including time already served that would see him released in 2017. Mr Khodorkovsky, formerly⁸ a hugely wealthy oil tycoon, fell out with the Russian leadership and was arrested in 2003 on tax evasion⁹ charges.

The Iraqi authorities say two people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks in Baghdad on the homes of members of the minority Christian¹⁰ community. Twelve other people were injured. From Baghdad, Jim Muir reports.

These were not big bombs by Baghdad standards, but they carried a clear message. They all directly targeted the homes of Christian families in six different areas. All the casualties are believed to have been Christians¹¹. The Islamic militant¹² group affiliated¹³ to al-Qaeda, which said it carried out the deadly attacks in October and November, had warned that there would be more to come. Since then, many members of Iraq's ancient Christian communities have left their homes to seek safety either in the Kurdish north of the country or abroad.

A court in Spain has jailed four civil guard police officers for torturing two members of the Basque militant group Eta. They have been given sentences ranging from two to four and a half years. The court was told the two Eta suspects were arrested in 2008, and subsequently beaten and threatened. They have been awarded a total of $32,000 in compensation. Sam Wilson has more.

Fifteen civil guards went on trial in San Sebastian, accused of torturing Igor Portu and Mattin Sarasola after their arrest in 2008. Four of those have now been jailed, the first such convictions for nearly 10 years. They were investigating the infamous¹⁴ bombing at Madrid's Barajas airport, which killed two Ecuadorian immigrants and injured dozens of other people. The attack brought an abrupt¹⁵ end to a ceasefire Eta had put in place six months earlier. The tortured bombers¹⁶ Portu and Sarasola were jailed for the attack earlier this year.

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned supporters of Ivory Coast's incumbent¹⁷ President Laurent Gbagbo against attacking the headquarters of his rival Alassane Ouattara. Mr Ouattara, who's been internationally recognised as the winner of November's presidential election, is being protected by UN peacekeepers at a hotel in Abidjan. Mr Ban said the UN mission would use all necessary means to protect him.

World News from the BBC

Police in Nigeria say suspected Islamists have killed eight people in five separate attacks in the northern city of Maiduguri. The incidents happened late on Wednesday, and in one of them three policemen died while on patrol. Political tensions have been worsening in Nigeria in the run-up to party primaries next month and elections in April. 

The authorities in Yemen have begun releasing hundreds of jailed insurgents¹⁸. Officials say at least 400 Shia rebels from north Yemen are being freed on the orders of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Ann Busby reports.

The release of prisoners is part of a peace deal between the Yemeni government and northern rebels known as Houthis. The rebels from a minority Shia sect¹⁹ have been fighting the government intermittently²⁰ for six years, complaining that they are victims of discrimination and calling for more autonomy. Mediators from Qatar arrived in Yemen earlier this week to consolidate²¹ an agreement reached between the two sides several months ago. Officials say that in return for the prisoner release, the rebels have agreed to hand over weapons seized during clashes with the government.

The Colombian government says it will relocate thousands of people left homeless by torrential rain and floods on properties seized from drug dealers²². The minister of the interior said the government had prepared a decree which would allow flood victims to temporarily live on land confiscated²³ from drug lords. More than two million people have been affected²⁴ by the worst floods in the country in four decades.

It's the end of the road for the world's first successful colour film for still photography as the last remaining company processing the product, Kodachrome, has stopped accepting film. The small family business in Kansas in the United States said it was no longer economically viable²⁵ to keep their processing lab going. The film was introduced by the photo company Eastman Kodak in 1935, and production only stopped last year after demand dropped due to the spread of digital cameras.

BBC News

1 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。

2 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

4 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

5 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

7 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

8 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

9 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

10 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。

11 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

12 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

13 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

14 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

15 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

16 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

19 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

20 intermittently   

adv.间歇地；断断续续

参考例句：

• Winston could not intermittently remember why the pain was happening. 温斯顿只能断断续续地记得为什么这么痛。 来自英汉文学
• The resin moves intermittently down and out of the bed. 树脂周期地向下移动和移出床层。 来自辞典例句

21 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

22 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

23 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

24 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

25 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。