英语听力精选进阶版 7357

BBC News with Nick Kelly

A bomb has exploded in a market close to a military barracks in the Nigerian capital Abuja, killing¹ a number of people. Our correspondent Tomi Oladipo has the latest details.

It's in an area which is a market, which has a bar, an open-air bar, where people come to drink. And I've spoken to witnesses who were at the scene, and they say they've seen bodies being carried out. So far, the sources within the ministry² are telling me 11 people have been killed in the attack, but I still can't confirm that because the place has been cordoned³ off by police and the ambulance services which are there.

The man who's refusing to step down as president of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, has said the country could face greater violence if he were removed from office. The international community is demanding that he hand over power to his rival Alassane Ouattara, who's believed to have won the election. Speaking to the Euronews television channel, Mr Gbagbo indicated he might consider resigning if the regional group Ecowas were to intervene militarily to try to remove him.

"I will see, but it's not on the agenda for the moment. What's on the agenda is to negotiate, so we are negotiating. I ask myself why those who pretend to have beaten me oppose a recount of votes. That's what I want to know. I ask those people to support a recount."

The United Nations High Commissioner⁴ for Human Rights Navi Pillay says she has warned senior Ivorian officials including Mr Gbagbo that they could be held criminally accountable for human rights violations⁵ in Ivory Coast. The UN has accused security forces loyal to Mr Gbagbo of killing and abducting⁶ people associated with the opposition⁷. It says officials have been unable to investigate allegations of atrocities⁸ including at least two mass graves.

In Australia, thousands more people are getting ready to evacuate⁹ their homes in the northeastern state of Queensland, where some of the worst flooding in half a century has affected¹⁰ more than a million square metres of territory. In the town of Rockhampton, the Mayor Brad Carter described what the emergency services were facing.

"We are going to have a very tough situation whereby we may have to use only in disaster, processes of forced evacuations, and this is a very difficult issue. As you can appreciate, you can have, for example, some very elderly people that are very reluctant to leave their home, and for their own safety and goodwill¹¹, we will have to look at ways and means of relocating them, and we hope that that these are isolated¹² and extreme cases."

Rescue workers in southern Egypt say they've recovered the bodies of 11 children who were on board a bus swept away by floods on Wednesday. The bus was carrying 75 children and teachers returning home after dark from a school outing when it was dragged into a sand-filled trench¹³ by the water. More than 60 managed to escape with minor¹⁴ injuries, but an ambulance driver who'd helped rescue some of the girls was killed.

World News from the BBC

On his last full day in office, the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has decided¹⁵ not to extradite a former left-wing militant¹⁶ to Italy. Cesare Battisti escaped from an Italian jail nearly 30 years ago while awaiting trial and eventually fled to Brazil. In his absence, he was convicted of four murders. Italy has recalled its ambassador to Brazil in protest at President Lula's decision.

The former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has appeared for further questioning by prosecutors¹⁷ investigating allegations of abuse of power. In a BBC interview, she again accused President Viktor Yanukovych of being behind the charges so as to destroy political opponents.

The army in Bolivia has begun selling bread in response to a strike by bakers¹⁸ angry at the government's decision to scrap¹⁹ fuel subsidies²⁰. Loaves baked in military ovens are being sold by troops from 12 locations in the city of La Paz and El Alto. The Bolivian government says the aim is to prevent shortages and counter a threat by bakers to raise bread prices. Mass protests against the fuel price hike, suspended for the New Year's weekend, are expected to resume on Monday.

And the 19th century Wild West outlaw²¹ Billy the Kid has been denied a pardon 130 years after his death. The possibility was first suggested when historical documents appeared to show that Billy the Kid had been promised a pardon in return for testifying in a murder case. Ann Busby reports.

Billy the Kid, whose real name was William Bonney, was only 21 when he was shot dead, but his brief life inspired dozens of books and films. It's not clear how many people he killed; some say more than 20. But his undoubted skill with a gun and his personal charm made him more of a folk hero than a notorious criminal. Supporters campaigned for a pardon, but the Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson has refused one after extensive research. "The romanticism appealed to me," he said, "but the evidence didn't support the idea."

BBC News

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 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。

3 cordoned   

v.封锁，用警戒线围住( cordon的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the area until the bomb was defused. 警方封锁了这个地区直到炸弹被拆除为止。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 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。

6 abducting   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的现在分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• She was charged with abducting a six-month-old child. 她被控诱拐一个6个月大的孩子。
• At the same time, the rate of abducting foreigners is going down. 同时，发生在外国人身上的绑架案正在下降。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

10 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。

11 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

12 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

13 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

14 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 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。

17 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。

18 bakers   

n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三

参考例句：

• The Bakers have invited us out for a meal tonight. 贝克一家今晚请我们到外面去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bakers specialize in catering for large parties. 那些面包师专门负责为大型宴会提供食品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

20 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 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。