英语听力精选进阶版 7359

BBC News with Michael Powles

The head of world football's governing authority Fifa says he wants to set up a body to investigate allegations of corruption¹ at his organisation². His comments come several weeks after Fifa suspended two members of its executive committee over allegations that they'd accepted bribes³. Both men denied any wrongdoing. Here's Imogen Foulkes.

Sepp Blatter says he wants to ensure there is no corruption at Fifa, but his plan for a new committee authorised by the very organisation which stands accused of corruption and proposed by Mr Blatter himself, who will stand for re-election as Fifa's president in June, is unlikely to be enough to calm the controversy⁴. Sporting associations like Fifa are largely exempt⁵ from Swiss laws against corruption. In the wake of the bribery⁶ allegations, Switzerland's sports minister has announced his own inquiry⁷ into how these associations are run.

Pakistan's coalition⁸ government has lost its parliamentary majority, raising fears about its survival. The loss of the MQM's support for the coalition opens up the possibility of its collapse⁹. The MQM spokesman Muhammad Anwar told the BBC they had no option but to quit the government.

"Governance was extremely bad, the corruption was rampant¹⁰. There was no law and order situation. We just could not continue in the government unless they are corrected."

Coptic Christians¹¹ in Egypt have attended Mass at a church in Alexandria, a day after 21 people were killed there in a bomb attack. The service was marked by grief and anger. Many accused the Egyptian government of not doing enough to prevent attacks on Christians by Muslim militants¹².

One hundred prominent people in Germany have urged Iran to free two German journalists jailed in the northwestern city of Tabriz. The appeal was published by the German weekly Bild am Sonntag, which employed the two journalists. They were arrested in October as they investigated a story about a woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery. Iran says they entered the country on the wrong kind of visas. From Berlin, Steve Evans reports.

A string of German ministers and opposition¹³ politicians joined with sporting stars like Boris Becker and a string of business leaders like the chief executives of Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom and Daimler in calling for the release of the journalists. Germany is now trying to raise publicity¹⁴ for the case, but the situation of the two is now complicated by the wider standoff between Iran and Western countries over any plans it may have to develop nuclear weapons.

An earthquake has struck central Chile. The quake with a magnitude of 7.2 had its epicentre just off the Pacific coast, near the city of Temuco. So far, there are no reports of damage or casualties. Last February, a much bigger quake struck the same region, killing¹⁵ more than 400 people and causing massive destruction.

You are listening to the World News from the BBC.

Floodwater has continued to rise in the Australian state of Queensland, with the city of Rockhampton near the coast the latest to be struck by surging river levels. The Fitzroy River has now swamped large parts of the city, and the main roads to the south and west have been cut off.

One of Russia's most prominent opposition politicians, the former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has been sentenced to 15 days in jail after being arrested at a demonstration¹⁶ in Moscow. He was convicted of disobeying police orders at the rally which hadn't been authorised. Mr Nemtsov has repeatedly criticised the Russian government's record on human rights and democracy.

South Korea is introducing stricter rules to combat illegal whaling. Although commercial whale hunting is banned, South Korea allows the trading of whales that are found dead, and critics have suggested this loophole is being exploited. Here's Abigail Mawdsley.

From Monday, all fishermen must report to the police immediately if they find a dead whale washed ashore¹⁷ or tangled¹⁸ in their nets. They'll have to provide DNA¹⁹ samples for testing and will only be allowed to sell the whales' meat and body parts after a full investigation²⁰ into how the animal died. The rules should make it much harder for people to pretend that whales have died accidentally. In another change, the dead whales may only be processed at government-approved plants.

Wildlife officials in the United States are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to fall dead from the sky over a small town in Arkansas. The birds began dropping over the town of Beebe just before midnight on New Year's Eve, piling up on roofs and gardens. Wildlife experts said they may have been hit by lightning, high-altitude hail or may have died by stress caused by New Year's Eve fireworks.

Full details of the World Service News could be found at bbc.news. That's the BBC News.

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 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。

3 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

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。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

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 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

6 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

7 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

10 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

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 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

13 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。

14 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

15 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。

16 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

17 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

18 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

19 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

20 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。