英语听力精选进阶版 7360

BBC News with David Legge

The government of Yemen says two boats crammed¹ with African migrants have capsized off its coast, killing² more than 80 people. Rescue teams have found only three survivors³. Magdi Abdelhadi reports.

The Yemeni interior ministry⁴ issued a brief statement which gave few details. It said that the boats went down in strong wind and that the coast guards were looking for possible survivors. Thousands of African immigrants take the perilous⁵ journey across the Red Sea to Yemen every year. Many drown in their rickety boats. It is perhaps a measure of the hard life they are fleeing that the refugees continue to try to come to Yemen, despite the risk to the lives and the bleak⁶ life that awaits most of them in one of the poorest countries in the world.

The veteran Democratic politician Jerry Brown has been sworn in again as governor of California at a ceremony in Sacramento. Mr Brown, who last served in the job almost three decades ago, replaces the Republican former Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. From California, Rajesh Mirchandani reports.

Seventy-two-year-old Jerry Brown has already held the office of governor for eight years until 1983. His latest inauguration⁷ ceremony in Sacramento was a modest affair that began with a youthful, exuberant⁸ choir⁹, perhaps a symbol of the California many remember. But he inherits a state in economic crisis and is expected to announce deep cuts. In his speech, the Democratic governor asserted that government pays for things many people want, but admitted difficult decisions have to be made.

Police in Israel have arrested two Palestinians working for the British consulate¹⁰ in East Jerusalem in connection with an alleged¹¹ terror plot. The pair are accused of trying to buy weapons for an attack on a sports stadium. From Jerusalem, here's Wyre Davies.

It's thought the two men, who had maintenance jobs at the consulate and did not have sensitive security clearance¹², were suspected of trying to obtain weapons for an attack on the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. Over the weekend, Israeli security sources said that two other men, one a resident of East Jerusalem and another an Israeli citizen, had been arrested and charged with planning to carry out a rocket or missile attack on the stadium, although it's believed the attempt never got further than a planning stage.

A judge in Uganda has ruled in favour of a petition to stop media companies from outing homosexuals. The judge ruled that publishing the identities of gay people violated their constitutional right to privacy as it exposed them to attacks from vigilantes. The court granted an injunction against a national newspaper, Rolling Stone, and ordered it to pay compensation, but lawyers said the ruling applied¹³ to all media.

Almost four million people have signed up to vote in southern Sudan's independence referendum which is due to begin on Sunday. The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission said 95% of those who registered were in the south; others signed up in northern Sudan and abroad.

World News from the BBC

A leading supporter of President Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast has warned of serious consequences if force is used to remove him from office. Mr Gbagbo has refused to step down after November's presidential election. The Ivorian leader's spokesman in South Africa, Ohoupa Sessegnon, said the region would burn if West African states sent troops to Ivory Coast, and he accused the former colonial power France of manipulating the international community. Here's Mike Wooldridge.

Mr Sessegnon insisted that it was not Laurent Gbagbo's stay in power, as he put it, that could push the country back into civil war, but the pushing of France. The party official argued that central to the present crisis was refusal to investigate what led to the election results being disputed, and he also maintained that Mr Gbagbo was prepared to compromise and accept power-sharing if it would help to preserve peace.

Greece says it's planning to build a fence along part of its border with Turkey to keep out illegal immigrants. The Greek public order minister said more than 100,000 people had crossed into Greece illegally last year. He added that Athens had an obligation to deal with the situation.

Hungary has forcefully rejected Western criticism of its new media law which has been described as an attempt to restrict freedom of expression. The government said the criticism was ill-informed and absurd, and that many other European Union countries had stricter media controls. The law came into force at the start of the year.

The American screen actress Anne Francis has died at a retirement¹⁴ home in California. Anne Francis first came to prominence¹⁵ in the 1950s when she featured in the science fiction classic Forbidden Planet.

"Anne Francis is his alluring¹⁶ daughter Altaira, who has never seen a young man till she meets Commander Adams, played by talented Leslie Nielsen."

"Come on in."

"I didn't bring my bathing suit."

"What's a bathing suit?"

The actress Anne Francis, who's died at the age of 80.

BBC News

1 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

2 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。

3 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

4 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。

5 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

6 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

7 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

8 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

9 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

10 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

11 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

12 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

13 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

14 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

15 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

16 alluring   

adj.吸引人的，迷人的

参考例句：

• The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。
• Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。