英语听力精选进阶版 7363

BBC News with Marion Marshall

The internationally recognised winner of the presidential election in Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, has called on the West African regional grouping Ecowas to send in special forces to remove his rival Laurent Gbagbo from power. Mr Ouattara said Ecowas must take the necessary measures which included legitimate¹ force.

"During the month of January, Laurent Gbagbo will no longer be in power. Before the end of the month, he will leave. He will leave one way or the other."

Mr Ouattara was speaking from a hotel where he's under UN protection, but surrounded by Ivorian military checkpoints. The American Treasury² has, meanwhile, said it's banned all US citizens from financial dealings with Mr Gbagbo and his inner circle.

The American Defence Secretary Robert Gates says he wants to make cuts of nearly $80bn in the military budget over the next five years. He said the action was required to help bring the country's ballooning fiscal³ deficit⁴ under control.

"A major objective beyond creating monetary⁵ savings⁶ is to make this department less cumbersome⁷, less top heavy and more agile⁸ and effective in the execution of its responsibilities. My hope and expectation is that as a result of these changes over time, what had been a culture of endless money, where cost was rarely a consideration, will become a culture of savings and restraint."

As part of the plan, military manpower will be cut to 47,000 from 2015, with 200,000-strong Marine⁹ Corps¹⁰ losing 15,000 to 20,000 and the army accounting¹¹ for the rest.

President Barack Obama has chosen a new chief of staff at the White House. He's Bill Daley, who comes from a powerful political family in Chicago, Mr Obama's political base. Bill Daley served as commerce secretary under President Clinton and is currently a top bank executive with JP Morgan Chase. His father Richard Daley ran Chicago in the 1960s and 70s. The BBC Washington correspondent says his appointment will please financiers and big business, with whom Mr Obama needs to mend fences. Our correspondent says the choice suggests that President Obama is moving to the centre politically.

The medical charity MSF says it's extremely concerned about the town of Fizi in eastern Congo, where most people have fled into the surrounding area following an attack on New Year's Day. Thirty-three women were raped¹³, and MSF has treated the women for their wounds and provided them with drugs to reduce the risk of infection from HIV. The MSF operations manager in Congo is Katrien Coppens.

"Our team in South Kivu, Baraka, heard rumours¹⁴ that there was major rape¹² happening in the town an hour down the road in Fizi. What they told the team is that they had been restrained with ropes or beaten often in front of their kids, and they made a reference to armed men in uniform."

World News from the BBC

Coptic Christians¹⁵ in Egypt are attending services to mark their Christmas Eve, surrounded by heavy security, following an attack last week. Twenty-one people were killed in a New Year bomb attack at a Coptic church in Alexandria, and some of today's worshippers wore black rather than their usual festive¹⁶ clothes as a mark of respect. Jon Leyne reports from Cairo.

Worshippers entered the churches for Christmas Eve Mass in a ring of security. Most roads outside churches were blocked off. Metal detectors¹⁷ were installed at the gates, and those arriving were asked to show identity. In some churches, Muslims came to show solidarity¹⁸. Egyptian state TV broadcast a message of national unity¹⁹. And so far, it seems to have worked. Despite incitement²⁰ to new attacks on some extremist websites, there have been no reports of trouble, though one small crude explosive device was found and made safe at a church in southern Egypt.

President Obama's special envoy²¹ to Sudan has told the BBC he believes Sunday's independence referendum in southern Sudan will take place successfully. Scott Gration said both the north and south of Sudan had pledged not to destabilise each other. He said the south had promised President al-Bashir that it would not support rebels from Darfur.

Police in Brazil say they've taken control of three poor districts in the city of Rio de Janeiro from drugs gangs. Two hundred and fifty members of an elite²² police unit moved into the shanty²³ towns which have been virtual no-go areas for the security forces.

Scientists in France and the United States say they've discovered an important clue as to why ammonites, the prehistoric²⁴ marine creatures, died out with the dinosaurs²⁵, despite having survived previous mass extinctions. The study, published in the journal Science, suggests that the ancient invertebrates²⁶' main diet was zooplankton, which are tiny ocean surface creatures. The production of these is likely to have been damaged by the comet strike, believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs.

BBC News

1 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

4 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

5 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

7 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

8 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

9 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

11 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

12 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

13 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

14 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

15 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。

16 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

17 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

18 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

19 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

20 incitement   

激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物

参考例句：

• incitement to racial hatred 种族仇恨的挑起
• Interest is an incitement to study. 兴趣刺激学习。

21 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

22 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

23 shanty   

n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子

参考例句：

• His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
• I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。

24 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

25 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 invertebrates   

n.无脊椎动物( invertebrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Insects and worms are all invertebrates. 昆虫和蠕虫都是无脊椎动物。 来自辞典例句
• In the earthworm and many other invertebrates, these excretory structures are called nephridia. 在蚯蚓和许多其它无脊椎动物中，这些排泄结构称为肾管。 来自辞典例句