英语听力精选进阶版 7376

The Chinese President Hu Jintao, who's visiting the United States, has acknowledged that China still needs to do a lot more on human rights and said his country was willing to engage in dialogue on the issue. Mr Hu made the unusually candid¹ comments at a joint² news conference with President Obama at the White House in response to a question from a reporter.

"China is a developing country with a huge population and also a developing country in a crucial stage of reform. In this context, China still faces many challenges in economic and social development, and a lot still needs to be done in China in terms of human rights."

Mr Hu had earlier failed to answer a question on human rights, blaming technical difficulties. On the dispute over China's currency, President Obama said the yuan was undervalued.

"There needs to be further adjustment in the exchange rate, so we'll continue to look for the value of China's currency to be increasingly driven by the market, which will help ensure that no nation has an undue³ economic advantage."

Tunisia's interim⁴ President Fouad Mebazaa has promised to deliver a fresh start for his country and to protect the will of the people. He made the pledge in his first televised speech. Wyre Davies reports from Tunis.

The interim President Fouad Mebazaa said he guaranteed that the transitional government would ensure a total break with the past. He also said there would be an independent judicial⁵ system, freedom of the press and a commission to investigate corruption⁶ under the previous government. An amnesty for all political prisoners has already reportedly begun. The interim president also promised to detain those responsible for orchestrating violence against pro-democracy campaigners.

United Nations says it's sending a team of human rights officials to Tunisia to advise the new government and look into the recent violent turmoil⁷. The UN commissioner⁸ for human rights, Navi Pillay, said she was responding to the scale of violence before the overthrow⁹ of President Ben Ali last Friday.

"It is a matter of great sadness that so many lives had to be lost to bring about this opportunity. My office has received information concerning more than 100 deaths over the last five weeks as a result of live fire."

In Tunisia, the situation remains¹⁰ tense, but curfew hours have been reduced.

The first official results from this month's referendum in southern Sudan indicate that people voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence for the region. Officials in the southern Sudanese capital Juba say preliminary results there show that 97.5% voted for secession from the north. Figures from most of the 10 states in the south also suggest that the vast majority of people voted in support of independence.

World News from the BBC

The UN Security Council has unanimously agreed to send 2,000 extra peacekeepers to Ivory Coast. The country has been in deadlock¹¹ with Laurent Gbagbo refusing to cede¹² power to his rival Alassane Ouattara, who's widely recognised as the winner of the presidential election. Barbara Plett reports from the UN.

UN patrols have been attacked, and their movements severely¹³ restricted by forces loyal to the incumbent¹⁴ President Laurent Gbagbo, who accuses the UN of bias¹⁵ because it supports his rival Alassane Ouattara. The extra troops and armed helicopters authorised by the Security Council will be used to protect UN personnel as well as the delivery of supplies to the hotel where Mr Ouattara is under blockade. They'll also comprise a rapid reaction force to respond to emergencies and strengthen attempts to protect civilians¹⁶ and investigate reported atrocities¹⁷.

The Electoral Commission in Uganda has identified at least nine armed groups allied¹⁸ to political parties and candidates which it says are threatening to disrupt presidential elections later this year. The commission chairman said the militias¹⁹ had been organised with the pretext²⁰ of guarding the votes of the politicians they are affiliated²¹ with. The government has been accused of sponsoring two of the nine groups.

Four Haitians have filed a private lawsuit²² against the former leader Jean-Claude Duvalier, accusing him of torture and other crimes against humanity. The four were jailed during Mr Duvalier's rule. Mr Duvalier, also known as "Baby Doc", has already been charged with alleged²³ corruption following his surprise return to Haiti on Sunday after 25 years in exile.

A German man has admitted to smuggling²⁴ hundreds of live tarantula spiders to the United States through the mail. Prosecutors²⁵ in Los Angeles said Sven Koppler was caught after he posted tarantulas from Germany to federal agents posing as buyers. Court documents showed Mr Koppler, who faces a possible 20 years in jail, had earned $300,000 smuggling spiders to dozens of countries.

1 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

4 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

5 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

6 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。

7 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

8 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。

9 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

12 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

13 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

14 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。

15 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

16 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

17 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》

18 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

19 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

20 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

21 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。

22 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

23 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

24 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

25 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。