英语听力精选进阶版 7473

In one of the biggest financial trials for decades, a court in New York has convicted a well-known financier, Raj Rajaratnam, of insider trading. The prosecution's evidence relied largely on intercepted¹ phone calls with some of the most senior executives on Wall Street. Michelle Fleury reports from New York.

From billionaire to life behind bars, the man at the centre of the most high-profile insider trading case in a generation, Raj Rajaratnam, earned a fortune managing billions of dollars. The government argued that he made more than $63m illegally by trading on confidential² information. Mr Rajaratnam claimed he was using information open to the public. The jury was not convinced. If he loses his appeal, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

New research suggests that almost 50 women are raped³ in the Democratic Republic of Congo every hour, a figure which adds up to 400,000 in a year. The American authors of the study say the prevalence of sexual violence against Congolese women is spreading from the armed groups operating in eastern Congo and is now widespread even outside the conflict zones. But a government spokesman in Kinshasa said the recent high figures were caused by better reporting rather than by rising violence. 

The research was published in the American Journal of Public Health, which was based on a health survey of 10,000 Congolese women in 2007.

Anti-government forces in Libya say they have taken control of the airport in the western city of Misrata after days of heavy fighting with troops loyal to Colonel Gaddafi. Tanks abandoned by government forces have been captured by rebels. A BBC correspondent in rebel-held Benghazi says there have been reports of celebrations on the streets of Misrata. A doctor in the city told the BBC that the rebels had made important progress.

"Today well after a very brutal⁴ and fierce battle between Gaddafi's forces and the freedom fighters, we have managed to gain control and retaken the airport. We've also managed to reach some parts of the air academy, and also to get in and take control over the suburb Raouf, which is considered as one of the stronghold[s] of Gaddafi's forces in the south."

A new study from the UN has found that about one third of all food produced in the world every year is either wasted or lost. David Willey reports from Rome.

The study finds that food waste is more of a problem in industrialised countries, where both retailers⁵ and consumers throw mountains of perfectly⁶ edible⁷ food stuffs into trash bins⁸. In poor countries, food losses during harvest and in storage mean lower incomes for small farmers and higher prices for poor consumers. This squandering⁹ of resources could be reduced, the study says, by improving harvesting techniques.

BBC News

The United Nations has added four more groups, two in Yemen and two in Iraq, to its annual list of those recruiting or abusing children during armed conflicts. The UN special representative Radhika Coomaraswamy told the BBC that during the recent civil war in Yemen up to 15% of the pro-government militia¹⁰ and about 20% of the Huthi rebel force was made up of children. The UN said that in all children were involved in warfare¹¹ in 22 countries.

Syrian human rights activists¹² say at least 13 people have been killed in shelling by security forces near Deraa. They say tanks fired on houses close to the southern city, where anti-government protests began in March. Further north, residents in Homs say nine people were killed as they came under sustained shell and machine gunfire.

Two earthquakes in as many hours have struck southeastern Spain, killing¹³ at least 10 people. The quakes hit the ancient town of Lorca, destroying houses and public buildings. Sarah Rainsford reports.

There were two separate earthquakes. The second and most powerful came just before 7:00 in the evening here and registered over five on the Richter scale. A Spanish television team captured dramatic images as the bell tower of a church came crashing to the ground, landing just metres from the cameraman. At the epicentre of the quake in Lorca in southeastern Spain, the mayor has confirmed that several people have been killed. Pictures from the scene show piles of rubble¹⁴, buildings with deep, long cracks in the side and cars in the street crushed by falling bricks and debris¹⁵.

Finland says it will not veto the European Union financial bailout package for Portugal despite opposition¹⁶ to the deal from the nationalist True Finn party. True Finns' strong showing in last month's election had put Finnish parliamentary approval for the Portugal aid package in doubt, but the government says it is confident it can muster¹⁷ enough votes.

1 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

2 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

3 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

4 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

5 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

8 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

9 squandering   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• You're faced with ending it all, of squandering what was given. 把到手的东西就这样随随便便弄掉。 来自辞典例句
• I see all this potential And I see squandering. 你们的潜力都被浪费了。 来自互联网

10 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

11 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

15 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

16 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。

17 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。