英语听力精选进阶版 7548

BBC News with Marion Marshall

The UN Security Council has condemned¹ the Syrian government's use of force against civilians² for the first time since protests began five months ago. As the Syrian army tightens³ its grip on the embattled city of Hama, the Security Council issued a statement accusing President Bashar al-Assad's administration of widespread human rights violations⁴. Our UN correspondent Barbara Plett has this assessment⁵.

It's not a full UN resolution with the weight of international law; it's what's called a presidential statement which is less binding⁶, but it does reflect the view of the council that did bring on heavyweights like China and especially Russia, which had been very strongly opposed as a very strong ally of Syria. And so that will send a message to Syria, I think. It's the first time there's a condemnation⁷ from the international community rather than, say, just the West of what it's doing, and its allies, such as Russia, have added their voice to it.

The deposed⁸ Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons have pleaded not guilty during their first court appearance in Cairo on charges of corruption⁹ and ordering the killing¹⁰ of hundreds of demonstrators. Mr Mubarak, who's 83 and has complained of poor health, remained on a stretcher throughout the proceedings¹¹ inside a cage in the dock. The case has been adjourned¹² until the middle of this month. Jon Leyne reports from Cairo.

Outside the court, a lively crowd of opposition¹³ supporters gathered early to call for revenge against their former president, clashing with hundreds of riot police. Until almost the last moment, nobody here really believed they would see Hosni Mubarak in the dock. Then the crowd watched almost in disbelief on a big TV screen as the accused were brought into the dock. Wolf whistles and jeers¹⁴ greeted the two sons, Gamal and Alaa, the former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, then finally Hosni Mubarak himself.

The oil giant Shell has admitted liability for two major oil spills in Nigeria's Delta¹⁵ region. The BBC has seen a letter from Shell Nigeria accepting responsibility. Lawyers for the Bodo people, who live in the mangrove¹⁶ swamps polluted by the crude oil, say the case could cost Shell hundreds of millions of dollars. Shell said it accepted that the spills were caused by equipment failure and not by sabotage¹⁷ or theft.

The UN has declared famine zones in three more regions of Somalia because of the rates of malnutrition¹⁸ and death brought on by the worst drought for 60 years. The announcement brings the number of areas of Somalia suffering from famine to five. The UN says tens of thousands of people have already died. From Nairobi, Kevin Mwachiro reports.

The United Nations has declared famine in the internally displaced camps in the Somali capital Mogadishu, the areas of Middle Shabelle and the Afgoye corridor. All are suffering high rates of malnutrition and death. The UN also warned that the famine was likely to spread across southern regions of Somalia over the next four to six weeks. Famine conditions are expected to persist until the end of the year.

World News from the BBC

The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has told parliament that the country has a solid economic foundation and its banks have good reserves of capital. His comments come amid renewed concerns about the eurozone debt crisis.

US officials have charged more than 70 Americans who were allegedly part of an online child pornography network called Dreamboard. The site, which has now been dismantled¹⁹, was used by 600 paedophiles worldwide, and the investigation²⁰ has also led to arrests in 13 other countries. The US Attorney General Eric Holder²¹ said the people had created an online community.

"Utilising sophisticated techniques in an attempt to avoid law enforcement detection, Dreamboard's members allegedly traded graphic²² images and videos of adults molesting²³ young children, often violently, and created a massive private library of images of child sexual abuse."

The social networking website Facebook has been warned that it risks legal action in Germany for allegedly breaching²⁴ privacy and data protection laws. The site says it's done nothing wrong. From Berlin, Steve Evans.

Facebook uses a technology that can analyse photographs for what's called biometric data so that faces can be recognised again automatically in other pictures. Hamburg's data protection watchdog says this breaks both German and European law, which says that personal details can't be stored without explicit²⁵ consent. Ultimately, a fine of 300,000 euros could be imposed.

A new theory suggests that the Earth once had a small second moon which perished in a slow-motion collision with the other larger one. Researchers writing in the journal Nature suggest that the smaller of the two may have survived for millions of years before the crash. A BBC science correspondent says that the new theory builds on the idea that the Earth was struck by a Mars-like planet about four billion years ago.

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 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。

3 tightens   

收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• One set of provisions tightens emission standards. 一套使排放标准更加严格的规定。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Requires no special tools or fittings; hand tightens to relief valve outlet. 不需要专用工具或管件；用手将其紧固到安全阀上即可。

4 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

7 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

8 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

12 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

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 jeers   

n.操纵帆桁下部（使其上下的）索具；嘲讽( jeer的名词复数 )v.嘲笑( jeer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They shouted jeers at him. 他们大声地嘲讽他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The jeers from the crowd caused the speaker to leave the platform. 群众的哄笑使讲演者离开讲台。 来自辞典例句

15 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

16 mangrove   

n.(植物)红树，红树林

参考例句：

• It is the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.它是世界上最大的红树林沼泽地。
• Many consider this the most beautiful mangrove forest in all Thailand.许多人认为这里是全泰国最美丽的红树林了。

17 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

18 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

19 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

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。

21 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

22 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

23 molesting   

v.骚扰( molest的现在分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• He was accused of sexually molesting a female colleague. 他被指控对一位女同事进行性骚扰。 来自辞典例句
• He was charged with molesting a woman. 他被指控调戏妇女。 来自辞典例句

24 breaching   

攻破( breach的过去式 )； 破坏，违反

参考例句：

• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。
• Third, an agency can abuse its discretion by breaching certain principles of judge-made law. 第三，行政机关会因违反某些法官制定的法律原则而构成滥用自由裁量权。

25 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。