英语听力精选进阶版 7594

The defence lawyer for Michael Jackson's personal doctor has told a court in Los Angeles that the singer caused his own death. Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray denies involuntary manslaughter. His lawyer Ed Chernoff said that when Doctor Murray was not present, the pop star took a cocktail¹ of sedatives² which killed him instantly.

"The science in this case, the pure science, the evidence in this case we believe is going to show you this: despite everything that had gone on in the past, despite anything that had gone on during that day, during the 10 hours on 25 June 2009, while Michael Jackson was frustrated³ because he could not sleep, frustrated because his doctor refused to give him a drug that he preferred, that he wanted, he did an act without his doctor's knowledge, without his doctor's permission, against his orders; he did an act that caused his own death."

A row between Fifa, the governing body of world football, and Brazil over arrangements for the World Cup in 2014 appears to have worsened. The Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has asked to meet the head of Fifa, Sepp Blatter, for what she calls a "frank conversation". Here's Alex Capstick.

Fifa has repeatedly warned the Brazilian organisers of the 2014 World Cup about delays to work on the stadiums and infrastructure⁴ surrounding the tournament. It now seems those concerns extend to Fifa's legal demands on the host nation.

Football's world governing body expects total control of all aspects of the event, but the Brazilian government is reluctant to accept all the conditions.

Stock markets across the world have risen sharply as hopes increase about a new plan to deal with the eurozone debt crisis.

Frankfurt and Paris were up 5%; shares in New York have also risen. There's speculation⁵ that the European bailout fund will be greatly expanded with the help of the European Central Bank. Andrew Walker has this report.

If there is going to be a comprehensive plan to tackle the eurozone crisis, it's likely to include more resources to help cash-strapped  governments. A senior official from the European Central Bank said there are discussions on how to make the existing bailout facility more effective. There have been suggestions that the ECB might be used for that, so his remarks were well received in the markets. No deal has been done, however, so the gains in share prices could easily vanish if there's no firm evidence of progress soon.

German and Greek leaders meeting in Germany have insisted they have a grip on the debt crisis. The Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou told German business leaders that Greece would live up to its promise to cut debt.

BBC News

A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a woman to be flogged for breaking the country's ban on female drivers. The woman, Sheima Jastaniah, was found guilty of driving in the city of Jeddah and now faces 10 strokes of the lash⁶. A campaign group for women drivers in Saudi Arabia says the woman has lodged⁷ an appeal. The human rights organisation⁸ Amnesty International condemned⁹ the sentence, describing flogging as a cruel punishment.

Syrian opposition¹⁰ activists¹¹ say there have been clashes in the central city of al-Rastan after the army began an operation against protesters and defectors. Owen Bennett-Jones reports.

There's been a strong opposition presence in al-Rastan for weeks, and activists say that each Friday tens of thousands of people from the city have been out on the streets, demanding the downfall of the government. A resident of the city has told the BBC that defected soldiers are now in al-Rastan fighting the government forces. There are growing signs that some activists now believe peaceful protests will not be enough to bring down the government and that they need to use more force. Army defectors have the training and equipment to do just that.

The United States has described as counterproductive a decision by the Israeli authorities to approve the building of 1,100 homes in occupied East Jerusalem. A US State Department spokeswoman said the decision was deeply disappointing and hindered efforts to resume direct negotiations¹² between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

At least three protesters have been killed in Guinea when security forces broke up an opposition demonstration¹³ in the capital. Dozens of police vehicles and paramilitary forces prevented opposition activists from reaching a stadium. The clash took place in the run-up to parliamentary elections due to be held in December. The opposition is accusing President Conde of tampering¹⁴ with the electoral roll to win a majority.

1 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

2 sedatives   

n.镇静药，镇静剂( sedative的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A wide variety of mild sedatives and tranquilizers have become available. 现在有许多种镇静剂和安定剂。 来自辞典例句
• Since July 1967 there has been a restriction on the prescribing of sedatives in Australia. 自从1967年7月起，澳大利亚的镇静药处方受到限制。 来自辞典例句

3 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

6 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

7 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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》

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

13 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

14 tampering   

v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄

参考例句：

• Two policemen were accused of tampering with the evidence. 有两名警察被控篡改证据。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As Harry London had forecast, Brookside's D-day caught many meter-tampering offenders. 正如哈里·伦敦预见到的那样，布鲁克赛德的D日行动抓住了不少非法改装仪表的人。 来自辞典例句