英语听力精选进阶版 7625

The centre-right opposition¹ in Greece has demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister George Papandreou and called for snap elections, throwing into disarray² plans for a unity³ government. Mr Papandreou had earlier suggested a coalition⁴ as a way out of the deepening political crisis. Greek politics has been in turmoil⁵ since Monday when the prime minister proposed holding a referendum on the latest European bailout and austerity plan. From Athens, here's Mark Lowen.

希腊中间偏右派要求总理乔治·帕潘德里欧辞职，并提前进行选举，给组建团结政府的计划添乱。帕潘德里欧早些时候提议建立联合政府，已解决日益加剧的政治危机。自周一总理提出就最新的欧洲救市和缩减方案举行公投以来，希腊政治便陷入了混乱。Mark Lowen报道。

This has been a day of intense uncertainty⁶ and speculation⁷ in Athens. The prime minister addressed parliament to calm nerves. He raised the possibility that the referendum could be abandoned and last week's debt deal accepted.

这一天，人们不知道雅典会发生什么，猜测四起，总理向议会发表讲话以安抚人心。他表示可能将放弃公投的打算，接受上周的债务协议。

"Of course if we had a consensus⁸, then this would be an option, and we wouldn't have to go to a referendum. If the opposition is willing to negotiate, then we are ready to ratify⁹ this deal and implement¹⁰ it."

“如果大家能达成共识，那我们就有了选择，就不需要公投了。如果反对派愿意协商，我们愿意批准该协议并付诸实施。”

Mr Papandreou appears to be resisting calls to go, hoping that if the threat of a referendum fades he can yet steer¹¹ this country through the crisis. Greeks and all of Europe are looking on anxiously. The reverberations of what happens in the next few hours will be felt far beyond Greece's borders.

帕潘德里欧显然不愿意这么做，他希望公投面临的威胁能消除，这样他就能领导国家渡过危机。希腊和整个欧洲都在焦虑中，未来几小时将发生什么，都会对希腊外部的全世界产生影响。

The developments in Athens have overshadowed a meeting of the G20 in Cannes, where leading industrialised nations are discussing the eurozone debt crisis. Speaking at the end of the first day of talks, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he thought the message sent by France and Germany to what he called the Greek political class had helped people to focus on what was at stake. Mr Sarkozy said the euro was the very heart of Europe. He warned that European leaders could not accept what he termed the explosion of the euro as this could lead to the explosion of Europe.

雅典局势的进展令戛纳G20峰会黯然失色，这次峰会上，世界主要工业国就欧元区债务危机进行讨论。法国总统尼古拉·萨科齐在第一天会谈结束时表示，他认为法国和德国向希腊政治阶层传达的信息，已帮助人们将关注点放在真正危险的事情上。萨科齐说，欧元是欧洲的核心问题，他警告说，欧洲领导人不能接受他所谓的“欧元爆炸”，因为这会导致“欧洲爆炸”。

The European Central Bank has cut its interest rate by a quarter of a point. It now stands at 1.25%. The BBC economics correspondent says the rate cut reflects the weakening performance of eurozone economies. The decision was the first under the new ECB chief Mario Draghi.

欧洲央行降息0.25%，目前是1.25%。BBC经济记者称，降息反映欧元区经济在衰弱。这是欧洲央行新行长马里奥·德拉吉上任来的首个决定。

Syrian activists¹² say government forces have killed at least 20 people in the city of Homs. The claim comes a day after the Arab League said that Syria had agreed to its plans to bring an end to the political violence there. This report from Jonathan Head.

If President Assad has any intention of honouring the terms of the deal proposed by the Arab League, his security forces certainly aren't showing it yet. Pictures have been released, apparently¹³ showing Syrian tanks bombarding residential¹⁴ districts of Homs - the city where the uprising has been especially strong. The Syrian Observatory¹⁵ for Human Rights is reporting many dead a day after at least 25 were killed around Homs. On Friday, opposition groups are planning mass protests across the country to test the Assad government's promise that it will abide¹⁶ by the Arab League's terms.

World News from the BBC

The trial of the doctor accused of responsibility for the death of the pop star Michael Jackson is entering its final stages in Los Angeles. Doctor Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Here's Alastair Leithead.

在洛杉矶，对被指控与流行歌手迈克尔·杰克逊死亡有关的医生的审判已到最后阶段，医生康拉德·莫里发誓没有犯下过失杀人罪。Alastair Leithead报道。

Doctor Conrad Murray listened intently as the prosecution¹⁷ delivered a final summary of its case against him to the jury. Michael Jackson's doctor has been painted as a man who acted with criminal negligence¹⁸ that Doctor Murray was out of the room when Jackson stopped breathing, did not call for help quickly enough. The defence claims Michael Jackson injected himself with a fatal dose of the drug while Doctor Murray was out of the room. Every step of the trial has been broadcast live. Doctor Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

当检察当局向陪审团宣读指控他的最后陈述时，医生康拉德·莫里认真听着。迈克尔·杰克逊的医生被认定为过失犯罪，认为他在杰克逊停止呼吸时离开了房间，没有及时抢救。而辩护律师称，是莫里医生不在房间时，迈克尔·杰克逊给自己注射了致命药物。审判的每一阶段都现场直播，如果确认有罪，莫里医生将面临四年监禁。

A fight between rival gangs in a prison in Venezuela has left eight people dead. Several police officers were taken hostage during the violence in the jail, and the authorities are trying to negotiate their release. Venezuela's overcrowded prisons have been the scene of repeated uprisings and gang violence.

委内瑞拉监狱内不同帮派斗殴造成8人死亡，在这次监狱暴力事件中，几名警官被劫持为人质，当局正设法协商释放他们。委内瑞拉监狱过于拥挤，滋生诸多反叛和帮派暴力事件。

And finally, a cleaning woman at a German art gallery has caused irreparable damage to a valuable artwork by one of Germany's most celebrated¹⁹ modern sculptors²⁰ by polishing off what she believed to be an unsightly stain on the work. Steve Evans reports.

在德国一家艺术馆，一名女清洁工擦洗德国最著名当代雕塑家的作品时，磨掉了塑像上一块她认为是“很难看的污渍”，给这一宝贵的艺术品造成难以挽回的破坏。Steve Evans报道。

Martin Kippenberger, who died in 1997, was according to his obituary²¹ in the New York Times one of the most talented German artists of his generation. The city of Dortmund then considered itself fortunate to have one of his installations called When It Starts Dripping From the Ceiling. The work consisted of a tower of wooden slats under which a rubber trough was placed with a thin beige layer of paint representing dried rainwater. Not appreciating the work properly, a cleaner assumed the stain needed to be cleaned, so she scrubbed it till it gleamed.

按照《纽约时报》讣告的说法，1997年去世的马丁·基彭伯格是同代人中最有才华的德国艺术家。多特蒙德市为拥有基彭伯格一件名为《当它开始从天花板滴下》的作品而感到荣幸，该作品是木板条拼成的塔形架子，下面放了一个橡胶槽，里面涂了一层薄薄的颜料，代表着干掉的雨水。一名清洁工不懂这幅作品，认为是需要清洁的污渍，于是就把这些东西擦得干干净净。

1 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。

2 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

3 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。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 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。

6 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

7 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。

8 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

9 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

10 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

11 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

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 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

15 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

16 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

17 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

18 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。

19 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

20 sculptors   

雕刻家，雕塑家( sculptor的名词复数 )； [天]玉夫座

参考例句：

• He is one of Britain's best-known sculptors. 他是英国最有名的雕塑家之一。
• Painters and sculptors are indexed separately. 画家和雕刻家被分开，分别做了索引。

21 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。