英语听力精选进阶版 7643

In an unprecedented¹ move, the Arab League has voted to impose economic sanctions against Syria in an attempt to force the government to stop its suppression of opposition² protests. The measures include a freeze on all commercial and financial dealings with Syria's government and banks. Jim Muir reports.

All these will add to the economic pressure and political isolation³ that Syria is already suffering. It's angrily accused the league of targeting the Syrian people as part of a Western-engineered conspiracy⁴ to prepare the way for outside intervention⁵. It knows that hard times lie ahead, but Damascus is drawing comfort from the fact that two neighbours - Iraq to the east and Lebanon to the west - did not support the sanctions and are in a position to help ease the pressure.

Thousands of Egyptian protesters are again occupying Tahrir Square in Cairo on the eve of the first elections since the uprising that toppled President Mubarak. They are trying to maintain the momentum⁶ of their demands for the transfer of power to a civilian⁷ government. Yolande Knell⁸ reports.

Many political parties and groups have been calling for a delay to this vote. With a large protest against the ruling military continuing in Cairo's Tahrir Square, they argue the country should wait until the atmosphere is calmer and safer. But the head of the armed forces council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, is determined⁹ that the parliamentary elections should go ahead. He called on Egyptians from all walks of life to head to the polling stations so that the new People's Assembly would represent them.

A moderate Islamist party in Morocco has been confirmed as the winner of Friday's parliamentary elections. Final results show the Justice and Development Party won more than 100 of the 395 seats in the Assembly of Representatives. Under a new constitution, King Mohammed is obliged to choose a prime minister from the largest party. The constitutional reforms were introduced in July in response to protests inspired by the Arab Spring.

The Afghan President Hamid Karzai has announced the second group of areas to be handed over from Nato to Afghan control - part of a planned transition to put Afghanistan in control of its own security by the end of 2014. Among the provinces and cities to be handed over are several where the Taliban carry out regular attacks. From Kabul, Bilal Sarwary reports.

Under the plan, six provinces, seven cities and dozens of districts will be handed over to Afghan forces. The seven Afghan cities include the volatile¹⁰ city of Ghazni. Only last month, a mother and daughter were stoned and then shot by the Taliban just a few hundred metres from the local governor's office. Afghan security forces will also be taking control of three key districts in Helmand province. Marjah, Nawa and Nad Ali have all seen heavy fighting between insurgents¹¹ and British and US forces.

World News from the BBC

An opposition leader in Yemen, Mohammed Basindwa, has been given the task of forming a new government as part of a power transfer deal signed last week by President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Mr Basindwa was a key figure in an alliance that led to months of protests against the president. He'll be interim¹² prime minister until Yemen holds elections in February.

The head of the electoral commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo says 99% of polling stations are ready for Monday's elections and that voting will go ahead as planned. There had been speculation¹³ that the elections might be delayed because of political unrest. From Kinshasa, Will Ross reports.

Congolese rhythms in Kinshasa's packed Catholic cathedral, plenty of prayers for a peaceful election. In a run-up to this poll, there have been clashes between those backing the incumbent¹⁴, Joseph Kabila, and supporters of the main opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi. He seems determined to rock the boat. He called for another rally on Sunday, which goes against the rules. We're told the polls will open on time despite fears that all is not ready. So as well as calling for peace, many here might well be praying that they find a ballot¹⁵ paper on Monday.

Police in northeastern Nigeria say suspected members of the radical¹⁶ Islamist sect¹⁷ Boko Haram have set fire to churches, homes, police buildings and a bank. Four people are reported to have died in the attacks, which happened on Saturday night in Yobe state.

As delegates gather for the climate conference in the South African city of Durban, the UN's top climate official has urged governments to make further commitments to reduce emissions¹⁸. The head of the UN climate secretariat, Christiana Figueres, said the conference needed to consider, in her words, nothing short of the most compelling industrial revolution that humanity had ever seen. Talks aimed at reaching a treaty on global carbon emissions collapsed¹⁹ at a summit in Copenhagen two years ago.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 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。

3 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 knell   

n.丧钟声；v.敲丧钟

参考例句：

• That is the death knell of the British Empire.这是不列颠帝国的丧钟。
• At first he thought it was a death knell.起初，他以为是死亡的丧钟敲响了。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

11 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 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。

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 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

16 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

17 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

18 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

19 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。