英语听力精选进阶版 8039

Belgium MPs have voted to give terminally ill children the right to die regardless of age. Takingthe law on euthanasia further than anywhere else. Despite protests from the Catholic Church,there was overwhelming support in parliament for extending a ruling from 2002 which allowedmercy-killing for adults. The legislation states that a child would have to be in a hopelessmedical situation, in constant suffering, conscious and able to make the choice. JacquelineHerremans, the director of Belgium's Right to Die Association supports the decision.

“It is difficult to be as I said happy about a vote that concerns children who are suffering.Children who will die before they have the possibility to become adults. But I have to say I amsatisfied that it was possible to have that debate. And that it was possible for the Belgiumparliament to have the courage to depenalize use of euthanasia for children as well.

The Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta has announced he'll stand down on Friday after his owndemocratic party, the dominant¹ party in Italy's ruling coalition² voted for a change ofgovernment. Alan Johnston has the details.

Mr. Letta has led Italy's coalition government for nearly a year. But although he's been primeminister, he hasn't led his own faction³, the Democratic Party. Its leadership contest wasrecently won by the young and ambitious mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi. Relations betweenhim and Prime Minister Letta soon became extremely fraught⁴. And at a critically importantfaction meeting, Mr. Renzi openly called for a new government. The Party backed his demand.And Prime Minister Letta's position immediately became untenable.

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan has rejected Washington's criticism of the release of 65prisoners from Bagram prison. Mr. Karzai said the issue was of no concern to the US.

“If the Afghan judicial⁵ authorities decide to release a prisoner, it is of no concern to the USand should be of no concern to the US. And I hope that the United Stated will stop harassingAfghanistan's procedures and judicial authority and I hope that the United States will nowbegin to respect Afghan sovereignty.”

Washington said it had strong evidence against many of the prisoners who've been released.

At a major conference in London on the illegal wildlife trade, a group of 46 countries haspromised to take action on poaching. The illegal wildlife trade is worth an estimated $19bn ayear. The countries say its links to corruption⁶ and organized crime need to be investigated asa priority, the leaders of four African countries have promised to honor a ten-yearmoratorium on sales of ivory.

World News from the BBC

The United Nations Mission in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo says more than 70people were summarily executed in late January and early February. It's said the killings⁷ weremainly committed by armed groups in north Kivu province, despite terror among thepopulation. The UN intervention⁸ force has increased its presence in the area, havingdefeated the M23 rebel group in November last year.

The United Nations mediator⁹ Lakhdar Brahimi has said that senior American and Russianofficials have pledged to do whatever they can to help the deadlocked¹⁰ peace talks on Syria. TheUS undersecretary of state and the Russian deputy foreign minister have come to Geneva inorder to put more pressure on the Syrian government and opposition¹¹ delegations¹². Mr.Brahimi said the UN was committed to finding a solution.

“It is a very very very complicated subject. Failure is always staring at us in the face. As far asthe Untied¹³ Nations is concerned, we will certainly not leave one stone unturned, if there is apossibility to move forward.”

In Syria, a ceasefire in the city of Homs has been extended for 3 more days.

The United States has denied accusations¹⁴ that it's supported anti-government demonstrationsin Kenya. The National Security Advisory¹⁶ Committee accused the American Aid Agency USAIDof trying to overthrow¹⁷ the government by supporting activists¹⁸. Police used teargas to dispersea protester in the city on Thursday. The Committee said it had credible¹⁹ documents showingUSAID had funded such demonstrations¹⁵.

The Italian football club Lazio has insisted that one of their players Joseph Minala formCameroon is 17 years old as the player says after it was alleged²⁰ he was actually 41. The clubstated that the midfielder's birth certificate was legitimate²¹. Minala, who's played in youthtournaments for the club also issued a statement, denying he told an African website that hehad lied about his age.

1 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

2 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。

3 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

4 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

5 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

6 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。

7 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

8 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。

9 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

10 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

11 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。

12 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

13 untied   

松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决

参考例句：

• Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来，我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
• He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。

14 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

15 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

16 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

17 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

18 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》

19 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

20 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

21 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。