英语听力精选进阶版 8044

We start with Syria where the government and opposition¹ have agreed to extend theirceasefire for another three days to allow more civilians² to leave the besieged³ city of Homs. Some460 managed to leave on Monday, hundreds more left over the weekend. Lyse Doucet sent thisreport from Damascus.

首先来看叙利亚消息。叙利亚政府和反对军同意继续停火三天，为市民撤离被围困的城市霍姆斯留出时间。大约460人已于周一撤离，数百人于周末撤离。记者莱丝·杜赛从大马士革发回了报道。

"A tide of people continue to flee the ruins of the old city of Homs, exhausted⁴ mothers andtears, children who went straight into the arms of waiting aid officials from the UN and theSyrian Arab Red Crescent Society. Water, bread, even polio vaccinations⁵ were provided on thespot, immediate⁶ relief for hundreds of Syrians who've lived under a punishing siege for nearlytwo years. The old city is controlled by rebel forces and it's been cut off by Syrian governmenttroops. Many residents who finally escaped speak of having only grass and olives to eat. Today,the temporary ceasefire wasn't shattered by the mortar⁷ attacks and gunfire at the weekend,which temporarily halted but didn't stop a humanitarian⁸ mission which is so badly needed. Buthere in Damascus fighting did cause the suspension of another food distribution in thebesieged suburb of Yarmook. These breakthroughs are small glimmers⁹ of light in the dark anddevastating war, but they are only a start. The UN says about a quarter of a million Syrians arenow struggling to survive."

“大批人群继续从古城霍姆斯撤离，我们可以看到疲惫的母亲和她们的眼泪，孩子们径直向敞开怀抱的联合国和叙利亚阿拉伯国家红新月会救援官员跑去。他们当场提供水和面包，甚至还有疫苗接种，这对近两年来生活在围困中的数百名叙利亚人来说是十分及时的援助。这座古城已被叛军控制，与叙利亚政府军切断了一切联系。许多成功逃脱的居民说他们靠吃草和橄榄维持生命。今天是周末，迫击炮和枪声并虽没有影响到暂时的停火，但导致急需的人道主义救援暂时停滞，不过没有完全中断。然而，在大马士革，战乱却再次导致食品分发在被围困的雅穆克郊区受阻。这些突破是黑暗残酷战争中的微光，但这只是个开始。据联合国称，大约有25万叙利亚人仍在艰苦求生。”

Among those who came out of the old city were a number of men between the ages of 15 and55, clearly a group with particular fears being targeted by the Syrian authorities, suspicious oftheir involvement in the fighting. There are reports that some of the young and older menhave been taken away by the Syrian government. We aked the head of the UN mission in Syriawho's coordinating¹⁰ the evacuation to clarify what happened.

逃出古城的人是一批男性，年龄在15-55岁之间，很显然，他们是叙利亚当局瞄准的对象，怀疑他们曾参与战争。有报道称，他们当中一些年纪较轻或较大的人已被叙利亚政府带走。关于这个问题，我们还采访了联合国常驻叙利亚大使，他负责组织人员撤离。

To the United States now where a leading American footballer Michael Sam has come out to sayhe is gay. Some retired¹¹ players have done this already but none still with the prospect¹² of abright future in the game. He here is speaking to the US TV network.

下面来看美国消息：美国橄榄球明星迈克尔·萨姆承认自己是同性恋。一些退役球员也曾出柜，但是没有一个是在炙手可热、前途无量时做出这样的举动。他接受了美国电视网络的采访。

"How does that feel to say those words to the world?"

“向世界公开说出那些话是什么样的感觉?”

"I came out to my teammates and they took it great. They rally around me. They support me.And I couldn't ask for better teammates. This is something that I've known for a while."

“我向队友承认了我是同性恋，他们坦然接受，并且站在我这边支持我，没有比他们更好的队友了。我知道自己是同性恋已经有一段时间了。”

Sam has just completed a promising¹³ career in college football and is expected to be the chosenby an NFL team in May. That would make him the first openly gay player to compete in any ofNorth America's four major professional sports.

萨姆刚刚打完一场大学生橄榄球赛，发挥出色。而且，今年五月份，他有望被美国橄榄球联盟(NFL)的球队选中，成为参加北美四大职业运动赛事的首位公开同性恋球员。

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 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 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

9 glimmers   

n.微光，闪光( glimmer的名词复数 )v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A faint lamp glimmers at the end of the passage. 一盏昏暗的灯在走廊尽头发出微弱的光线。 来自互联网
• The first glimmers of an export-led revival are apparent. 拉动出库复苏的第一缕曙光正出现。 来自互联网

10 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

13 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。