英语听力精选进阶版 8051

Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych andopposition leaders have signed an agreement onending the political crisis there. Under the dealmediated by European Union foreign ministers, acaretaker government will be installed and elections will be brought forward to December. TimWilcox has more from Kiev.

After an all-night session involving three foreign ministers from Germany, France and Poland,President Yanukovych finally signed an agreement with the opposition¹ and what a humiliatingagreement that is. It sees a reduction of his presidential powers, a return to the constitutionof 2004, and a few hours ago, the parliament here voted to release the opposition leaderYuliaTymoshenko. She has been imprisoned² now for 2 years. That has to be ratified³ by thepresident and the speaker of the parliament. Well it is yet another clamp-down and humiliationfor president Yanukovych.

On Independence Square in central Kiev, thousands of demonstrators jeered⁴ oppositionleaders when they appeared on stage after signing the deal. A BBC correspondent there saysone group of protesters has threatened to storm government buildings if President Yanukovychdoes not resign on Saturday. The agreement has been welcomed internationally.

Italy's Prime Minister designate Matteo Renzi has named his cabinet after formally accepting themandate to lead a new government. Half of the posts have gone to women. From Rome, AlanJohnston reports.

Mr. Renzi has come to power talking of the need for rapid and sweeping⁵ reforms. And now hehas the team that he hopes will deliver all the change that he has promised. The country ismired in severe economic trouble. And nothing will be more important than the performanceof the new finance minister, Mr. Padoan. He has been a critic of the budget cuts and austeritymeasures that were imposed here in the past. Among the women appointed at the cabinet is aformer mayoress of a town in the south. She was forced to quit after coming under threatfrom a local mafia.

The city of Detroit has found a plan to rescue from bankruptcy⁶ and restructure its huge 18billion dollar debt under the plan which still needs court approval. Retired⁷ city employees couldsee their pensions cut by 30%. Beth McLeod is in Washington.

When Detroit was granted protection from its creditors⁸ in December, it marked the biggestpublic bankruptcy in the American history. The roadmap for how to tackle it has beenlong-awaited by city workers, pensioners⁹ and creditors. This plan proposes to reduce benefitsfor retired city employees. These cuts aren't as deep as some feared, but will still be contestedin the courts by those who face losses. On the other side, the city's creditors, including WallStreet banks, the plan proposes to give some of them only about 20% of the money theyclaim.

You are listening to the latest World News from the BBC.

United States says President Obama has reiterated¹⁰ his strong support for the protection ofhuman rights in Tibet during a meeting with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Mr.Obama also encouraged the resumption of direct talks between China and Tibetanrepresentatives. China had warned the US against the meeting.

The Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says he wants to put a controversialanti-homosexuality bill on hold to give scientists a chance to investigate whetherhomosexuality is genetic¹¹ or behavioral. The bill introduced in 2009 initially¹² proposed a deathsentence for homosexual acts but was amended¹³ to prescribe jail terms instead. RichardHamilton reports.

President Museveni is trying to please a conservative local constituency while avoidingalienating Western aid donors,particularly the United States. On Sunday, President Obama saidthe bill was a step backwards¹⁴ for all Ugandans and warned it would complicate¹⁵ Kampala'srelationship with Washington. Mr. Museveni who is a devout¹⁶ evangelical Christian¹⁷ has alsosigned into law anti-pornography and dress code legislation which outlaws¹⁸ provocativeclothing, bans scantily-clad performance from television and monitors what people watch onthe Internet.

Two athletes at the Sochi Winter Olympics have been disqualified after failing doping tests. AGerman biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle and an Italian bobsledder William Frullani both testedpositive for a banned stimulant¹⁹. They have been expelled from the Sochi Games.

New York's Mayor Bill de Blasio has been accused of hypocrisy²⁰ after his convoy²¹ was caughtbreaking traffic laws days after he announced he was getting tough on motoring offences. OnTuesday, Mr. Blasio put forward plans to reduce the speed limit across the city amongst othermeasures. Two days later, journalists filmed his official vehicle speeding, ignoring stop signsand changing lanes without indicating.

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 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

3 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

4 jeered   

v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police were jeered at by the waiting crowd. 警察受到在等待的人群的嘲弄。
• The crowd jeered when the boxer was knocked down. 当那个拳击手被打倒时，人们开始嘲笑他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

6 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

7 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。

8 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 pensioners   

n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He intends to redistribute income from the middle class to poorer paid employees and pensioners. 他意图把中产阶级到低薪雇员和退休人员的收入做重新分配。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. 我自己就是一个我们的高贵的施主遗留基金的养老金领取者。 来自辞典例句

10 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

11 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

12 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

13 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

14 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

15 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

16 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

17 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

18 outlaws   

歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯

参考例句：

• During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年，罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
• I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家，也不必与不法分子斗争。

19 stimulant   

n.刺激物，兴奋剂

参考例句：

• It is used in medicine for its stimulant quality.由于它有兴奋剂的特性而被应用于医学。
• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。

20 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

21 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。