英语听力精选进阶版 8071

It's been almost 24 hours since a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing wasreported missing. But there's still no indication of what happened, despite an air in sea search.Earlier reports of two apparent oil slicks sighted off the Vietnamese coast have not beenconfirmed. Most of the 239 people aboard the plane were Chinese. Discrepancies¹ on thepassenger manifest have let some analysts² to speculate about a possible terrorist attack.Here's John Sudworth with more from Beijing.

With more than 150 Chinese nationals on board, The Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reportersthat it was being treated as a national emergency. Two men named as being on the passengerlist are in fact reported to be safe and well. One Austrian and one Italian and both were said tohave had their passports stolen while travelling in Thailand in recent years. If it is confirmedthat those passports were used to board the plane, then it would of course be a potentiallysignificant lead.

The United States has warned Russia that any moves to annex³ Crimea would close the door todiplomacy. In a telephone conversation, the American Secretary of State John Kerry has toldhis Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Crimea is part of Ukraine and the Moscow shouldavoid military escalation⁴. President Obama has been discussing the deepening crisis withworld leaders. More than 50 international observers from the Organization for Security andCooperation in Europe have been turned back as they tried to enter Crimea, as in previousoccasions, they were stopped by pro-Russia paramilitaries. Ben Brown is in Sevastopol.

This was the third day running the team of international observers had tried to cross theborder into Crimea, and the third day running, they've been turned back. This time though,there were some additional menace in the air. The armed men who stopped them firedwarning burst of automatic gunfire. The fact of shots were fired, albeit⁵ as a warning, is likely tobe seen as another show of Russian defiance⁶ in Crimea and another slap in the face for theinternational community.

The Untied⁷ States says it's deeply concerned about what is described as the recent escalationof violence in the Sudanese region of Darfur. There's been no word so far from Khartoum.Here's our Africa editor Mary Harper.

In a statement, the US State Department said government-allied militias⁸ had recently burnedhomes and attacked civilians⁹ near the town of Nyala, causing thousands of people to flee. TheUS said the Sudanese air force had been involved, and urged Khatoum to stop its campaign ofaerial bombardments in Darfur. The US said the people of Darfur have suffered insecurity,violence and atrocities¹⁰ for far too long and that now was the time for peaceful resolution tothe violence.

World News from the BBC

The Syrian government says it's seized a town from rebels near the Lebanese border as partof its efforts to block their supply lines. Sebastian Usher¹¹ reports.

Battles continue to rage across Syria, some more significant than others. That's certainly howthe Syrian government is talking up its recapture of the town of Zara. It's important to thegovernment because it's near the border with Lebanon, from where rebel fighters run vitalsupply lines for weapons and reinforcements. President Assad's supporters are trying to blockthese, and may now be closed doing so. Since last month, they've been bombarding inYabroud, some 40 kilometers south along the border. The storming of Zara maybe a foretasteof what's installed for that town's remaining residents. Opposition¹² activists¹³ say some of thoseleft in Zara were killed in their homes.

Several thousand people have marched through the Lebanese capital Beirut to demand thepassage of law, protecting women against domestic violence. The rally coincides withInternational Women's Day. Lebanon is one of the most liberal countries in the Arab World,but there's no law protecting women from violence by their fathers, husbands or brothers.

Thousands of Venezuelan students and opposition supporters have gathered for ananti-government rally in the capital Caracas. The government has deployed¹⁴ thousands ofsecurity officers to prevent a planed march towards the food ministry¹⁵. President NicolasMaduro said all parties were invited to take part in a dialogue for peace. But the opposition hassaid any participation¹⁶ will be conditional¹⁷ on the release of detained students. At least 21people have been killed in nearly a month of protests.

Italy has urged ArmaLite in the United States to withdraw an advertisement, showing an imageof Michelangelo's David holding a rifle. The Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said thegovernment would take legal action against the company unless it immediately withdraws thecampaign. He said the image of an armed David was not only offensive but also illegal.

1 discrepancies   

n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• wide discrepancies in prices quoted for the work 这项工作的报价出入很大
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 annex   

vt.兼并，吞并；n.附属建筑物

参考例句：

• It plans to annex an England company in order to enlarge the market.它计划兼并一家英国公司以扩大市场。
• The annex has been built on to the main building.主楼配建有附属的建筑物。

4 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

5 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

6 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

7 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。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 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。

10 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

12 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。

13 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》

14 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

15 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

16 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

17 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。