英语听力精选进阶版 8185

After a decade of negotiations¹,Russia has clinched² a huge deal to supply China with naturalgas.The agreement is thought to be worth 400 billion dollars over 30 years.Russia's energygiant Gazprom would only say it was signed on mutually beneficial terms.The first gas will bepiped in 2018 from new facilities separate from those supplying Europe.President Putin said itwas a major deal for Russia.

This is the biggest contract in the history of the gas industry in the former USSR and theRussian federation³ in terms of volume.I want to know that this was indeed a difficult job at thelevel of export.Our Chinese friends are difficult and tough negotiators.

The internet auction⁴ site eBay is asking users to change their passwords after hackers⁵ attackeda database,compromising its security.The American company says it has no evidence thatcredit card details were accessed,but the database contains personal information including daysof birth,email and postal⁶ address.Rory Cellan-Jones reports.

EBay says the attackers got access to a database containing encrypted passwords,but nofinancial data by obtaining the log-ins of some employees.The attack took place between lateFebruary and early March,but ebay says it was only detected two weeks ago.The firm hasn'tdetected any increase in fraudulent activities on the site,but says changing password is thebest practice,and will help enhance security.

The United States has deployed⁷ military personnel to Chad to try to help find more than 200school girls kidnapped in northern Nigeria.The girls were abducted⁸ more than five weeks ago bythe Islamist militant⁹ group Boko Haram.Several countries including Britain and Israel areassisting the Nigerian military with intelligence expertise¹⁰.Jane O'Brien reports.

Using his war powers,president Obama ordered the troop deployment¹¹ as part of US efforts tolocate and return the girls to their families.In a letter to Congress,the White House said the 18military personnel would support intelligence, surveillance and reconnoissance aircraftmissions over northern Nigeria and the surrounding area.The force will be based in Chad,and willremain there until no longer needed.Chad shares a border with Nigeria,where the 276 girls wereseized last month by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.

Rebels holding the key town of Kidal in northern Mali have managed to repel¹² an offensive bygovernment forces to try to retake the town.A BBC correspondent in Mali says governmenttroops sought refuge in the United Nations' base.The UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon calledfor an immediate¹³ ceasefire.A Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali in 2012 threw the country intoturmoil,triggering a military coup¹⁴.French forces intervened last year to try to drive out theinsurgents but they've remained active in some parts since then.

BBC news.

A federal judge in the United States has ordered the Justice Department to hand over videosshowing the treatment of a Syrian prisoner at Guantanamo bay detention¹⁵ center who was onhunger strike.The videos show the detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab being forcibly fed through a tubein his nose.Last week,in the first ruling of its kind,the judge imposed a ban on force-feeding theprisoner.Mr Dhiab has been held without charge since August, 2002.

The Israeli police say restraining orders have been placed on several Jewish right-wing activistsover concerns that they might try to disrupt Pope Francis's visit to the holy land later thisweek.A police spokeswoman said the restraining orders were based on intelligence received bythe security service Shin Bet and will be in effect for four days.

Five young Iranians arrested after they posted a video of themselves dancing to the PharrellWilliam's hit "Happy" / have been released.But the director of the video is still in custody¹⁶.Policein Tehran said the online clip hurt public chastity.James Renauld has this report.

The homemade video shows six young Iranians,three men and three women withoutheadscarves,dancing with abandon on a secluded¹⁷ rooftop and in an apartment.Their effortswere too much for Iran's authorities.The performers were soon arrested and filmed on stateTV.They were apparently¹⁸ made to confess that they were tricked into filming their video.PharrellWilliams says that it is beyond sad that the six were arrested for trying to spread happiness.

The American secretary of state John Kerry says impatience¹⁹ with the Venezuelan governmentis growing in the region over the failure of recent talks with the opposition²⁰.Mr Kerry called onpresident Nicolas Maduro to show good faith in the negotiations to end the worst political crisisin Venezuela in a decade.At least 42 people from both sides of the political divide have beenkilled in street protests this year.

1 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

2 clinched   

v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议）

参考例句：

• The two businessmen clinched the deal quickly. 两位生意人很快达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Evidently this information clinched the matter. 显然，这一消息使问题得以最终解决。 来自辞典例句

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

5 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

6 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

7 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。

8 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

9 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

10 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

11 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

12 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

13 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。

14 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

15 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

16 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

17 secluded   

adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时，喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑，有茅草房顶和宁静的花园，漂亮极了，简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

19 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

20 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。