英语听力精选进阶版 8193

President Obama has said nearly 10,000 American troops will remain in Afghanistan next year,following the end of combat operations. He said the troops would advise the Afghan army andsupport counter-terrorism operations against Al-Qaeda. Here's Ali McBull.

The number of US troops President Obama says he wants to stay in Afghanistan after the endof this year is a little less than a third of the number there now. He says the combat missionwould be over and the remaining 9,800 American military personnel would be involved in twomain tasks: training the Afghan security forces and supporting them in their fight against theremnants of Al-Qaeda. But it's not all a done deal yet. The incoming Afghan President to bedecided in the elections in mid-June has to agree to US troops' staying, while President Obamadoesn't want, as what happened in Iraq, what was a failure to come up with such an agreement,and what security has deteriorated¹ alarmingly, since the American withdrawal².

European Union leaders are meeting for the first time after elections that saw populous³ and far-right parties strengthened their position in the parliament of the 28-nation bloc⁴, leading tocalls for a rethink of the EU. Chris Morris reports from Brussels.

Too big and too bossy⁵, said David Cameron of the EU; pay attention to what happened here inFrance, said President Hollande. EU leaders who suffered electoral defeats in the Europeanelections say the union has to change. But how? Reforming Europe means different things todifferent people. Less regulation is popular in many quarters, but so is less austerity inothers. There are a variety of reasons anti-establishment parties made gains in theseelections, and there is no simple solution.

Ukraine has summoned the Russian charge d'affaires to protest against what it called anincursion by armed terrorists from Russia. Border guards had earlier reported that a convoy⁶ ofarmed militants⁷ had crossed into the country. President Putin has meanwhile called on Kiev tostop its operations against pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country and start talkwith them.

Cameroon has deployed⁸ about 1,000 troops to its border with Nigeria, in response to thegrowing threat from the Islamic group Boko Haram. Will Ross reports from Abuja.

Security sources have told the BBC that a group of well-armed Boko Haram fighters attackedthe town of Buni Yadi in Yobe State overnight. Civilians⁹ were apparently¹⁰ told not to panic bythe insurgents¹¹ who targeted the security forces. Ten soldiers were killed and 14 policemen.Buni Yadi is a notoriously volatile¹² area; it's where dozens of school boys were killed in theirdormitory last February. The almost daily attacks in northeast Nigeria show the massive taskthe Nigerian military faces.

BBC News.

The Egyptian election commission has told the BBC that voting in the presidential electionhas been extended by a day and will continue on Wednesday. The decision comes after alower-than-expected turnout over two days of polling. Despite a national holiday in Tuesdayand free public transport, many polling stations remained empty for parts of the day. Theformer army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is widely expected to win the vote.

Officials in Somalia say at least 36 people have been killed in a fighting between the Islamicgroup Al Shabaab and government troops backed by Ethiopian forces. The governor of thetown of Ato said al Shabaab fighters attacked a military camp at dawn on Tuesday. He saidfierce fighting ensued with Ethiopian and government troops suffering heavy casualties.

The governor of the Bank of England has warned against the dangers of what he calledunchecked market fundamentalism. Speaking at a London conference about inclusivecapitalism, Mark Carney said increasing inequality was posing a threat to the unappealingsociety. He called for a more ethical¹⁴ culture in the financial sector¹⁵.

The combination of unbridled faith in financial markets prior to the crisis and the recentdemonstrations of corruption¹⁶ in some of these markets has eroded¹⁷ our social capital. Whencombined with the longer-term pressures of globalization and technology on the basic socialcontract, an unstable¹⁸ dynamic of declining trust in the financial system and a growingexclusivity of capitalism¹³ threatens. In order to counter this, rebuilding social capital isparamount.

The Brazilian city of Manaus which will host four matches in June's Football World Cup hasinstituted a state of emergency because the fears of flooding. The decision was made after thewater level in the Rio Negro reached more than 29 meters. The authority says the situationshould not affect World Cup matches.

1 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

2 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

4 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

5 bossy   

adj.爱发号施令的，作威作福的

参考例句：

• She turned me off with her bossy manner.她态度专橫很讨我嫌。
• She moved out because her mother-in-law is too bossy.她的婆婆爱指使人,所以她搬出去住了。

6 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。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 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。

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 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。

11 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

12 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

13 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

14 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

15 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

16 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。

17 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

18 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。