英语听力精选进阶版 8206

Ukraine's new president Petro Poroshenko has called for dialogue with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. He was speaking after his swearing-in ceremony in Kiev. But Mr. Poroshenko said Ukraine would never give up Crimea which Russia annexed¹ in March, and would continue to seek closer ties with Europe. David Stern reports from Kiev.

Mr. Poroshenko's speech was a combination of tough words mixed with more conciliatory statements. To the pro-Russian separatists, he offered an amnesty, if they lay down their weapons, and in his words, "if they didn't have blood on their hands." However, to the people of eastern Ukraine, he promised greater autonomy and the free use of the Russian language. Separatist leaders in Ukraine's east, who've established their own self-declared republic, rejected the new Ukrainian president's offer. But Russia's ambassador to Ukraine who attended the ceremony called Mr. Poroshenko's peace plan promising².

The Colombian government and negotiators from the FARC rebel group have agreed to set up a truce³ commission to investigate the deaths of at least 200,000 people, most of them civilians⁴ in five decades of conflict. The announcement was made during a new round of peace talks in Cuba. The statement says the left wing rebels and the government have agreed to hear the demands of war victims who would travel to Havana at an undisclosed date.

The Nigerian army has raided distributions centres for some of the country's main newspapers. The Daily Trust which serves mostly northern Nigeria said the army detained its drivers and delivery vans on Friday and Saturday at many parts of the country. Mannir Dan-Ali is the editor.

All the distribution vehicles that were impounded, they were checked, nothing was found of them yet. They are not allowed to proceed to their destinations, and the newspapers did not reach the readers. The fact is that in spite of their protestations, that actually they are not trying to prevent journalists from doing their work, they are not trying to stifle⁵ the media. Yet that is the message that people seem to be getting from these signals.

Other newspapers gave similar accounts. Nigeria's defence spokesman said the soldiers' actions were part of a routine security operation. He denied reports that copies of newspapers were confiscated⁶.

A series of car bombs across the Iraqi capital Bagdad has killed more than 50 people and injured many more. The blasts targeted mainly Shiites' majority neighbourhoods. Earlier in the day, militants⁷ stormed an Iraqi university campus in the western city of Ramadi, briefly⁸ holding dozens of students hostage. They were released after a battle with security forces in which several militants were killed, others escaped. They are believed to be members of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Levant" group.

This is the World News from the BBC.

America's First Lady has led tributes to the black writer and civil rights activist⁹ Maya Angelou, who died last week. Michelle Obama said that Ms. Angelou's words inspired and sustained her throughout her journey from the south side of Chicago to the White House.

She taught us that we are each wonderfully made, intricately woven and put on this Earth for a purpose far greater than we could ever imagine. And when I think about Maya Angelou, I think about the affirming power of her words. The first time I read Phenomenon Women, I was struck by how she celebrated¹⁰ Black women's beauty like no one had ever dared to before.

Armed men in the Democratic Republic of Congo have killed at least 27 people in the eastern province of South Kivu. Witnesses say at least eight children and 14 women are among those killed overnight. The victims were shot, stabbed or burnt at a local church and in their homes. A Red Cross official Cilvi Pelaez told the BBC that a number of seriously injure people were being treated in hospital.

A lot of deaths and also a lot of injured people; from what I know for the time being is that they were mainly from gun shots. There are some pretty serious injuries.

Eleven crew members of a Malaysian-owned ship that was hijacked¹¹ by Somali pirates have been freed after more than three years in captivity¹². The sailors from south Asia and Iran were on board the container vessel¹³ the MV Albedo when it was hijacked 1,500 kilometers off the coast of Somalia.

Tennis, and Maria Sharapova of Russia has won the French Open title in Paris. In a tightly fought match. She beat Romania's Simona Halep in three sets: 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. It's Sharapova's fifth Grand Slam title and her second at Roland Garros where she lost one in 2012.

1 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

2 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。

3 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

4 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。

5 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

6 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

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 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

11 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

12 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

13 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。