英语听力精选进阶版 8215

President of football's world governing body FIFA Sepp Blatter has said that he expected the upcoming World Cup in Brazil to be a success. He was speaking in Sao Paulo. Katy Watson reports from Sao Paulo.

At a press conference in Sao Paulo on Thursday, FIFA insisted that the World Cup would be a success.

We have listened to all the reports. It's not up to me now to comment on that. But I can tell you, listening to the report, we are confident, we and FIFA, we are confident.

But even some of its executives couldn't avoid reality as they sat in traffic jams for hours trying to get across the city during the strike. Union leaders on Sao Paulo's metro¹ system have asked for a double digit² pay rise and better conditions. They deny it has anything to do with the World Cup and everything to do with needing higher salaries to keep pace with the inflation. The state-owned underground company was locked in negotiations³ with Union leaders on Thursday afternoon. And the government is under a huge amount of pressure. The only viable⁴ way for fans to reach Sao Paulo Stadium is on public transport. If that fails, it won't just be a huge inconvenience for visitors but a huge embarrassment⁵ for the government, too. Katy Watson, our reporter in Sao Paulo.

Now Eimear McBride took 6 months to write her first novel, 10 years to find a publisher, but she was rewarded this week when she won a top literary prize in London worth 50,000 dollars. Her book A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing tells us the story of a young woman's relationship with her brother and the long shadow cast by his childhood brain tumor⁶. It's set in Ireland in the time of religious oppression and sexual abuse. Here is an extract.

See here this party. It's a mad. I'd never been. I've only seen on top films.

Yeah, absolutely it was a huge surprise and you know, a great honor, and you know, not something that I was expecting.

And to win a prize with a book that you found such a difficulty in finding a publisher for.

Yeah, that's right. I mean, that's certainly felt like a vindication⁷ for me. You know, I wrote the book in 2004 in 6 months and then that it took me most of the next decade to find a publisher for it.

You say vindicated⁸, what do you think the problem was that publishers had with the book?

Well, what they told me was that while they admired the writing, they found that the subject was interestingly dealt with, they didn't feel that the book fell into any kind of need, marketing⁹ niche¹⁰.

1 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

2 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

3 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。

4 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

5 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

6 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

7 vindication   

n.洗冤，证实

参考例句：

• There is much to be said in vindication of his claim.有很多理由可以提出来为他的要求作辩护。
• The result was a vindication of all our efforts.这一结果表明我们的一切努力是必要的。

8 vindicated   

v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
• Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。