英语听力精选进阶版 8493

The French President Francois Hollande has met Cuba’s revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on a visit to Havana. The meeting came shortly after President Hollande called for an end to?the?US’s embargo¹ on Cuba saying it had badly damaged the island’s development. Will Grant?reports from Havana. 

“I hadn’t prompted me a man who made history with reportedly President Hollande’s reaction to meeting Fidel Castro. It is the first French head of state to visit Cuba in over a century. Francois Hollande has made a little history himself during this visit to Havana. Now, 88 years old, Fidel Castro only receives a very selected handful of dignitaries every year. But given the France never broke the relations with Cuba, even in the height of the Cold War, the French leader was always likely to meet the man who shaped modern Cuba for almost six decades. “

Egypt’s Justice Minister has resigned after provoking public outrage² by saying that the sons of rubbish collectors could not become judges. Mahfouz Saber said in a television interview the perspective members of judiciary had to come from a respectable background. Mr. Saber prompted further condemnation³ when he attempted to clarify his remarks by saying the same thing applied⁴ to senior jobs in the army and police.

President Obama has spoken to King Salman of Saudi Arabia following his decision to pull out of the US-Gulf⁵ Arab summit at Camp David this week. Mr. Obama called the meeting to reassure⁶ Gulf Arab allies who are uneasy about his potential nuclear deal with Iran. The White House spokesmen Josh Earnest said King Salman’s decision was not a sign of his displeasure with Washington’s offer. 

“There’s been no concern raised by our Saudi partners, either before the change in travel plans or after related to the agenda at Camp David. So I know there have been some speculations⁷ that this change in travel plans was an attempt to send message to US. If so, that message is not received because all the feedback that we have received from the Saudis has been positive.”

The Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has described his country's financial situation as terribly urgent. Speaking after a meeting at the Euro zone finance ministers in Brussels, he said the crisis could come to ahead in a couple of weeks. Chris Morris reports from Brussels. 

“A statement from the Euro group suggested that the talk between Greece and international creditors⁸ are a long-last going well. But EU officials say they’re??still considerable distant from reaching any kind of agreement to release further funding. Debated division between creditors who want more economic reforms and radical⁹ left-wing government that promised the end of austerity has yet to be bridged. Differences of opinions remain on labor¹⁰ market reform and possible pension cuts in particular.”

World news from the BBC.

There have been protests in Paraguayan capital Asunción over the rape¹¹ of a 10-year-old girl who is five-month pregnant, but has been denied an abortion¹². A group of mothers held up banners outside government buildings demanding longer sentences for rapists. Police have jailed the girl's stepfather who's under investigation¹³ for the rape.

Colombia's arm forces have arrested nearly 60 people in, what the Defense¹⁴ Ministry¹⁵ describes as, a major crackdown on an illegal mining in the Amazon rainforest. The Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said the raids near the border with Brazil and Venezuela had dismantled¹⁶ an illegal financing network used by Farc rebels. He said the operation had prevented the group from getting hold of around 8 million dollars.

Police in Florida say George Zimmerman, the white man who shot dead of an unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin three years ago, has been involved in another shooting incident. Bianca Gillett is the spokeswoman for the Lake Mary police department. 

“At this time, investigation has proved that George Zimmerman was not the shooter. He was transported to a local hospital for minor¹⁷ injuries since been released. Lake Mary Police Department is awaiting council in order to interview both parties and at this time we are not determined¹⁸ how or why the incident in out-patient began.”?

The US National Football League has suspended the New England Patriots¹⁹ star quarterback Tom Brady for four games for his part in controversy²⁰ involving the use of under inflated²¹ balls. The club has been fined one million dollars. An investigation found that Brady and two members of the Patriots’ staff were aware of plans to under inflated balls to make them easier for Brady to throw a catch. The Patriots won the 2015 NFL season at the Super bowl. Brady has three days to appeal. 

1 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

7 speculations   

n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断

参考例句：

• Your speculations were all quite close to the truth. 你的揣测都很接近于事实。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. 这种可能性引起了有趣的推测。 来自《用法词典》

8 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

12 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

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 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

17 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

18 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

19 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

20 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

21 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》