英语听力精选进阶版 9170

The head of the EU's powerful executive，commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, is to give his annual State of the European Union address in Strasbourg in a few hours' time. Mr. Juncker is expected to call for member states to decide the future direction they want the EU to take after Britain leaves.

欧盟执行负责人、欧委会主席容克将于几小时后在斯特拉斯堡发表年度欧盟盟情咨文。预计到时容克将呼吁成员国决定英国脱欧后欧盟未来的方向。

The Venezuelan opposition¹ has refused to take part in direct talks with President Nicolas Maduro's government in the Dominican Republic later on Wednesday. In a statement the opposition coalition² said it wouldn't attend talks until the government agree to meet a number of demands, including addressing the country's humanitarian³ crisis and releasing all political prisoners.

委内瑞拉反对派拒绝参加周三晚些时候，在多米尼加共和国与总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗政府举行的直接会谈。在一份声明中，反对派联盟表示，除非政府同意满足他们的一系列要求，其中包括解决该国的人道主义危机并释放所有政治犯，否则他们不会参加会谈。

A UN study says 1/3 of the world's land has been severely⁴ degraded, mainly by intensive agricultural practices. It said poorer soil threatened to put millions of people at risk of hunger, poverty and conflict. It said 24 billion tons of healthy soil and 15 billion trees are lost every year.

联合国的一项研究表明，全球三分之一的土地已经严重退化，造成这种现象的原因主要是农业的集约化。该研究称，土地变贫瘠，或将致数百万人面临饥饿、贫困和陷入冲突的风险。据悉，全球每年都会流失240亿吨健康土壤和150亿棵树木。

U.S. officials say 12 people are known to have died as a result of Hurricane Irma in Florida. There are fuel and power shortages as residents return to their homes. European countries and the U.S. have sent troops to deliver aid and provide security in Caribbean territories affected⁵ by the storm.

美国官方表示，飓风“厄玛”共导致佛罗里达州12人丧生。随着居民纷纷返乡，当地出现燃料和电力不足状况。美国和欧洲国家均已派遣军队发放救援物资，并为受暴风雨影响的加勒比海领土提供安全保障。

The U.S. gay rights activist⁶, Edith Windsor, has died at the age of 88. Ms. Windsor was regarded as a trailblazer in campaigner's efforts to legalize same-sex marriage. After her partner died, she argued that she had a constitutional right to stir the same deduction⁷ in estate tax as heterosexual couples. Judges ruled in her favor.

美国同性恋权力活动家伊迪丝·温莎去世，享年88岁。温莎被誉为推动同性婚姻合法化运动的先驱。她的伴侣去世后，她认为她拥有宪法赋予的权利，像异性恋夫妻一样享有遗产税收减免。法官裁决支持她的辩护。

The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will today lay the foundation stone for a high-speed train in India, the country's first, mostly funded by a loan from Japan. The bullet train will run between the city of Ahmedabad and India's financial capital, Mumbai.

日本首相安倍晋三将于今日为印度一高铁奠基。这是印度首条高铁，资金来源主要由日本提供的贷款。这辆子弹头列车将在艾哈迈达巴德和印度金融中心孟买之间运行。

1 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。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 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。

7 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。