英语听力精选进阶版 9401

A BBC investigation¹ has found evidence of more than 106 chemical weapons attacks in Syria since President Bashar al-Assad agreed to destroy his country's stockpile five years ago. Corroborating² information from multiple impartial³ sources, investigation found that President al-Assad's forces were behind the majority of the strikes designed to flush out rebel fighters from their strongholds. The BBC's Rouville McCarthy says chlorine was used most of all.

BBC的一项调查发现叙利亚106多起化学武器袭击的证据5年前叙利亚总统巴沙尔?阿萨德同意销毁境内库存的化学武器。在多方中立消息来源的印证下，调查发现阿萨德总统的军队与大部分的袭击有关，其意图将反对军战士从他们的据点驱逐。BBC记者鲁维尔?麦肯锡表示大部分袭击都使用了氯气。

Seventy nine of these attacks were chlorine attacks, which is very interesting because chlorine isn't a banned chemical. It wasn't declared and destroyed as a part of the disarmament that took place following 2013, but when it's used as a weapon, it is one hundred percent absolutely illegal. And seventy nine of the attacks that we saw did use chlorine.

其中79起袭击都使用了氯气，有意思的是氯气并不是禁用的化学药品。氯气并没有在2013年裁减军备时被宣布销毁，但是作为武器使用是绝对违法的。我们了解到79起袭击确实与氯气有关。

The UN says the world should be ashamed that millions of people in Yemen are facing what could become the world's worst famine in a hundred years, as the civil war continues. UN officials are urging the Saudi-led coalition⁴ to halt airstrikes. Lisa Grande is the UN coordinator⁵ to Yemen.

联合国表示随着内战的继续，也门有百万人面临着世界上百年来最严重的饥荒，全世界都应为此感到羞愧。联合国官员敦促沙特领导的联盟停止空袭。以下是联合国也门协调员丽萨?格兰德的讲话。

There are eighteen million people in the country who we consider to be food insecure. Of the eighteen million, there are eight and a half million who every single day they wake up, they have no idea where their next meal will come from. We consider these people to be at grave risk of famine and starvation. If the war continues, we could be looking at twelve to thirteen million innocent civilians⁶ who are at risk of dying from the lack of food.

现在我们认为也门有一千八百万人面临着食物短缺。在这一千八百万人中，有八百五十万人每天起来都不知道下一顿饭从哪里来。我们认为这些人面临着饥荒甚至饿死的危险。如果战争继续，我们将会看到有一千两百万到一千三百万无辜的平民面临饿死的风险。

The German Chancellor⁷ Angela Merkel is expected to meet senior Party officials in Berlin this morning to discuss the heavy losses suffered by her Bavaria sister Party in Sunday's state election in Bavaria. The CSU lost its absolute majority, and Mrs. Merkel's national coalition partners, the Social Democrats⁸, saw their vote halved⁹. Jenny Hill reports.

德国总理安吉拉?默克尔预计将在今晨于柏林会见政党高级官员，讨论周日巴伐利亚州选举后她的姊妹党所遭受的巨大损失。基社盟[CSU]失去了绝对多数席位，默克尔的国家联盟伙伴社民党得票减半。以下是简妮?希尔的报道。

It was a disastrous¹⁰ night for Angela Merkel's coalition partners. The beneficiaries: smaller parties like the far-right AFD which enters the regional parliament for the first time, and a revitalized Green Party which has emerged as the region's second strongest power. Mrs. Merkel will want an extensive post-mortem. The Bavaria reflects what's happening at national level, dwindling¹¹ support for the traditional center-right and center-left. The SPD is in particular trouble and there's speculation¹² its leaders might try to pull out of Mrs. Merkel fragile coalition government, which they blamed for its decline.

对于安吉拉?默克尔的联盟伙伴来说，这是灾难性的一夜，受益方是极右翼组织德国选项党以及刚恢复元气的绿党这样的小党派，前者首次进入地区议会，而后者已经成为该地区第二大党。默克尔将会进行大范围的选举后分析。巴伐利亚的选举也反映了全国范围内的现状，传统中右派和中左派政党的支持率正在下降。社民党更是面临着巨大的困境，有猜测称其领导人或许会尝试脱离默克尔的联合政府，他们将其归咎于联合政府的衰落。

1 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。

2 corroborating   

v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Neither can one really conclude much from a neat desk, unless there is further corroborating evidence. 实际上，我们也无法从一张整洁的办公桌中得出什么结论，除非还有其它证据进一步证实。 来自互联网

3 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

4 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。

5 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

6 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。

7 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

11 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

12 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。