英语听力精选进阶版 9588

Hi there, I'm Ricky from the BBC World News for Schools. It's Friday the 25th of March. 

Coming up: 

A million people are fleeing violence in the Ivory¹ Coast. 

India face Pakistan in the Cricket² World Cup. 

And President Obama gets locked out of the White House! 

First, for the last couple of weeks all eyes have been on Japan and Libya, but at the same time a massive³ crisis⁴ has been unfolding in the Ivory Coast. Nearly one million people have been forced to flee the country's main city. They're scared of the fighting that's been going on between supporters of President Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara, and for kids like 12 year old Artor it isn't even safe to go to school... 

CLIP⁵: "I don't want to stay home and not go to school. I want to go back to school because it allows us to make progress." 

The violence kicked off after President Gbagbo refused to quit, even though it's widely agreed that he lost the election. It's thought that 462 people have been killed in the fighting. 

Next, Yemen and Syria are the latest Middle Eastern countries making the news because of big anti government protests. In Syria it's led to a lot of violence with some protestors being killed, but it's not clear how many. So what's it like being a kid in the middle of all this fighting? Well as part of a big BBC project called School Report, kids from England have been chatting to pupils in Tunisia about what the recent revolution there was like for them... 

CLIP: "So, can you describe what it was like being at home when the revolution was happening outside?" "It was very scary. Policemen fired guns and pupils were very afraid. They (the protestors) just wanted democracy. It was very horrible." "I was afraid. I said that 'I will die, it is the end of my life'." 

Cricket news now and after beating Australia by 5 wickets, India is facing a semi-final match against Pakistan. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhonin says the most important thing is to give the team a rest... 

CLIP: "For the first two, three days what you want to do is not think about cricket. You know, take some time off, because switching off from cricket is as important as going and practicing for the next two, three days." 

OK, if you've ever been locked out of your house then you're in good company. The President of the United States, Barack Obama has been filmed, seemingly⁶ struggling to get into the Oval⁷ office. It seems staff at the White House weren't expecting him, but luckily he managed to get in through one of the many other doors! 

And finally we have the answer to yesterday's question. We asked you how many species⁸ of stingray there are? And the answer is ...Around 200! 

OK, that's all from the World News for Schools team. We're back tomorrow.

1 ivory   

n.象牙，乳白色；adj.象牙制的，乳白色的

参考例句：

• My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
• It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。

2 cricket   

n.蟋蟀，板球运动；adj.公平的

参考例句：

• The England cricket team scored quite a useful total.英格兰板球队得分总数令人满意。
• We could hear the shrill of the midsummer cricket.我们可以听到仲夏时节蟋蟀的尖叫声。
• Your behaviour isn't cricket.你的行为不光彩。

3 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

4 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

5 clip   

n.夹子，别针，弹夹，片断；vt.夹住，修剪

参考例句：

• May I clip out the report on my performance?我能把报道我的文章剪下来吗？
• She fastened the papers together with a paper clip.她用曲别针把文件别在一起。

6 seemingly   

adv.从表面上看起来，似乎是

参考例句：

• Seemingly,we can do nothing to prevent this from happening.我们似乎没有什么办法阻止这件事发生。
• For several seemingly interminable seconds no one spoke.有几秒钟没有人讲话，这几秒钟似乎十分漫长。

7 oval   

n. 椭圆，椭圆形跑道；adj. 卵形的，椭圆形的

参考例句：

• She has a lovely oval face.她长着一张可爱的椭圆脸。
• The shape of the earth is an oval.地球的形状是个椭圆形。

8 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。