英语听力精选进阶版 9591

Hi there, I'm Ore from the BBC World News for Schools. It's Wednesday the 30th of March. 

Coming up: 

Rebels retreat from key towns in Libya 

Demonstrations¹ continue in Syria 

And a very unusual pair of jeans! 

But first to Libya where rebels fighting against the country's leader Colonel Gaddafi are struggling to hold on to the towns they've gained recently. Gaddafi's forces have recaptured several towns in the east of the country, including the important oil port of Ras Lanuf and the nearby town of Bin² Jawad. However reports say the fighting is continuing in the area. American President Barack Obama has also said he isn't ruling out giving weapons to the rebels to help them in their fight. 

CLIP: "It's fair to say that if we wanted to get weapons into Libya we probably could - we're looking into all the options at this point." 

Now to Syria where the President Bashar al-Assad is expected to make his first speech today since the beginning of anti-government demonstrations in which more than 60 people have been killed. 

On Tuesday, the country's cabinet resigned and huge crowds took to the streets to show support for President Assad. School kids and some office workers were given time off to attend the demonstrations. 

Next to Japan where it's been announced that the damaged nuclear reactors³ at the Fukishima power plant will be scrapped⁴. Since Japan's recent earthquake which damaged the plant, workers have been trying to bring the reactors under control to stop radiation leaking out. But latest reports say the seawater near the nuclear plant has reached a higher level of radiation than previously⁵ thought. 

Now for some cricket action and big rivals India and Pakistan are currently battling it out in the World Cup semi-finals. It's taking place in India and it's thought it is being watched on television by more than a billion people. Loads of fans have taken a day off school and work to support their team. 

Prime ministers from both countries are attending the match, so security is tight. But despite the politics of the match, India's captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni is keeping his mind off it and concentrating on the game... 

CLIP:"Political things - you know we have been quite unaware⁶ of what's happening for the last 30-35 days. Not watching TV has been a big part of it. So let's see, hopefully everything goes in favour for both the nations." 

Sri Lanka won their semi-final yesterday, so whichever team wins today will meet them in the final on Saturday. 

Now check out this sound... 

CLIP: SOUND OF DRUMS 

It's not any ordinary drum kit⁷, it's a drum kit in a pair of jeans! 17-year-old student Aseem from England has designed a pair of jeans that double up as a drum kit. They allow you to tap out a tune⁸ on your thighs⁹ by hitting sensors¹⁰ that are woven into the fabric¹¹! 

And finally for today's question we want to know what's the name of the prime minister of Pakistan? Yesterday, we asked you what is the name of the world's tallest building is? And the answer is....the Burj Khalifa in Dubai! 

 

OK, that's all we've got time for now, we're back tomorrow.

1 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

2 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

3 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

4 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

7 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

8 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

9 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

11 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。