英语听力精选进阶版 9597

Hi there, I'm Sonali from the BBC World News for Schools. It's Wednesday the 6th of April. 

Coming up: 

?Some good news from Japan's damaged nuclear plants at last. 

?And a plan to explore the oceans like never before. 

But first the crisis in Libya for ordinary people trapped in towns under Colonel Gaddafi's control is getting worse. It's difficult to get reports out of towns like Misrata -- but some journalists managed to sneak¹ in and find out exactly how bad conditions are. Doctors in Misrata say hundreds of people there have been killed. Our own reporter is Tim Wilcox: 

CLIP: Very few journalists have manage to get in, one or two did in the last week or so, but they had to go in by boat, and apparently² their boats as they went in, were being shelled. The civilian³ population is encircled by pro-Gaddafi forces. We understand that the water and all power has been switched off for all civilians⁴ in that city of Misrata. Basically it is street by street, hand to hand fighting. 

A boat carrying dozens of refugees trying to escape the fighting in Libya has capsized in the Mediterranean⁵ sea. Italian coastguards have been trying to rescue survivors⁶ but a hundred and thirty people haven't been found yet. 

Better news now from Japan -- it looks like workers at the damaged nuclear plant battling to prevent further disaster have had some success. They've plugged a leak that was allowing thousands of gallons of radioactive water to end up in the sea. After sawdust and cement didn't work -- it was molten glass that did the trick in the end. 

One of the world's biggest private charity givers has said Europe should feel pretty good about the help it gives to poor kids around the world and especially in Africa. Microsoft founder⁷ Bill Gates has met the people who run Europe and told them -- don't stop now: 

CLIP: The poor farmers, the kids that need vaccines⁸, I think the aid should stay focussed there. I think it's important that Europeans hear about the incredible success of the aid they've given. Childhood deaths have been cut in half. A few dollars has a much bigger impact, for these people, than it might anywhere else in the world. 

Now football: and Man U's Wayne Rooney DID appeal against his two match ban for swearing in front of television cameras. A decision's expected tomorrow about whether the penalty was too tough. And after last night's champion's league quarter final, Spurs now face an uphill task. They lost 4-nil to Real Madrid in their first leg in Spain -- after Peter Crouch⁹ was sent off. They meet again at Hart Lane in a week. 

Ok so the adventurer Richard Branson has launched a few amazing projects -- and his latest is literally¹⁰ to go where no one's gone before. It's a one-man submarine voyage SEVEN MILES DOWN to the bottom of the deepest seas. He'll do it in an eighteen-foot long titanium and carbon-fibre vessel¹¹ under incredible water pressure: 

CLIP:It's experimental. We believe it's going to work. But it's actually more difficult than building a space ship. Many more people have been on the moon than have been below twenty thousand feet and we are hoping to get to thirty-six thousand feet. 

Finally -- it's been a mystery for five hundred years. Who is the woman with the most famous smile, in the most famous painting, in the world? Well researchers in Italy think they might know who the Mona Lisa is. They're going to excavate¹² the grave of an Italian noblewoman to find out -- researchers think HER DNA¹³ could provide the final clue to the Mona Lisa's identity. 

And now for today's question. What's the Italian name for the Mona Lisa? Yesterday we asked you..who the youngest person to sail solo around the world is. And the answer is .....Jessica Watson, from Sydney in Australia, who was sixteen. 

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

1 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 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。

5 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

9 crouch   

v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏

参考例句：

• I crouched on the ground.我蹲在地上。
• He crouched down beside him.他在他的旁边蹲下来。

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

12 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。

13 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。