英语听力精选进阶版 9606

Hi there, I'm Sonali from the BBC World News for Schools. It's Tuesday the 19th of April. 

Coming up: 

?Ricky meets a record breaking sailor. 

?The cat that sailed to Australia. 

?And Justin Bieber loses top Youtube spot to Rebecca Black! 

But first to Syria where witnesses say security forces have been firing at a big group of demonstrators... 

CLIP: FX of demonstrators 

Around twenty-thousand protestors have taken over the main square in the city of Homs. They're calling for the President to quit, but the government say the protestors are just religious extremists who want to take control. So far, human rights groups say 200 people have been killed. 

Next, thousands of people have fled their homes in northern Nigeria after clashes following the re-election of the President, Goodluck Jonathan. In some towns residents slept in police stations for safety. Supporters of the opposition¹ are angry because they say the election wasn't fair. The President has called for an end to the violence 

Next, to the record breaking sailor who's navigated² her way around the world not once, not twice, but three times! Dee Caffari is finally back on dry land after spending 102 days at sea and our Ricky's been to meet her... 

CLIP: "For 102 days we didn't sleep through a normal sleep pattern. We don't have day time and night time, we have just a watch system. Suddenly you come back and have a day when you spend all day awake, and then you're expected to go to sleep all night, and my body hasn't quite adjusted so I slept for about three hours on the first night." 

And Dee isn't the only one with a passion for the high seas. A cat has been discovered onboard a boat, 18 days after it went missing from its New Zealand home. It seems Douglas got trapped in a container that was bound for Australia. It was Emma Cook who discovered the puss... 

CLIP: "We were almost finished. It was probably about half an hour into the unpacking³ and he just popped up. He looked totally calm." 

You'll be glad to know he's back safe and sound now. 

And for today's question we want to know the name of the sea that separates New Zealand from Australia? Yesterday we asked you what type of lemur is comparable to a gorilla⁴ in size. The answer is ....A sloth⁵ lemur! 

Quick footy update now and the pressure is on Manchester United tonight. They need a win against Newcastle to go 9 points clear in the Premier⁶ League, and Newcastle's manager Alan Pardew says they'll do their best to deny them a victory... 

CLIP: "All the pressure is on Manchester United. So for us we can go out there and have a go, and I promise the Newcastle faithful we'll have a go." 

Justin Bieber has lost his king of YouTube crown to Rebecca Black. Justin usually comes out on top as the most watched star on YouTube, but according to the website 'Famecount' Rebecca's topped the Beebster with almost 112 million views. 

OK, that's all from the World News for Schools team. We're back tomorrow with all the big stories for you. Bye for now.

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 navigated   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的过去式和过去分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• He navigated the plane through the clouds. 他驾驶飞机穿越云层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ship was navigated by the North Star. 那只船靠北极星来导航。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 unpacking   

n.取出货物，拆包[箱]v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的现在分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• Joe sat on the bed while Martin was unpacking. 马丁打开箱子取东西的时候，乔坐在床上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They are unpacking a trunk. 他们正在打开衣箱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

5 sloth   

n.[动]树懒；懒惰，懒散

参考例句：

• Absence of competition makes for sloth.没有竞争会导致懒惰。
• The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches.大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。

6 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。