英语听力精选进阶版 9614

Hi there, I'm Sonali from the BBC World News for Schools. It's Thursday the 5th of May. 

Coming up: 

?Workers at Japan's Fukushima nuclear station enter one of its reactor¹ buildings for first the time since the earthquake, 

?A big project to get rid of rats on South Georgia island, 

?and how do you get one of the tastiest jobs around? 

So first, workers at the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan have gone into one of its reactor buildings for the first time since was hit by an earthquake in March. They're installing ventilation systems to filter out radioactive material from the air. The quake had disabled the reactor's cooling systems which caused fuel rods to overheat, but before new cooling systems can be installed, radiation levels inside the reactor buildings need to be lowered. 

Next to the South Atlantic island of South Georgia where the biggest project to get rid of rats is going on - and has so far it's been going well. No-one knows how many rats live on the island, but it could be millions. Project leader Professor Tony Martin says the rodents² have had a devastating³ impact on local seabird populations and that's why conservationists are trying to get rid of them. 

CLIP: The rats eat the chicks of most of the ground resting petrels seabirds on South Georgia and the chicks of the pipits and the ducks. so almost any young bird that they can get access to they will eat . And as a consequence over a period of 200 years and it may have happened quite quickly, there are almost no ground nesting birds where rats occur and that's over the majority of south Georgia."> 

Now to football news and there are a lot of happy Manchester United fans today. The club are through to the finals of the Champions League for the 3rd time in 4 years after thrashing German side SHAL-KER 6-1 on aggregate⁴. 

For today's question we want to know which team will face Manchester United in final at the end of May? 

Yesterday we asked you whether bats are rodents or mammals? And the answer is ...Mammals. 

Lastly, if you're a chocolate lover, then this has got be the best job you could get - becoming a chocolate taster! William beat three thousand other applicants⁵ to land the role... 

CLIP: "I had to do blind taste tests and then eventually - 3,000 people were whittled⁶ down to four - and I had to do a cook-off with four other people. I'd worked as a food journalist for quite a long time and while I was doing that I dallied⁷ around in different kitchens and worked to further my knowledge. and I worked for a long time in chocolate and really enjoyed that so it seemed a natural thing - I saw the form, applied⁸ for it and got the job!"> 

Mmm...nice job! 

Just before we go, a big shout out to listeners Angel who lives in in Madrid in Spain and hello to teacher Saphe who is tuning⁹ in from Beirut in Lebanon along with the English classes that Saphe teaches. 

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

1 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

2 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

5 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

6 whittled   

v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He whittled a simple toy from the piece of wood. 他把那块木头削成了一个简易的玩具。
• The government's majority has been whittled down to eight. 政府多数票减少到了八票。

7 dallied   

v.随随便便地对待( dally的过去式和过去分词 )；不很认真地考虑；浪费时间；调情

参考例句：

• He dallied with the idea of becoming an actor. 他对当演员一事考虑过，但并不认真。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He dallied in the stores. 他在商店里闲逛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》