英语听力精选进阶版 9624

Hi there, I'm Leah from the BBC World News for Schools. It's Thursday the 19th of May. 

Coming up: 

Japanese people are told to cut down on electricity. 

Experts say the Tyrannosaurs Rex had friends. 

And the man who's eaten 25,000 burgers! 

First up, we're talking about the Amazon. A new study says there's been a big increase in the number of trees being cut down. The last couple of months have seen 593 sq km destroyed. The Brazilian government are meant to be reducing the amount of rainforest being cut down, but these latest figures show a 6 fold increase. The country's environment minister says urgent action needs to be taken to find out why this is happening... 

CLIP: "We don't want to see deforestation rising from 2010 to 2011. This is a formal commitment the government has made.We must achieve the national plan on climate change, meeting our targets." 

Environmentalists are worried that by making the Amazon smaller, the rainforest will actually become a polluter. That's because it will be less able to absorb the harmful gases that are created, as more trees are chopped up and burned. 

Next to Japan, where people are being asked to use less electricity. The shutdown of the Fukishima nuclear plant means there's less power to go round. So, the Japanese government wants everyone to do their bit by walking more, instead of using escalators, using less air conditioning and even getting rid of heated toilet seats! 

Now, despite Sir Alex Ferguson having won yet another Premier¹ League title, his 12th since he became manager, there's still lots of speculation² about who might eventually fill his boots. Everton Captain Phil Neville is putting his money on Ryan Giggs... 

CLIP: "The next person that comes in needs to be singing out the same hymn³ sheet. That's why I think the next manager of Man United might come from within, and when you see Ryan Giggs, and his character, to me he looks like the perfect manager to follow Sir Alex." 

Now, they're known for being the most formidable predators⁴ in the dinosaur⁵ world - so it might come as a bit of a surprise to find that the Tyrannosaurs Rex liked a bit of company. It had been thought that the creatures used to hunt alone, but now experts reckon it used to go in search of its prey⁶ in groups. The discovery of a group of dinosaur skeletons - cousins of the T-Rex - lying side by side, suggests they lived and died together. 

And for today's question we want to know what dinosaur is famous for its long neck and tail? Yesterday we asked you what you call a baby wallaby? And the answer is....a joey! 

And finally, to a record breaking burger eater! American, Don Gorske has eaten 25,000 burgers in his life so far. He buys them in bulk twice a week, keeping the boxes and recording⁷ his consumption on a calendar. So how does he fit all those burgers in... 

CLIP: "My average of eating Big Macs is roughly fourteen a week right now... That is the bulk of my diet; 

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

1 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。

2 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

3 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

4 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

6 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

7 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。