英语听力精选进阶版 9630

Hi there, I'm Ore from the BBC World News for Schools. It's Tuesday the 31st of May. 

Coming up: 

?Cucumbers are blamed for German deaths. 

?The BBC meets the fastest man in the world. 

?And pop star Shakira shares a stage with Champions League winners! 

But first, millions of people are at risk of going hungry because of the rising price of food - that's according to a big study by Oxfam. The charity says lots of foods are set to get twice as expensive over the next twenty years. The single biggest reason is extreme weather, which many believe is caused by climate change. Things like floods and droughts destroy crops and when there's less of something the price goes up. Abdolreza Abbassia is with the UN - he agrees with Oxfam that the rising price of food is a big problem... 

CLIP: "Prices are up almost 80 per cent from last year. That's bad enough and there are obviously prices that in many parts of the world probably makes food unaffordable." 

One of the big changes Oxfam is calling for is a special fund which will help countries cope with climate change. 

Next, cucumbers are being blamed for the deaths of 16 people and for making hundreds of others ill. It's thought the vegetables were infected with E-coli, which is a bug¹ that can - in rare cases - be fatal. The German authorities have blamed organic Spanish cucumbers, but Spain says that's not true. 

Next, the American city hit by the country's worst tornado² for 60 years has been remembering the 142 people who died. President Barack Obama flew into Joplin, Missouri, to join a minute's silence exactly a week after the twister struck. The President promised to help locals in everyway he can... 

CLIP: "We will be with you every step of the way, until Joplin is restored and this community is back on its feet. We're not going anywhere." 

Next up, the Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has announced his retirement³ from the game at the age of 36. The player - who spent his whole career with the club - won 10 Premier⁴ League titles, two Champions Leagues, and three FA Cup's. 

Now we all know him as the fastest man in the world - yep, the three time World and Olympic gold medalist, Usain Bolt is in a league of his own. So how did he get to where he is today - the BBC met the man himself at his old school in Jamaica where it all began - he gives his old PE teacher Lorna Thorpe a lot of the credit... 

CLIP: "For me she's like a second mum. When I was in high school she looked out for me fully⁵ - anything I wanted. She made sure I was always in class, she was always on me in school." 

And finally, popstar Shakira has been helping⁶ Barcelona celebrate their Champion's League win over Manchester United. The Colombian singer is going out with Barca defender⁷ Gerard Pique⁸ and invited him and his team-mates to show off their moves during her concert... 

CLIP: Shakira music 

And for today's question we want to know what the capital of Shakira's home country is? 

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

1 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

2 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 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。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

8 pique   

v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气

参考例句：

• She went off in a fit of pique.她一赌气就走了。
• Tom finished the sentence with an air of pique.汤姆有些生气地说完这句话。