英语听力精选进阶版 9645

Hi there, I'm Leah from BBC World News for Schools. It's Wednesday the 22nd of June. 

Coming up: 

?Michelle Obama visits Nelson Mandela, 

?American troops leaving Afghanistan 

?And the Antarctic penguin¹ that's turned up in New Zealand! 

But first US President Barack Obama will speak on TV today about the withdrawal² of thousands of American troops from Afghanistan. The US currently³ has about 100,000 troops in the country, but Obama is expected to say that 30,000 will begin leaving next month - with most gone by 2013. 

Next Barack Obama's wife Michelle - the First Lady of the US - along with their two daughters, are visiting South Africa and Botswana. They met with former South African president, Nelson Mandela. Michelle also paid tribute⁴ to the victims of violence that the country had experienced and spoke⁵ at a gathering⁶ of young women from across Africa: 

CLIP:"You are joined with fellow young people in every land. They struggling with their problems and you with yours. But all joined in a common purpose, determined⁷ to build a better future." 

To tennis and American star Serena Williams has won her first match at this year's Wimbledon. She's been ill and away from the game for a year so this win was really important for her: 

CLIP:"I love tennis and to be able to come back at Wimbledon is pretty awesome⁸." 

Next Ban Ki-moon has been voted in for a second term as Secretary-General of the United Nations. The UN, as it's often abbreviated⁹ to, is an organisation¹⁰ of lots of countries working together for world peace and development. Ban Ki-moon is glad he's been given another five years in the top job. 

For today's question we want to know how many member states are there in the UN? 

On Monday, we asked you which huge world sporting event will Brazil be hosting in 2016? 

And the answer is... 

The Olympic Games 

An emperor penguin usually found in the Antarctic has turned up thousands of miles away in New Zealand. It's the first official sighting of an emperor penguin in the country in over forty years. It's thought the bird took a wrong turn when it was at sea hunting for food - and ended up getting lost! 

CLIP:"I think it's really awesome here, yeah." 

CLIP:"First time in forty years and we get to see it - just very special to be part of it." 

And finally, it can be cool when you discover there's another place in the world that's got the same name as where you live. Well one man from the city of Manchester in the UK - home to footie team Manchester United - found it so interesting, that he visited over 30 places named Manchester in America! But he's still got Manchester in Canada, Jamaica and Bolivia to visit now! 

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

1 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

2 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

4 tribute   

n.颂词，称赞，(表示敬意的)礼物；贡品

参考例句：

• She accepted their tribute graciously.她慈祥地接受了他们的致意。
• Many conquered nations had to pay tribute to the rulers of ancient Rome.许多被征服的国家必须向古罗马的统治者朝贡。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

9 abbreviated   

adj. 简短的，省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He abbreviated so much that it was hard to understand his article. 他的文章缩写词使用太多，令人费解。
• The United States of America is commonly abbreviated to U.S.A.. 美利坚合众国常被缩略为U.S.A.。

10 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。