英语听力精选进阶版 9971

 

There’s been a strong reaction in European capitals to plans from Britain to renegotiate its membership of the European Union. The Prime Minister David Cameron said he wanted to stay in the EU but said there should be a referendum on the issue. Gavin Hewitt reports.

英国计划重新商讨其欧盟会员国资格问题，欧洲各国对此反映强烈。首相戴维·卡梅隆说他希望能留在欧盟，但此事应通过公投来决定。盖文·赫威特报道。

Europe’s leaders and officials have been wary¹ and uneasy at the prospect² of David Cameron’s speech. In the event, it drew a mixed response. Some saw it as reckless, putting at risk Britain’s place in Europe. Others supported his call for a leaner, more flexible EU. The German Chancellor³ Angela Merkel was quick to say she was prepared to talk about Britain’s wishes, but she said a fair compromise was needed. The German and French leaders had coordinated⁴ their responses to the speech. The French too are willing to discuss a more open, leaner EU. What would be unacceptable to Paris would be a Europe a la carte.

戴维·卡梅隆的讲话令欧洲各国领导人和官员们警惕不安，人们对此反应不一。有人说这过于草率，置英国在欧洲的地位于危险之地。也有人支持卡梅隆，希望欧盟精简，更富于灵活性。德国总理安吉拉·默克尔当即表态，称准备与英国谈话，但她说需要进行一定妥协。德国和法国领导人对此反应一致，法国也很希望看到一个更开放精简的欧盟，法国不希望看到一个包办一切的欧盟。

The US House of Representatives has voted to allow the government to keep borrowing extra money for another four months, deferring⁵ a possible debt crisis, which would have brought the administration to a standstill. The measure was welcomed by the White House. From Washington, here’s Paul Adams.

美国众议院表决允许政府再为另外4个月拥有额外的资金，从而推迟可能的债务危机，使政府免于陷入停顿。白宫对此表示欢迎。保罗·亚当斯在华盛顿报道。

With the possibility looming⁶ that the US might default on its debt obligations for the first time, the Republicans have decided⁷ not to pick a fight with Barack Obama, at least not now. Until an abrupt⁸ change of course at the end of last week, they had been threatening to demand spending cuts to offset⁹ raising country’s borrowing limit. This move sure to be endorsed¹⁰ by the Senate puts off one fiscal¹¹ crisis, but another over sweeping¹² cuts in defence and domestic spending due to take effect at the beginning of March is waiting in the wings.

美国有可能首次出现债务违约情况，对此共和党决定不再为难巴拉克·奥巴马，至少目前如此。就在共和党上周末突然一改常态之前，他们还一直威胁要求削减开支，来抵消提高借债上限的措施。这个措施可阻止财政危机，肯定能得到参议院的支持，但美国已准备好三月份将会对国防和国内开支进行大幅削减。

Officials at the Pentagon say the American Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is to remove the ban on women in the military serving in combat. The decision, which is expected to be announced formally on Thursday, makes women available for hundreds of thousands of frontline positions and elite¹³ commando jobs, something never before known in the United States military. But Pentagon commanders will still be allowed to make a case for any specific post they think should remain closed to women.

五角大楼官员称美国国防部长帕内特将撤掉禁止妇女参战的禁令。这个决定将于周四正式宣布，这样就为妇女提供数十万个前线职位和精英突击队工作，这在美国部队是前所未有的。但在决定哪些特别职位适合妇女时，国防部指挥官仍要对此进行说明。

The Supreme¹⁴ Court in Mexico has ruled that a Frenchwoman sentenced to 60 years in prison on kidnapping charges should be set free. The case against Florence Cassez led to a serious diplomatic rift¹⁵ between France and Mexico. Will Grant reports from Mexico City.

一名法国妇女因绑架指控被判60年监禁，墨西哥最高法院目前判定应施放此人。这起有关弗洛朗丝·卡塞的案子曾使法国和墨西哥发生严重的外交冲突。Will Grant在墨西哥城报道。

It was the result which Florence Cassez had been hoping for for seven years since she was first accused of being part of a kidnapping ring in December 2005. Three of five Supreme Court judges ruled there were serious irregularities in the legal process against her and ordered her immediate¹⁶ release from her 60-year prison sentence. Since she was first detained, Florence Cassez has consistently accused the authorities in Mexico of using shaky witness statements against her and of denying her consular¹⁷ assistance.

2005年弗洛朗丝·卡塞首次被控参与绑架团伙，自此7年来她一直希望能有今天这个结果。最高法院的五名法官中有三名法官认定此案的法律程序存在严重违规问题，并下令立即施放被判60年徒刑的卡塞。自首次被捕以来，弗洛朗丝·卡塞一直指控墨西哥政府使用不可靠的证人证词来指控她，还拒绝给予她领事援助。

World News from the BBC

Medical officials in Iraq say 21 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque¹⁸ north of the capital Baghdad. Hospital sources told the BBC that 65 others were injured. The bomber¹⁹ detonated his explosives inside the mosque in the town of Tuz Khurmato, a largely Turkmen town south of Kirkuk. A funeral was taking place there at the time of the attack.

伊拉克医官称21人死于首都巴格达北部什叶派清真寺的自杀式爆炸案。院方告诉BBC有65人受伤，引爆者将炸弹安放在图兹胡尔马图镇的清真寺内，该镇位于基尔库克南部，是土库曼人聚居地。袭击发生时那里正举行葬礼。

The judge heading a review of India’s laws against rape²⁰ and other sex crimes has launched a stinging attack on the way India is governed. The retired²¹ Chief Justice JS Verma said a failure to enforce India’s existing laws was at the root of discrimination against women. The review was produced in response to the fatal rape of a student in Delhi last month.

负责重审印度强奸和其他性侵法律的法官严词批评印度的执政方式，退休首席大法官JS Verma说，印度现有法律的有法不依就是妇女歧视现象的根源。由于上月德里发生学生致命强奸案，印度开始重审此法。

Controversial research is set to resume on artificially creating a new highly contagious²² form of the H5N1 bird flu virus, which could be spread by humans. Rebecca Morelle reports.

科学家称将重启对一种新型高传染性H5N1禽流感病毒的研究，这种病毒可以通过人际传播，此举引起广泛争议。Rebecca Morelle报道。

With just a few mutations, the H5N1 virus can jump from its current form that’s lethal²³ in birds to one that spreads among humans. But when scientists announced they’d done this in the lab, the news was met with shock. And with concerns over containment²⁴, the scientists put their research on hold. One year on though and they are ready to resume. Their labs, they claim, meet the highest safety standards and this work could help to fight the constantly evolving virus. But some researchers warn that while the risk of the pathogen escaping is small, the consequences could be catastrophic.

H5N1病毒经过几次突变就可以从目前对鸟类致命的病毒转变为可人际传播的病毒，此前，科学家宣称将在实验室做这样的突变，这个消息令人们震惊。考虑到控制问题，科学家们将实验暂停。一年后他们希望能继续实验，他们称实验室符合最高的安全标准，该研究能帮助应对这种不断演变的病毒。但有的研究者警告说，虽然病原体逃逸的危险很小，但一旦发生，后果将是灾难性的。

The White House says President Obama will go ahead with the nomination²⁵ of General John Allen as the new Supreme Nato Commander in Europe after a Pentagon investigation²⁶ cleared him of possible misconduct in a series of email exchanges described as flirtatious²⁷ with the Florida socialite Jill Kelley. The messages by General Allen came to light while the FBI were investigating threatening emails being sent to Mrs Kelley by her former lover of the then CIA director David Petraeus.

此前总统奥巴马有意任命约翰·艾伦将军担任北约驻欧洲新的最高指挥，后来据说他与佛罗里达社交花吉尔·凯利有染，在多次邮件联系中渎职，后经国防部调查，证明了他的清白。目前白宫称奥巴马将仍旧任命艾伦将军该职务。此前，FBI调查凯利旧情人中情局局长大卫·彼得雷乌斯发给她的威胁邮件，艾伦将军的信件也由此曝光。

 

1 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 deferring   

v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的现在分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• Recently, the Supreme Court has focused on an additional reason for deferring to administrative agencies. 最近，最高法院强调了尊重行政机构的另一种理由。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Think of it as deferring part of the compiler's job to runtime. 可以认为这是将编译器的部分工作延迟到了运行时。 来自互联网

6 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

9 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

10 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

12 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

13 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

15 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

16 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

17 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

18 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

19 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

20 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

21 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

22 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

23 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

24 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

25 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

26 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

27 flirtatious   

adj.爱调情的，调情的，卖俏的

参考例句：

• a flirtatious young woman 卖弄风情的年轻女子
• Her flirtatious manners are intended to attract. 她的轻浮举止是想引人注意。 来自《简明英汉词典》