英语听力精选进阶版 9979

 

The Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has said he’ll form a government of technocrats¹ without political affiliations² following the assassination³ of a prominent opposition⁴ leader, Chokri Belaid, on Wednesday. The killing⁵ of Mr Belaid, an outspoken⁶ critic of the Islamist government, sparked violent anti-government protests in several cities. Officials say a policeman was killed. In a televised address to the nation, Mr Jebali said a non-partisan government would run the country until national elections could be held.

“I’ve decided⁷ to form a national government made of technocrats that is not affiliated⁸ to any party. It will work for the sake of this country and it will have a defined mission.”

Reports from Syria say that fighting between government forces and rebel fighters around Damascus is the most intense for months. Local residents say they’ve heard unusually heavy bombing throughout the day, while a security official said the army was launching an all-out offensive.

The United States government is tightening⁹ existing sanctions on Iran in an effort to persuade the government in Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme. The latest moves also include financial sanctions against Iran’s state-run media. Paul Adams reports from Washington.

Under the terms of a bill passed by Congress six months ago, the Treasury¹⁰ department is taking moves to further restrict Iran’s access to its own oil revenues. Any money Iran now makes from the sale of oil to nine countries currently granted exceptions, including China, India and Turkey, must now be credited to an account in those countries and not repatriated¹¹ to Iran. Administration officials call this a significant turning of the screw.

The British bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, has been fined more than $600m for manipulating the Libor interest rate, a benchmark for consumer and business loans around the world. The fine is to be paid to financial regulators in Britain and the United States. Britain’s financial services authority says more than 20 individuals, at least one manager, were involved in Libor rigging. The bank has fired those involved and the head of its investment arm has quit. Stephen Hester is the bank’s chief executive.

“What these 20, 21 people did is wrong. There can be no place in RBS, or in the banking¹² industry, for wrongdoing of this nature. It is an extreme example of a selfish and self-serving culture, of which there are too many other milder examples across the banking industry.”

France has called on the United Nations Security Council to replace the African military mission in Mali with a UN peacekeeping force as soon as possible, preferably by April. It’s also called for the rapid deployment¹³ of human rights observers. French troops are currently trying to clear northern Mali of Islamist groups.

World News from the BBC

Work has begun in Italy on a multi-million dollar project to preserve one of the world’s greatest archaeological sites, the ruins of Pompeii. The city was buried nearly 2,000 years ago in a volcanic¹⁴ eruption¹⁵, which preserved many of its buildings. But in recent decades, the site has suffered from neglect and mismanagement. Alan Johnston reports from Rome.

Pompeii is a town frozen in that catastrophic moment when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted. Much of the site is so dilapidated that it can no longer be visited. But now a major effort has begun to restore Pompeii. An EU delegation¹⁶ was present as work started on one particularly famous villa¹⁷. A spokesman said that preserving Pompeii could have enormous economic benefits. But everyone involved knows that the local mafia, the Camorra, will also be drawn¹⁸ by the money now being invested in the site.

Police in eastern China have detained a local official and a driver after a baby was killed in a dispute over violation¹⁹ of the country’s one-child policy. State media said the 13-month-old boy was dropped as family planning officials tried to arrest his mother for having three children. The infant was then run over by the officials’ van.

The Women’s League of South Africa’s governing National Congress has highlighted the issue of gang-rape after a teenage victim died in hospital in the Western Cape²⁰. The Women’s League said it was disgusted by the incident. The girl, who was 17 years old, is reported to have identified one of her attackers before she died and the man is now in custody²¹.

And Nigeria’s footballers have booked their place in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. They beat Mali 4:1 in Durban. In the other semi-final, Ghana and Burkina Faso have drawn 1:1 in Nelspruit. The match is now going to be decided in a penalty shoot-out after both sides failed to score in extra time.

 

1 technocrats   

n.技术专家，专家政治论者( technocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Few business barons remained. They were replaced by "technocrats," who became the heads of corporations. 企业巨头所剩无几，大多已被“技术专家”所代替，这些人成了公司的领导。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• However, bankers called the technocrats' bluff and proceeded to lend with gusto. 但是，银行家们称技术专家官员不过在虚张声势，并且还会乐观的继续借贷业务。 来自互联网

2 affiliations   

n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳

参考例句：

• She had affiliations of her own in every capital. 她原以为自己在欧洲各国首府都有熟人。 来自辞典例句
• The society has many affiliations throughout the country. 这个社团在全国有很多关系。 来自辞典例句

3 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

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 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

9 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

10 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

11 repatriated   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The refugees were forcibly repatriated. 难民被强制遣送回国。
• Ancient artworks were repatriated from the US to Greece. 古代艺术品从美国遣送回希腊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

13 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

14 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

15 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

16 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

17 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

18 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

19 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

20 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

21 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。