英语听力精选进阶版 9980

 

The man, who President Barack Obama wants to become the next head of the CIA, is facing a confirmation¹ hearing from the Senate Intelligence Committee. In his opening remarks, Mr Brennan said the need for strong intelligence and analysis had never been greater.

“We remain at war with al-Qaeda and its associated forces, which, despite the substantial progress we have made against them, still seek to carry out deadly strikes against our homeland and our citizens, and against our friends and allies. US computer networks and databases are under daily cyber-attack by nation states, international criminal organisations, sub-national groups and individual hackers². And regimes in Tehran and Pyongyang remain bent³ on pursuing nuclear weapons and inter-continental ballistic missile delivery systems rather than fulfilling their international obligations or even meeting the basic needs of their people.”

John Brennan, who’s currently the White House counter-terrorism chief, is known for his role in the CIA’s controversial interrogation programme and for promoting the use of drones to kill militants⁴. The hearing was temporarily halted after several protesters shouted out against drone attacks.

The governing Ennahda party in Tunisia has rejected the decision by the prime minister to dissolve the government following Wednesday’s assassination⁵ of an opposition⁶ leader. An Ennahda spokesman said the prime minister didn’t consult the party. A general strike will be held on Friday to coincide with the funeral of the opposition leader Chokri Belaid. Wyre Davies in Tunis says it’s unclear who is in charge of the country.

There were series of meetings today at the National Assembly and the government tries to enact⁷ its promise to step down. And the point is a government of technocrats⁸ is easier said than done. There was a whole series of committee meetings and the press were excluded. The government has promised early elections, but we don’t know when those are going to take place. And it’s disastrous⁹ really to think that this was such positively¹⁰ received revolution two years ago. Many people, not just in the Arab world but in the West, thought that Tunisia was a model for a new Arab democracy and here it is imploding¹¹ before our very eyes.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels to try to bridge deep divisions over the union’s budget for the next seven years. Britain and several other countries want the EU to cut its budget with the Prime Minister David Cameron warning that there would be no deal unless spending was reduced.

“What we are talking about here is what the European Union is allowed to spend over the next seven years. And frankly¹² the European Union should not be immune from the sort of pressures that we’ve had to reduce spending, find efficiencies and make sure that we spend money wisely, that we are all having to do right across Europe. And when we were last here in November the numbers that were put forward were much too high. They need to come down. And if they don’t come down, there won’t be a deal.”

David Cameron

But some other members, including France, say cuts would prevent creation of new jobs.

World News from the BBC

Egyptian police are to provide security outside the homes of opposition leaders after a radical¹³ cleric called for them to be killed. The call was issued as a religious fatwa by the cleric Mahmoud Shaaban on an Islamic satellite channel. The call has been condemned¹⁴ by Islamic and secular¹⁵ leaders while the Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said the possibility of taking legal action against anyone issuing a fatwas inciting¹⁶ violence was being studied.

Police in the United States have launched one of the biggest-ever man-hunts to find a sacked Los Angeles police officer suspected of killing¹⁷ three people, including a former colleague. Christopher Dorner posted threats online to target former colleagues and their families to avenge¹⁸ his sacking. Thousands of officers are trying to track him down and protection teams are guarding 40 individuals.

Scientists in the United States may have solved the mystery of how salmon¹⁹ are able to migrate from the Pacific Ocean back to their home rivers to breed. Each year millions of the fish make the journey home in one of the world’s toughest migrations²⁰. Helen Briggs has the story.

Scientists in the US say they’ve found the first direct evidence that salmon can navigate²¹ using the Earth’s magnetic field. A study of salmon returning to the Fraser River in British Columbia suggests the memory of the magnetic field near where they were born guides the fish back across the ocean as they migrate home as mature adults to breed. From there they use another sense, perhaps smell, to complete their quest and return to their birth place to spawn²², then die.

Helen Briggs reporting

The Zimbabwean minister of education has deplored²³ the fact that nearly 82 per cent of students have failed their basic school leavers’ exams, the Ordinary Level. The minister, David Coltart, told the BBC that the results were sobering but inevitable²⁴ when there are so few teachers and textbooks in the country.

And those are the latest stories from BBC News. 

1 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

2 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

3 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

5 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。

6 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。

7 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

8 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

9 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

10 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

11 imploding   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He has nightmares about the tanks imploding. 他老是做油箱爆炸的噩梦。 来自辞典例句
• Just like silver stars imploding we absorb the light of day. 身披白昼之圣光光没银星俱裂亡。 来自互联网

12 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

13 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

14 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

15 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

16 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

17 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。

18 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

19 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

20 migrations   

n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Birds also have built-in timepieces which send them off on fall and spring migrations. 鸟类也有天生的时间感应器指导它们秋春迁移。 来自互联网

21 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

22 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

23 deplored   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They deplored the price of motor car, textiles, wheat, and oil. 他们悲叹汽车、纺织品、小麦和石油的价格。 来自辞典例句
• Hawthorne feels that all excess is to be deplored. 霍桑觉得一切过分的举动都是可悲的。 来自辞典例句

24 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。