英语听力精选进阶版 10078

Officials in Iraq say at least 60 people have been killed in sectarian attacks, the deadliest day there for months. Three separate bomb blasts hit Sunni Muslim areas in and around the capital Baghdad. Later a bomb hit a funeral procession in the town of Madain, and in the early evening, two bombs went off near different shopping areas in Baghdad. There’s been a marked increase in violence recently, but the BBC’s Rami Ruhayem says it doesn’t appear to have a clear purpose.

伊拉克官方称至少60人在宗派袭击中丧生，这是数月来最惨重的一次。首都巴格达附近的逊尼派穆斯林地区发生数场爆炸，随后一枚炸弹袭击了迈达镇附近的葬礼队伍，暮晚时分，两枚炸弹在巴格达多个购物区爆炸。最近的暴力事件显著增加，但BBC记者Rami Ruhayem称爆炸似乎没有明确的目标。

There will be speculation¹ that this is all sectarian in nature. There’s probably an element of truth to that, but it doesn’t explain the whole picture. There are still many questions which are not yet answered about all of this. And most specifically, what is the strategy behind such violence? There doesn’t seem to be a clear answer to that except, of course, the will to destabilise the country. But to what end? That remains² unclear.

人们猜测这些爆炸时宗派行为，或许有部分原因如此，但并不能解释所有现象。目前还有很多问题无法得到解答，更重要的是：这些暴力事件的策略是什么呢？目前似乎尚无明确的解释，除非其目的是想破坏国家的稳定。但最终目标呢？这显然还不清楚。

The man in charge of the UN’s plans for reconstructing Syria after the current conflict has warned of the challenges ahead. Abdullah al-Dardari said rebuilding what’s been destroyed would cost up to $80bn.

联合国叙利亚目前冲突后重建计划负责人警告说前方会遇到挑战。阿卜杜拉·达尔达里说在破坏的基础上重建需耗资800亿美元。

"So far Syria lost 40% of its GDP and unemployment increased from almost half a million people to 2.5 million people out of jobs at the moment and people living under the absolute poverty line increased from two million to five million in just two years.”

“到目前为止叙利亚损失了40%的GDP，失业人数从近50万增加到250万，就在两年内，绝对贫困线以下的人数从200万增加到500万。”

Mr al-Dardari said it was important to have a plan even if the conflict was still raging.

al-Dardari说，即使冲突仍在进行，制定计划仍是很重要的。

France says it’s opposed to Iran taking part in a conference on the Syrian conflict. The foreign ministry³ said regional stability was at stake and a country threatening it should not be at the table. The issue of Iranian participation⁴ was raised by Russia during talks with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

法国表示反对伊朗参加就叙利亚冲突举行的会议。法外长称地区稳定岌岌可危，而威胁稳定的国家不应该参加会议。俄罗斯在同联合国秘书长潘基文会谈时提到伊朗的与会资格问题。

The Nigerian military says it’s scored some initial successes on the second day of its bombardment of Islamist militant⁵ camps in the north-east. A military spokesman said 30 insurgents⁶ had been killed in air raids. Will Ross reports from Abuja.

尼日利亚军队对东北部的伊斯兰武装分子营地发动轰击，目前表示第二天已经取得初步进展。军方发言人称30名叛军在空袭中丧生，威尔·罗斯在阿布贾报道。

The Nigerian army says it’s already made significant progress in its fight against Boko Haram Islamist militants⁷ in the north-east of the country. A military spokesman said several enemy camps in remote forested areas of Borno state had been destroyed by a combination of airstrikes and ground troops. He said one aircraft had been damaged when fired upon by the militants. The spokesman said some of the Islamist fighters were killed. It has not been possible to independently verify any of this information.

尼日利亚军方称在该国东北部对博科圣地伊斯兰武装组织的斗争中取得了重大进展，军方发言人称通过系列空袭和地面进攻，已经摧毁博尔诺州偏远森林地区的几个敌方营地。他说一架飞机在与武装分子交火时被毁，发言人说部分伊斯兰武装分子被杀，目前尚无法独立确认任何有关消息。

The former military ruler of Argentina, Jorge Rafael Videla, has died in his prison cell aged⁸ 87. Gen Videla led the military government which seized power in Argentina in 1976. He was serving lengthy⁹ prison terms for human rights abuses committed during his five years in power, comprising most of the period known as the Dirty War.

阿根廷前军事独裁者豪尔赫·拉斐尔·魏地拉在狱中死亡，终年87岁。1976年魏地拉领导了夺权的军政府，他因在5年执政期间犯下人权侵犯罪被判长期徒刑，他执政期间还发生了污秽战争。

More than 20 people have died in a landslide¹⁰ near a disused mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The authorities said the accident happened on Thursday when the banks of a stream collapsed¹¹, burying people in the Masisi region of North Kivu province.

刚果民主共和国一处被弃矿场发生山体滑坡，20多人丧生。当局称事故发生在周四，当时一条小河河堤决裂，淹没了北基伍省马西西地区的人们。

Officials in Georgia say 28 people have been injured in clashes over a gay pride rally in the capital Tbilisi. The violence broke out as gay rights activists¹³ arrived under police protection at the event in Pushkin Park. Thousands of anti-gay protesters had occupied a street in central Tbilisi threatening to lash¹² any activists attending the rally with stinging nettles¹⁴.

格鲁吉亚官方称首都第比利斯举行同性恋集会，有28人在冲突中受伤。同性恋活动人士在警察保护下来到普希金公园，暴力就开始了。数千名反同性恋抗议者占领了首都第比利斯中心的一条大街，威胁要用大荨麻抽打任何参加集会的活动人士。

A leading United States congressman¹⁵ has called for a radical¹⁶ reform of the tax system, describing it as rotten at the core. Republican Congressman Dave Camp made the comments during hearings into why the country’s Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative political groups when they sought tax-exempt status. Adam Brookes reports.

美国国会一名显要议员呼吁对税收制度进行彻底改革，称税收制度已经坏到根子里了。在研究为何美国国内收入署在寻求免税待遇时反对保守派政治组织的听审会上，共和党议员大卫·坎普发表了此番言论。

American conservatives are furious. They accuse the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, of using its tax inspection¹⁷ powers to bully¹⁸ and intimidate¹⁹ conservative groups, especially those linked to the libertarian Tea Party movement. Today Mr Miller²⁰ acknowledged to Congress that the IRS had singled out Tea Party groups for extra tax scrutiny²¹. But he fiercely denied that it was for political reasons. Republicans in Congress have seized on the allegations as evidence that President Obama and his administration are using under-hand tactics against the Republican Party.

美国保守派非常愤怒，他们指责国内收入署(IRS)使用税务稽查权来欺负和吓唬保守组织，尤其是那些与自由派茶党相关的组织。今天米勒向国会承认，IRS挑选茶党来进行额外的税收审查。但他坚决否认这是出于政治原因，国会里的共和党利用这个把柄，称这说明总统奥巴马及其政府使用策略来对付共和党。

The mayor of the Canadian city of Toronto, Rob Ford²², has dismissed allegations that he smoked crack cocaine²³ as ridiculous. Mayor Ford made the denial after two Canadian journalists said they had been shown video footage, in which he appeared to be smoking from a crack pipe and making homophobic slurs²⁴ against an opponent. The video has not been independently verified, but the reports have caused a public uproar²⁵ in Canada.

加拿大多伦多市长鲍勃·福特否认有关他吸食可卡因的说法，称这是无稽之谈。就在此前，两名加拿大记者称有视频显示市长用裂纹管吸烟，并诋毁一位同性恋反对者。视频尚未得到独立证实，但这份报道已在加拿大引起公愤。

1 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

9 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

10 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

11 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

12 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 nettles   

n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I tingle where I sat in the nettles. 我坐过在荨麻上的那个部位觉得刺痛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard. 那蔓草丛生的凄凉地方是教堂公墓。 来自辞典例句

15 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

16 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。

17 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

18 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

19 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

20 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

21 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

22 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

23 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

24 slurs   

含糊的发音( slur的名词复数 )； 玷污； 连奏线； 连唱线

参考例句：

• One should keep one's reputation free from all slurs. 人应该保持名誉不受责备。
• Racial slurs, racial jokes, all having to do with being Asian. 种族主义辱骂，种族笑话，都是跟亚裔有关的。

25 uproar   

n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸

参考例句：

• She could hear the uproar in the room.她能听见房间里的吵闹声。
• His remarks threw the audience into an uproar.他的讲话使听众沸腾起来。