英语听力精选进阶版 10208

Italy’s fragile coalition¹ government has collapsed² after ministers belonging to the central-right party of the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said they were resigning. Here’s BBC’s Rome correspondent Alan Johnston.

Tensions within the government has become extreme in recent days so much so that the center-left Prime Minister Enrico Letta said he would put business on hold until he has an administration secured fresh backing in a parliamentary confidence vote. But Mr Berlusconi said he would not support the government that put important economic matters onhold. And so his ministers have resigned, Mr. Letta said that the reasons that Mr. Berlusconi has given for the resignations are a huge lie,there has been a complete breakdown³ in relations.

At least 42 people have died in Nigeria after a boat overloaded⁴ capsized in the River Niger, more than 100 are still missing. Officials say the boat split in two after setting off a village in Niger State. From Lagos,Tomi Oladipo.

The passengers were mostly traders returning home after a busy market day in another village before disaster struck, a spokesman for the state emergency management agency says the boat had over 150 people on board, more than double the number of passengers it could handle, not counting the heavy goods they had with them. Officials say the recovered corpses⁵ will be given a mass burial on the other river bank. Water transport is not well regulated on the river Niger and boats often travel overloaded.

Officials in Tunisia said the Islamist-led government has agreed to step down in a few week's time and make way for a care-taker administration after negotiations⁶ with the secular⁷ opposition⁸ are concluded. Talks in forming a transitional government could start in Monday. Peter Hiett reports.

The moderate Islamist party Ennahda which led the Tunisian government was careful to share power in the hope of avoiding the worst mistake of President Morsi and his colleagues in Egypt, but he still find himself accused of being too soft on Islamist extremists, especially after the separate assassination⁹ of two leftist opponents, it started outcry which led to talks with the secular opposition brokered¹⁰ by trade unions on how to emerge from Tunisia's political paralysis¹¹. The next step is three days of talks on forming a non-party government followed by fresh elections.

The party in charge of destroying chemical weapons in Syria, the OPCW has said its first wave of experts will travel to Damascus on Sunday. A spokesman of the group told BBC they are confident they can carry out the mission of verification and destruction on time provided they have Syrian and international support.

A suicide car bomb attack in Northern Mali has killed two people and left several wounded, it’s the first such attack since president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita took power last month, promising¹² to make security a top priority.

World news from the BBC.

Parliamentary elections have taken place in Guinea for the first time in more than a decade,early indications suggest a high turnout, although some logistical problems have been reported, the vote was due to be held within a month of Alpha Conde becoming transitional president in 2010 following a military coup¹³ but it was repeatedly delayed.

The three-month investigation¹⁴ into the death in June of 19 firefighters who died battling a wildfire in the U.S. State of Arizona, a site of poor communication between the men and support stuff and revealed that an aircraft carrying flame retardant was circling overhead as the firefighters were overcome. All but one member of the fire crew died while protecting the small town of Yarnell from a wildfire.

A day ahead of a rare meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that for any progress to be made Pakistan must put a stop to attacks against its territory.

India is committed sincerely to resolving all issues with Pakistan, however, for progress to be made, it is imperative¹⁵ that the territory of Pakistan and the areas under its control are not utilized¹⁶ for aiding and abetting¹⁷ terrorism directed against India.

Mr.Singh was addressing the UN General Assembly in New York. He is expected to meet the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday.

A retired¹⁸ Chilean general who led the country’s intelligence agency during the rule of Augusto Pinochet has killed himself while on release from prison for the weekend, Odlanier Mena was serving a 6-year jail term for three killings¹⁹ in 1970s, he was found guilty of belonging to a group of military officers accused of executing more than 100 members of the opposition in the month following general Pinochet's coup.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 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。

3 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

4 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

5 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

11 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

12 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

13 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

14 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。

15 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

16 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 abetting   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• On Earth, unknowingly abetting a criminal doesn't merit this kind of punishment. 在地球上，不知不觉地帮助罪犯并不构成这种惩罚。 来自电影对白
• "By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder." 援助和唆使谋杀的塔利班政权与杀人犯同罪。 来自互联网

18 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。

19 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。