英语听力精选进阶版 10237

A day of intense diplomacy¹ has failed to set a date for a long-awaited peace conference on Syria after the talks in Geneva involving officials from the U.S. Russia and other members of the UN Security Council. The International envoy² on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said he had been hoping to be in a position to announce a date today. But unfortunately, he was unable to do so. Lyse Doucet reports from Damascus.

一天紧张的外交活动未能为叙利亚期待已久的和平会谈设定日期，此前来自美国、俄罗斯和联合国安理会其他成员国的官员在日内瓦举行了会谈。驻叙利亚国际大使拉赫达尔·卜拉希米说他一直希望今天能宣布这一日期，但不幸的是他未能做到。Lyse Doucet从大马士革报道。

One of the major sticking points in many peace talks is president Assad. Some opposition³ leaders say he must to step down at some point in the political transition. Others insist he must go before talks can even start.But the president's adviser⁴ Dr Bouthaina Shaaban was clear this issue was not on the table. In a rare interview, he emphasized the president's role will be decided⁵ by the Syrian people at the ballot⁶ box, in elections, or in a referendum, Dr Shaaban was also scathing⁷ about the opposition, describing rival groups as creations of powerful backers, like Saudi Arabia.

在许多和谈中最关键的问题之一是总统阿萨德，有的反对派领袖说他必须在政治过渡期的某个时间下台，也有人说他必须在和谈之前离开。但总统的顾问布赛娜·沙班很清楚这个问题不在商谈之列，他在一次罕见的采访中强调说，总统的角色必须由叙利亚人民通过投票决定，或者选举，或者公投，沙班还严厉指责反对派，称反对组织创造了强大的支持者，比如沙特。

The American Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Israel following an earlier stop over in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. He is due to have separate meetings on Wednesday with Israeli and Palestinian leadership to try to revive the peace talks which were launched three months ago, they are due to end next April and so far there has been little sign of progress. On Monday, Israeli media reported that Mr. Kerry may propose a new interim⁸ in peace deal but he has denied the such plan exists.

美国国务卿约翰·克里抵达以色列，此前他刚在沙特和埃及暂停驻足。他计划周三与以色列和巴勒斯坦领导人分别举行会议，努力恢复三个月前启动的和谈，会议原定于明年四月结束，但到目前为止鲜有进展的迹象。周一，以色列媒体报道称克里或将提议和谈协议中设置新的过渡期，但他否认有此计划。

The authorities in Brazil have cancelled a major global football convention Soccerex due to place in the city Rio de Janeiro later this month. The State government said the decision was taken to avoid the use of public funds, the chief executive of Soccrex which brings together thousands of football executives and managers from around the world blamed continuing unrest. The organizers of next year's football world cup due to be held in the city said the protests will not mar⁹ the tournament.

巴西当局取消原定于本月晚些时候在里约热内卢举行的全球足球盛会足球博览会。国家政府称采取此决定是为了避免使用公共资金，将全世界数千名足球总裁和教练聚集这里的足球博览会董事长将之归咎于继续发生的动乱。明年足球世界杯即将在该市举行，其举办者称抗议将不会影响这次比赛。

The Brazilian Justice Minister has defended his country spying activities and said they were completely different from those carried out by the United States. Jose Eduardo Cardoso said the Brazilian agents who were reported to follow and photographed American, Russian and other diplomats¹⁰ in Brazil acted in compliance¹¹ with the law.

巴西司法部长为本国的间谍活动辩护，称这与美国的刺探行为完全不同。若泽·爱德华多·卡多佐说据悉巴西特工在巴西依法对美国、俄罗斯等国外交官进行跟踪和拍照。

I don't say what was done as violation¹² of privacy or rights, and what's done on the national territory. So, if you ask me how does this affect Brazil's image, I would say that there has been no damage. All countries have to do counter espionage¹³, what I can't do is violate the rights of other people, what I can't do is violate the sovereignty of others.

我不能说他们的所为是对隐私或权利的违反，这是在本国领土内的行为。所以如果你问我这会对巴西的影响有什么影响，我会说没有任何损害。每个国家都要进行反间谍，我们不能做的是侵犯他人的权利，不能侵犯他国的主权。

The allegations about the 10-year-old activities by Brazilian agents were leaked in the national press. Recent reports of US email and phone spy on Brazil have prompted the country's president to postpone¹⁴ a visit to Washington.

国家媒体上曝光称巴西特工进行了10年的间谍活动，最近报道称美国对巴西进行邮件和电话间谍，这使得该国总统推迟了华盛顿之行。

The Vatican has taken an unusual step of launch global survey to find out what Roman Catholics really think about the church teachings on marriage and family life. Pope Francis is calling bishops¹⁵ to Roma here this time to discuss possible reform. David Willey in Roma has more details of the survey.

梵蒂冈采取不同寻常的步骤来进行全球调查，希望看看罗马天主教徒对有关婚姻和家庭生活的教堂讲道的真实看法。教皇方济各要求主教们来到罗马讨论可能的改革问题。大卫·维利在罗马报道。

It will cover such formally taboo¹⁶ subjects as how to include the adopted children of gay couples in the church. A question there joined up in Rome seeks to find out, for example, what the Catholics of the 21 century feel about the controversial ban on artificial contraception. The Pope also under pressure particularly from Catholics in Germany to reconsider the church's refusal to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion. The new Vatican buzzword is collegiality and this is something of a revolution.

调查包括正式的禁忌话题，比如同性恋夫妇收养儿童问题。还有个问题就是想知道21世纪的天主教徒如何看待禁止人工避孕这个争议话题。教皇还受到德国天主教徒方面的压力，他们要求他重新考虑教堂拒绝给离婚和再婚的天主教徒圣餐的问题。新教皇的时髦词是“主教与教皇共享权力”，这可算是一个革命。

The Irish government has announced it will hold a referendum on whether to allow same sex marriages. Civil partnership¹⁷ has been legal in Ireland since 2010, but activists¹⁸ have been campaigning to amend¹⁹ the constitution and give gay people equal access to civil marriage.

爱尔兰政府宣布将就是否允许同性婚姻进行公投，2010年起爱尔兰批准民间团体为合法，但活动人士一直希望修改宪法，允许同性恋者享有婚姻的同等权利。

The Mayor of Canada's biggest city Toronto Rob Ford²⁰ has admitted that he once smoke the drug crack cocaine²¹. The mayor surprised admission comes after the months of speculation²² began when the reports service to a video that appeared to show the Mayor smoking the drug. From Toronto Lee Carter reports.

加拿大最大城市多伦多的市长罗柏·福特承认曾吸食过毒品可卡因。市长此举令人吃惊，几个月来这方面的猜疑不断，原因是一段视频显示市长在吸毒。李·卡特在多伦多报道。

Speaking to reporters, Toronto's mayor Rob Ford finally admitted that he had smoked crack cocaine. But he said he was not an addict²³ and insisted that he only tried it once a year ago, in his words probably in a drunken stupor²⁴. The admission just comes days after Mr.Ford's lawyer suggested that the substances that the mayor as apparently²⁵ seems smoking in the video may not have been crack cocaine. One fellow city councillor says he is preparing a motion to suspend the mayor.

多伦多市长罗柏·福特面对记者终于承认曾吸食可卡因，但他说自己不是瘾君子，坚称只是一年前吸过一次，用他的话来说就是在大醉时吸的。就在几天前，福特的律师称市长在视频中吸的东西或许不是可卡因。一位市议员称他准备提议暂停市长的职务。

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

3 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。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 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。

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

9 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

10 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

12 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。

13 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

14 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

15 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

16 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

17 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

18 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》

19 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

20 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。

21 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。

22 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。

23 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

24 stupor   

v.昏迷；不省人事

参考例句：

• As the whisky took effect, he gradually fell into a drunken stupor.随着威士忌酒力发作，他逐渐醉得不省人事。
• The noise of someone banging at the door roused her from her stupor.梆梆的敲门声把她从昏迷中唤醒了。

25 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。