英语听力精选进阶版 13891

Confronting witchcraft¹ in Britain

Summary

16 August 2012

In Britain there are signs that child cruelty linked to spiritual beliefs is a growing phenomenon. There have been a number of cases of ritual torture and killings² involving children, mainly in families from the African community. Now the British government has released an action plan to try to confront the problem.

Reporter:

Tom Esslemont

Report

There have been some shocking cases of violent child abuse in Britain in recent years. To mention just two: Kristy Bamu was murdered in 2010 because his attackers thought he was a witch. He was 15. And then there was the gruesome case of the headless torso belonging to a five or six-year-old boy found in the River Thames a decade ago. 

In trying to tackle the problem, the government has brought together faith leaders, charities, the police and social workers. Under its new action plan it urges closer cooperation between these groups. Those critical of the plan, while welcoming it as an important step, say more faith leaders need to acknowledge the problem of ritual killings. 

Despite the differences of opinion which exist, the government says it will now help provide support to those who witness such activity. It also says it wants to appoint mentors³ – people who can listen to members of affected⁴ communities. But the government admits that more research is needed for the problem to be properly eradicated⁵.

1 witchcraft   

n.魔法，巫术

参考例句：

• The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。
• All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。

2 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。

3 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。