英语听力精选进阶版 7383（在线收听）

The United States has urged the Egyptian authorities to implement political and economic reforms as they face continuing anti-government protests. The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the government had an important opportunity to respond to what she called the legitimate needs and aspirations of the Egyptian people. Earlier, police used tear gas in Cairo against thousands of demonstrators. Here's Paul Adams.

埃及面临持续的反政府抗议活动，联合国敦促埃及当局实施政治和经济改革。美国国务卿希拉里·克林顿表示，政府现在面临一个重要的机会对埃及人民的合法需求和雄心壮志作出回应。此前，埃及警方使用催泪弹驱散数千名示威者。Paul Adams报道。

It's clear that Washington is watching events on the streets of its most populous Arab ally with growing concern. It's not just that the US worries about the destabilising potential of violent unrest at the heart of the Arab world at a time when President Mubarak's days in office are gradually drawing to a close. Egypt is also a key political and military ally in the region.

很明显，华盛顿越来越忧虑地关注着这个人口最多的阿拉伯盟国的街头抗议事件。穆巴拉克总统的执政已经趋于尾声，美国不仅仅担心阿拉伯世界中心发生暴力动荡的可能性。埃及也是该地区关键的政治和军事盟国。

The US Congressional Budget Office says the federal budget deficit is likely to hit an all-time high of nearly $1.5tn. It said this was nearly 40% above earlier predictions. Here's Andrew Walker.

美国国会预算办公室表示，联邦预算赤字有可能达到接近1.5兆美元。他们表示，这比此前的估计高出40%。Andrew Walker报道。

The financial crisis and the resulting recession did extensive damage to the US government finances. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the CBO, it's now on course for the third consecutive year of borrowing more than $1tn. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama acknowledged the need to reduce the deficit. It could fall sharply over the next few years if tax breaks and spending policies expire as planned. But they have already been extended, and there'll be political pressure for that to happen again.

金融危机和由此产生的经济衰退对美国政府财政造成了广泛的影响。据国会预算办公室所说，美国现在即将连续三年借贷超过1兆美元。在周二的国情咨文讲话中，奥巴马总统承认削减赤字的必要性。未来的几年，如果减税政策和支出政策按照计划过期，赤字会锐减。但是这两项政策均已延期，要再次实施这项政策将面临极大的政治压力。

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for global action to fight terrorism. He was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland just two days after a bomb blast at Moscow's main international airport killed 35 people.

俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫呼吁全球采取行动打击恐怖主义。莫斯科主要的国际机场发生炸弹爆炸造成35人死亡两天之后，梅德韦杰夫总统在瑞士世界经济论坛上发表讲话。

The BBC World Service has announced big cuts to its staff and services because of reduced government funding. Five language sections will close down while some others will stop broadcasting on radio and focus instead on the Internet. Six hundred and fifty jobs will be lost.

由于政府预算削减，BBC世界服务宣布大幅裁员并减少服务项目。五种语言服务将关闭，而其他一些将关闭广播服务，转而集中在互联网方面。650人将失去工作岗位。

An explosion at a coal mine in northeastern Colombia has killed at least 20 people. Rescuers are trying to reach the bodies and to find other miners reported missing. Reporting from Colombia, Jeremy McDermott.

哥伦比亚东北部一座煤矿发生爆炸，造成至少20人死亡。救援人员正试图寻找遇难者和其他失踪矿工。Jeremy McDermott在哥伦比亚报道。

There was a shift change taking place as an explosion ripped through the coal mine in Sardinata in Norte de Santander province. A build-up of gases is being blamed for the explosion at the small mine which feeds domestic consumption. The facilities at the mine are rudimentary with only basic safety measures in place. Despite a similar accident in February 2007 which cost the lives of 31 miners, few precautions are taken.

北桑坦德省沙迪纳塔自治市一座煤矿正在换班的时候发生了爆炸。这座煤矿主要是为了满足国内需求，据称造成爆炸的原因是气体累积。煤矿的设施非常不发达，只有基础的安全措施。尽管2007年2月份发生的类似的矿难造成31名矿工死亡，相关部门却没有采取预防措施。

The governing party in Haiti has confirmed that it's withdrawing its candidate Jude Celestin from the second round of the presidential election. Mr Celestin has been under international pressure to quit after monitors found that first round results were rigged in his favour.

海地执政党证实他们的候选人汝德·塞莱斯廷(Jude Celestin)将不参加第二轮总统选举。选举监督人员发现第一轮选举被塞莱斯廷的支持者操纵之后，塞莱斯廷遭受着巨大的国际压力。

You are listening to the latest World News from the BBC.

Executives of the Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell have been defending their Nigerian operations at a parliamentary hearing in the Netherlands. Its Dutch president Peter de Wit said the company was doing a good job under difficult circumstances. Amnesty International accused Shell of abusing human rights and failing to clean up environmental damage.

英荷皇家壳牌公司在荷兰议会听证会上为他们在尼日利亚的业务作出辩护。该公司的荷兰总裁彼得·德·威特(Peter de Wit)表示，该公司在艰难的环境下表现出众。国际特赦法庭指控壳牌石油公司践踏人权，未处理环境破坏问题。

An opposition leader in Gabon has taken refuge in the United Nations compound after declaring himself the legitimate president of the country. Andre Mba Obame said he'd been inspired by power struggles in Tunisia and Ivory Coast, but Gabon's government has now dissolved his party. Here's Barbara Plett.

加蓬反对派一名领袖宣称自己是该国合法的总统之后在联合国建筑中避难。Andre Mba Obame说，他由于突尼斯和科特迪瓦的权利更迭受到鼓舞。但是加蓬政府现在已经解散了他的政党。Barbara Plett报道。

The opposition leader has always claimed to have won elections that were held in 2009. His move now appears to have been inspired by the political struggles in Tunisia and Ivory Coast. In Ivory Coast, the UN is guarding the internationally recognised President Alassane Ouattara because his rival refuses to cede power after contentious elections. The African Union has played a crucial role in supporting Mr Ouattara, but in the case of Gabon, it's expressed surprise and concern, noting that the 2009 election was monitored by international observers. A statement issued by the organisation said it was extremely worried by the tendency toward multiple crises in Africa linked to elections and governance.

这位反对派领袖一直宣称自己赢得了2009年的选举。他的举动现在似乎受到了突尼斯和科特迪瓦政治动荡的鼓舞。在科特迪瓦，联合国正在保护国际社会认可的总统瓦塔拉，因为他的竞争对手在有争议的选举之后拒绝出让权利。非洲联盟在支持瓦塔拉方面发挥着关键的作用。但是在 加蓬，非洲联盟则表示惊讶和担忧，它指出，2009年的选举由国际观察员进行监督。该组织发表的一份声明称，他们对非洲发生的鱼选举和执政有关的多起危机的趋势感到非常担忧。

Germany has suspended its annual payment of more than $270m to the Global Fund against Aids, tuberculosis and malaria following allegations of corruption. Germany is the third biggest contributor to the UN-backed fund. It's been alleged that the fund's controls are poor in some countries.

在爆出关于腐败的指控之后，德国暂停向全球基金提供每年支付的用于援助，肺结核和疟疾的2.7亿美元资金。德国是该联合国支持的基金的第三大捐赠者。据称，该基金在某些国家的管理情况非常糟糕。

The Hubble Space Telescope has detected what astronomers think may be the oldest galaxy ever observed. The fuzzy picture shows a cluster of stars dating back to shortly after the birth of the Universe, an event known as the Big Bang. The galaxy is thought to be more than 13 billion years old. One researcher said the image was from a time when new star systems had been forming at an astonishing rate.

哈勃太空望远镜检测到宇航员认为的目前为止观察到的最古老的星系。这张模糊的图片显示了可以追溯到宇宙大爆炸之前的一些恒星。据认为，该星系已经有超过130亿