英语听力精选进阶版 7435（在线收听）

President Obama has said he does not rule out supplying American weapons to opposition figures in Libya. In a series of television interviews, he says he’s looking at all options in the current crisis. He said that Colonel Gaddafi was greatly weakened. Steve Kingstone reports from Washington.

奥巴马总统表示，他并不排除美国向利比亚反对派力量提供武器的可能性。在一系列电视采访中，奥巴马表示，面对目前的危机，他正在审查一切选择。他表示，卡扎菲上校的力量已经被大大的削弱。Steve Kingstone在华盛顿报道。

Barack Obama was repeatedly pressed on whether he would supply the Libyan rebels with US military hardware. “I’m not ruling it out, but I’m also not ruling it in.” he replied, stressing that all options were being examined. The president confirmed that America would supply what he called “non-lethal assistance” to the opposition--humanitarian aid, medical supplies and communications equipments. He said coalition military action had left Colonel Gaddafi on his heels and greatly weakened and added that it was his expectation that the Libyan leader would ultimately step down.

关于是否向利比亚叛军提供美国军事武器，奥巴马总统在反复斟酌。“我并不排除这种可能性，但是现在也没有考虑这种方法。”他强调说，现在正在考虑一切可能的方法。总统确认，美国将会为反对派提供他所说的“非致命性的援助”——人道主义救助，医疗物资和通讯设备。他表示，联合军事行动已经使卡扎菲上校步履维艰，力量受到削弱。奥巴马还补充说，他希望这位利比亚领袖最终能够下台。

Earlier, the British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that the coalition forces might allow equipments to be sent to people in Libya to defend themselves. He was speaking after an international conference on Libya in London. While as the talks took place in London, forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi launched a new offensive in eastern Libya, driving out rebels from towns they had recently captured. The BBC’s Ben Brown in the eastern town of Ajdabiya says the rebels have had a very bad day.

此前，英国外交大臣威廉·黑格(William Hague)表示，联合部队可能允许向利比亚人民运送武器来自卫。他在伦敦举行的关于利比亚的国际会议之后发表讲话。会谈在伦敦举行的时候，忠于卡扎菲上校的力量在利比亚东部发动了新的进攻，将叛军驱逐出他们最近刚刚占领的城镇。目前正在利比亚东部城镇艾季达比耶的BBC记者Ben Brown表示，叛军遭遇了非常糟糕的一天。

Colonel Gaddafi’s forces hit back very hard indeed. Around the town of Bin Jawad, there’s been ferocious fighting there. The rebels, hundreds of them up at the front line, fired Katyusha rockets among other things at the Gaddafi forces. The Gaddafi fighters hitting back with heavy weapons. But the upshot is that the rebels have had to retreat from Bin Jawad and also where here in from Ras Lanuf as well, an important oil town with a large oil refinery.

卡扎菲的军队发动了非常猛烈的反攻。斌贾瓦德周围发生了激烈的战斗。前线的数百名叛军用喀秋莎火箭炮和其他武器向卡扎菲的部队开火。卡扎菲的战士用重武器回击。但是结果是，叛军最后被迫撤出斌贾瓦德和石油重镇拉斯拉努夫。

Other news now. And Laurent Gbago, the leader of Ivory Coast who refused to step down following elections last year, has appealed for an immediate ceasefire in the face of advances by opposition forces. His spokesman called for talks mediated by the African Union. John James reports from Bouake.

现在看一下其他新闻。去年的选举后拒绝辞职的科特迪瓦领袖巴博(Laurent Gbago)面对反对派力量的不断推进呼吁立即停火。他的发言人要求在非洲联盟的调停下进行对话。John James在布瓦凯报道。

As the pro-Ouattara fighters move south, they meeting very little resistance from the official state forces publicly at least remain loyal to President Gbagbo. In the major western town of Daloa in the heart of the country’s cocoa-producing region, pro-Ouattara forces captured a major army barracks without much of a fight. On further south, the town of Issia was abandoned by the security forces before the pro-Ouattara fighters arrived. From there, only the town of Soubre remains before fighters reach the coast and the key port of San Pedro. In the east, on the border with Ghana, progress has been even faster.

随着支持瓦塔拉的战士不断向南推进，他们几乎没有遭遇巴博总统部队的抵抗，至少没有公开的抵抗。在盛产可可地区中心的西部重要城镇达洛亚，支持瓦塔拉的力量几乎不费一兵一卒就占领了一个大型军营。进一步往南，在支持瓦塔拉的力量抵达之前，伊西亚的安全力量弃城而逃。在战士们抵达海岸地区占领关键港口圣佩德罗之前只剩下Soubre镇。在东部与加纳的边境处，反对派力量取得了更大的进展。

Iraqi officials have said they believe Sunni militants linked to al-Qaeda were responsible for a bloody siege on Tuesday, in which more than 50 people were killed. The violence took place at a local government building in Tikrit. A fierce gun battle ended when the attackers, numbering about eight, blew themselves up.

伊拉克官员表示，他们相信，与基地组织有关的逊尼派好战分子应该为周二造成50多人死亡的血腥围攻负责。暴力发生在提克里特一座当地政府建筑。大约8名袭击者将自己引爆之后，激烈的枪战终于结束。

World News from the BBC.

The United States Supreme Court has been hearing evidence on whether a major sex discrimination case can go ahead against the retail giant Wal-Mart. A group of former Wal-Mart employees want to bring a class action lawsuit on behalf of more than a million women who work for the company. Rajini Vaidyanathan now reports from Washington.

美国最高法院正在听取证据，以便决定关于零售巨头沃尔玛的性别歧视案件是否继续进行。一些前沃尔玛雇员代表曾为该公司工作的100多万名女性提起集体诉讼。Rajini Vaidyanathan在华盛顿报道。

In one corner, it’s the world’s largest retailer; in the other, a group of its own employees. Six women who worked for the company Wal-Mart alleged they were unfairly overlooked for pay rises and promotion in favour of less experienced male colleagues. If the Supreme Court decides it should go ahead, it would mean more than a million women who’ve worked for the retail store since 1998 would be eligible for a pay-out. Wal-Mart denies any claims of sexism, saying it’s won awards for its female-friendly policies and it has many senior women employees.

一边是世界上最大的零售商，另外一边是该公司的雇员。曾经在沃尔玛工作过的六名女性声称她们在薪资待遇和提升机会方面受到不公平的对待，低于经验不足的男性同事。如果最高法院决定该案件可以继续，这将意味着从1998年开始为沃尔玛工作的超过100万名女性有资格获得赔偿。沃尔玛否认关于性别歧视的任何指控。他们称公司曾经因为女性友好的政策受到表彰，而且拥有许多女性高级职员。

An American university says it will appeal against the decision to fine it over a campus rampage in 2007 by a gunman, who killed 32 people. The US Department of Education levied the maximum $55,000 fine, accusing the authorities at Virginia Tech of waiting too long to notify students that a gunman was on the loose.

美国一所大学因2007年持枪分子造成32人死亡的校园惨案而被处罚款。这所大学宣称要上诉。美国教育部提出最高55,000美元的罚款，指控弗吉尼亚理工大学未及时通知学生们持枪分子正在逃窜。

A major investigation is underway in Britain into how a fake bomb was transported on the UPS cargo plane from Britain to Turkey without being detected. The package was placed inside a wedding cake box. A British government spokesman said that the incident was being treated very seriously and there would be an examination of carriage procedures.

英国正在进行一场重大调查，检查一枚虚假炸弹是怎样搭乘从英国飞往土耳其的联合包裹服务公司(UPS)而未被检测到的。这个包裹装在一个婚礼蛋糕盒内。英国政府一名发言人表示，他们严肃对待该事故，将对运输程序进行检查。

The former United States President Jimmy Carter has held talks in Havana with the Cuban leader Raul Castro. Details of the meeting have not been made public. Mr Carter said he’d earlier had talks with officials about an imprisoned American communications contractor Alan Gross, but stressed he’d not come to secure his release. The case has raised tensions between Havana and Washington.

美国前总统卡特在哈瓦那与古巴领袖罗尔·卡斯特罗举行了会谈。关于这次会谈的细节并没有公布。卡特表示，他此前与官员们讨论了被关押的美国通讯承包商Alan Gross的问题。他说，他此行并不是为了让古巴将此人释放。但是该事件却使哈瓦那和华盛顿之间的关系紧张起来。