英语听力精选进阶版 7525（在线收听）

The last US space shuttle has blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida, bringing an end to the 30-year-old programme. For the first time in half a century, the space agency Nasa has no manned space flights on its agenda. Jonny Dymond witnessed the historic lift-off from the Kennedy Space Center.

美国最后一架航天飞机在佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角发射升空，历时30年的航天飞机项目即将宣告结束。这是半个世纪来美国宇航局NASA日程上首次没有载人太空飞行任务。Jonny Dymond在肯尼迪太空中心亲眼目睹了历史性的发射过程。

"TD CTLS on 212, we're ready to go. All right. Very good."

“TD CTLS在212轨道上，我们已经做好准备。好的，非常好。”

The orbiter's engines fired, then the slim white solid rocket boosters leapt into life; steam billowed from the launch site; two torrents of yellow fire poured from the shuttle; a deep roar took hold of the sky. For half a minute, spectators stood transfixed, and then the last shuttle slipped through the clouds, powering its way towards the stars.

航天飞机的引擎已经点火，这个细长的白色坚固的火箭助推器开始运转，发射地点升起巨大的烟雾，航天飞起喷出两股黄色的火焰，随后吼叫着冲向高空。观众全部屏息凝视，随后，美国最后一艘航天飞机进入云层，飞向国际空间站。

With a few hours to go before south Sudan becomes an independent state, final preparations are underway in the capital Juba. The government in Khartoum has formally recognised its southern neighbour as a new country, but has also confirmed that southern Sudanese will lose the right and nationality in the north. Our correspondent Will Ross is in Juba.

还有几个小时的时间，南苏丹就将成为独立的国家，首都朱巴仍在进行最后的准备工作。喀土穆政府已经正式认可南方为新的国家，但是也证实南苏丹人将失去在北方的权力和国籍。我们的记者Will Ross在朱巴报道。

We're at this roundabout in the middle of Juba. A digital clock is counting down to midnight. South Sudan will start out as one of the poorest nations on the planet, where one in seven children dies before the age of five. That will not change without lasting peace. Thousands of UN peacekeepers will still have to be deployed here, and there are fears of clashes between northern and southern troops along that oil-rich border. The celebrations may be brief. There are so many challenges ahead.

我们现在正在朱巴中部的交叉路口。巨大的数字时钟正在进行倒计时。南苏丹将成为地球上最贫困的国家之一，七分之一的孩子在五岁之前夭折。如果没有持久的和平，这种状况仍然不会改变。联合国仍将在这里部署数千名维和人员。现在仍然担忧南北双方军队在石油丰富的边境地区发生冲突。庆祝仪式可能非常简短。南苏丹仍然面临许多挑战。

The first arrests have taken place in the scandal surrounding Rupert Murdoch's British media empire. Police questioned Andy Coulson, the former editor of the News of the World who later worked as the government communications chief for nine hours, over allegations of corruption and phone hacking by the paper. Mr Coulson has denied any knowledge of the hacking. Another former senior journalist of the paper was arrested in connection with alleged illegal payments to the police.

警方针对默多克英国媒体王国丑闻进行了首次逮捕活动。警方对《世界新闻报》前编辑，随后担任政府新闻联络官的Andy Coulson进行了九个小时的审讯，针对该报纸腐败和窃听电话的指控进行了详细盘问。Andy Coulson否认了解窃听的行为。该报另外一名前资深记者因非法向警方行贿的指控被捕。

A group of British aid agencies has launched a joint fundraising appeal to help more than 10 million people affected by the severe drought in the Horn of Africa. The Disasters Emergency Committee says about 1,300 people every day are trekking across Somalia to the Dadaab refugee camp in eastern Kenya, from where Ben Brown reports.

一些英国援助机构发起了联合募捐活动，帮助非洲之角受到严重的干旱影响的超过1000万人。灾难应急委员会(Disasters Emergency Committee)表示，每天大约有1,300人穿越索马里到达肯尼亚东部的Dadaab难民营。Ben Brown报道。

There are well over 380,000 people here now, and some have to wait for days or even weeks before they get regular rations of food. Relief workers are hearing harrowing stories of mothers who had to abandon their weakest child on the long track to get here from Somalia. And even once they are in this camp, some mothers are prepared, say aid workers, to let their most malnourished child die if that means she can save her other children.

现在，这个难民营已有超过380,000人，其中一些必须等待几天甚至几周的时间才能获得有规律的食物配额。救援工作者听到了许多悲惨的故事，例如，母亲从索马里来这里的途中不得不遗弃最虚弱的孩子。即使他们到达难民营，一些母亲也已经做好准备，如果要挽救其他孩子，必须让最营养不良的孩子死掉。

You're listening to the latest World News from the BBC.

A Congolese airliner has crashed in the eastern city of Kisangani, killing at least 46 people. There are conflicting reports about the number of passengers on board, and the number of those killed could be higher. From Kinshasa, Thomas Hubert reports.

刚果一架飞机在东部城市基桑加尼坠毁，造成至少46人死亡。关于机上乘客的数量出现了互相冲突的报道，遇难者人数可能会更高。金沙萨，Thomas Hubert报道。

The Boeing 727 was operated by the Congolese airline Hewa Bora, one of the few passenger carriers flying to Kisangani, the third largest city in the DRC. Company and Congolese government sources said that the aircraft was caught in a storm. The transport minister said it crashed 300 metres from the runway. A Kisangani resident said the plane had broken into three pieces.

这架波音727飞机由荷瓦波拉航空公司运营，这是飞往刚果民主共和国第三大城市基桑加尼的少数几架客机之一。航空公司和刚果政府消息来源称，飞机飞行途中遭遇暴雨。交通部长表示，这架航班在距离跑道300米的位置坠毁。基桑加尼一位居民表示，飞机被被撞成三部分。

Libyan rebels say they have made significant gains in the west of the country, advancing up to 8km towards the strategically important town of Zlitan. The frontline near the rebel-held town of Misrata had been stationary for six weeks, and the rebels believe their progress opens the way for a faster assault on the capital Tripoli.

利比亚叛军表示，他们在国家西部取得了重大进展，向战略上非常重要的利坦推进了8千米。位于叛军控制的米苏拉塔附近的这条战线已经巩固了六周的时间。叛军相信，他们的进展为加快对首都的黎波里的进攻开辟了道路。

State media in Venezuela say prisoners who took control of a jail near the capital Caracas three weeks ago have released 148 fellow inmates whom they were allegedly holding hostage. Venezuelan officials say a small gang of inmates is terrorising the rest of the prison population. But relatives of the prisoners say the men were resisting a massive police operation aimed at getting rid of the gangs.

委内瑞拉国家媒体表示，三周前控制了首都加拉加斯附近一座监狱的囚犯释放了他们所劫持的148名犯人。委内瑞拉官员表示，一小部分监狱暴徒对其他犯人实施了恐怖主义活动。但是这些囚犯的亲属表示，这些人是为了抵抗警方旨在取缔该团伙的大规模行动。

The Cuban guitarist Manuel Galban, a member of the world-famous Cuban music collective, the Buena Vista Social Club, has died in Havana. He was 80. The official Granma newspaper called him the "master of the guitar". Manuel Galban was part of the popular fusion group Los Zafiros, which combined Cuban music with doo-wop and rock. Galban's collaboration with the American guitarist Ry Cooder on the album Mambo Sinuendo won him a Grammy award.

古巴吉他手，世界闻名的古巴音乐俱乐部林荫道俱乐部成员曼努埃尔·加尔班(Manuel Galban)在哈瓦那去世，享年80岁。古巴官方报纸格兰玛报称他是“吉他大师”。曼努埃尔·加尔班(Manuel Galban)是混合乐队Los Zafiros的成员，将古巴音乐，杜·沃谱音乐和摇滚音乐相结合。加尔班与美国吉他手瑞·库德合作的专辑Mambo Sinuendo使他获得了格莱美奖。