英语听力精选进阶版 7664（在线收听）

There's been widespread international condemnation of the Christmas Day bomb attacks in Nigeria that have killed almost 40 people. Thirty-five people were killed in the first bomb blast at a Roman Catholic church near Abuja; four others died in attacks elsewhere in the country. Brenda Marshall has this report.

尼日利亚至少40人在圣诞节发生的自杀式炸弹袭击中死亡，国际社会普遍对此表示谴责。第一次爆炸发生在阿布贾附近一所罗马天主教堂附近，35人死亡，另外4人在该国其他地区的袭击中死亡。Brenda Marshall报道。

Describing the attacks as "senseless violence", the White House offered condolences to those who had lost loved ones and help for Nigeria to bring those responsible to justice. Political leaders in Britain, France, Germany and Italy decried the attacks as "cowardly". The Vatican called the bombings absurd "terrorist violence" that inflamed hatred. The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria condemned them as "barbaric". The militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which is locked in a violent struggle with the Nigerian authorities, said it carried out the attacks.

白宫称这些袭击为“丧尽天良的暴力事件”，向失去亲人者表达吊唁，并帮助尼日利亚将凶手归案受审。英国、法国、德国和意大利的政治领导人纷纷谴责这些袭击事件，称之为“懦夫的行为”。梵蒂冈称这些爆炸事件很荒唐，这样的“恐怖暴力”会引发仇恨。尼日利亚基督协会会长谴责这是“野蛮的行为”。与尼日利亚当局相峙激烈斗争很久的博科圣地组织表示这些袭击是自己所为。

The American Vice-President Joe Biden has called the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss recent violence and political turmoil. Tensions have increased in Iraq since an arrest warrant was issued against the Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi over allegations he had run hit squads - charges he strongly denies. Shahzeb Jillani reports.

美国副总统乔·拜登邀请伊拉克总理努里·马利基讨论最近的暴力事件和政治困境。自从发布对逊尼派副总统哈希米的逮捕令后，伊拉克紧张局势加剧。哈希米被指控组织袭击小组，他对此极力否认。Shahzeb Jillani报道。

Mr Biden's phone call to the Iraqi prime minister on Christmas Day followed an earlier conversation he had with the Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani. Washington is keen to ensure Iraq's national unity government survives recent tensions. Along with a spate of attacks in the capital Baghdad, in which 60 people were killed last week, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's dispute with his Sunni coalition partners has created a major crisis. There are growing fears that with last American soldier gone from Iraq, the country could descend into an all-out sectarian conflict.

拜登早些时候曾与库尔德领导人Massoud Barzani会谈过，然后在圣诞节致电伊拉克总理。华盛顿当局很关心伊拉克民族团结政府是否渡过最近的紧张局势，上周首都巴格达发生系列袭击事件，60人死亡，加之总理努里·马利基与其逊尼派同盟伙伴发生争执，这些事件造成巨大危机。人们越来越担心，随着最后一批美国士兵离开伊拉克，伊拉克会陷入全面的宗派冲突中。

Sudan says fighting is continuing in a region near north Darfur where government forces have killed a key rebel leader, Khalil Ibrahim, and 30 of his fighters. A spokesman for the rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, admitted their leader was killed in an air strike on Friday. A spokesman for the Sudanese army, Lieutenant al-Sawarmi Khaled, said Mr Ibrahim had died from his wounds.

苏丹称北达尔富尔附近地区的冲突仍在继续，政府军杀死叛军重要头目Khalil Ibrahim和30名武装分子。叛军组织“公正与平等运动”发言人承认其领导人在周五的空袭中死亡，苏丹军方发言人陆军中尉al-Sawarmi Khaled称Ibrahim因重伤死亡。

"The battle was fought on Thursday, and the armed forces were able to destroy this group. Some managed to escape whilst others were injured. Amongst those injured seriously was the leader of the renegade movement. He was fatally wounded during the battle, but he did not die at the time."

“战斗发生在周四，武装部队有能力摧毁这个叛乱组织。叛乱组织的一部分成员设法逃走了，其他的受了伤。受伤最重的是该组织的领导人。他在战斗中受了致命伤，但当时并没有身亡。”

Thousands of people have again taken to the streets of the Yemeni capital Sanaa. The protest was against the killing of at least nine people on Saturday alleged to have been shot by security forces who fired on demonstrators demanding that the immunity from prosecution granted to the outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh be revoked.

上周六，安全部队向那些要求撤销欲离开也门避难的前总统萨利赫豁免权的示威者开枪，至少9人死亡。为此，成千上万的民众再次走上也门首都萨那街头进行抗议。

World News from the BBC

At least 12 people have been killed after a boat capsized in a lake in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Reports said the boat was carrying 25 people on a scenic tour of the lake near the state capital Chennai.

一艘船只在印度南部城市泰米尔纳德邦湖中倾覆，至少12人丧生。据悉，该船只共载有25人，当时是在湖上观光首府陈奈。

The former Pakistani cricketer and opposition politician Imran Khan has addressed tens of thousands of his supporters in Pakistan's biggest city Karachi. Mr Khan demanded strong measures to tackle corruption and called for a change in Pakistan's political culture. Our correspondent Aleem Maqbool was at the rally. He told us about Mr Khan's chances of success.

巴基斯坦队前板球运动员兼反对派政治家Imran Khan在巴基斯坦最大的城市卡拉奇向成千上万的支持者做了演讲。讲话中，Khan强烈要求对贪污腐败行为采取强硬措施，呼吁改变巴基斯坦的政治文化。BBC驻地记者Aleem Maqbool参加了此次集会。他向我们讲述了Mr Khan的成功可能性。

The question keeps coming up as to whether he has the practical solutions to back up all of this rhetoric. And I still think for a lot of Pakistanis, he hasn't answered a lot of those questions. But for the crowds here today, who are frankly euphoric, I mean they really see that this is suddenly a man who could be a future leader.

一直都存在着这样一个问题，即他是否真的能拿出切实的方法来支撑他的此番言论。另外就是众多的巴基斯坦人民，他并未对他们的需求做出回应。但是，对于今天聚集在这里的满心欢喜的人们来说，我的意思是说他们真正的认为这个人将来会成为他们的领袖。

Police in the northern Afghan city of Taloqan say at least 19 people have been killed in a bomb explosion. Many more people are said to have been injured. The bombing was carried out during a funeral. A senior police official said a suicide attacker targeted a member of parliament, Mutalib Beg, who was killed in the blast.

阿富汗北部城市塔洛坎警方称至少有19人在一葬礼途中的爆炸事件中丧生，另有多人受伤。一位高级警官称袭击者的目标是议会成员Mutalib Beg，该议员在袭击中丧生。

Queen Elizabeth has focused on the importance of families and friendship in her Christmas message, which was broadcast as her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, recovered in hospital from a heart operation. She said it was in hardship that people found strength from their families and in adversity that new friendships were formed.

伊丽莎白女王的丈夫爱丁堡公爵心脏手术后已有所康复，现仍在医院。因此，在今年圣诞播出的女王的圣诞感言中，女王更加关注家庭及友情的重要性。女王说道，身处困境时，人们往往能从他们的家庭获得力量；身处不幸当中，人们能建立起新的友情。

A choir of wives of British soldiers serving in Afghanistan has topped the British singles chart to take the Christmas No. 1 spot. The song Wherever You Are was written using excerpts from letters sent between military couples.

一首由在阿富汗服役的士兵们的妻子们合唱的歌曲登上了今年英国圣诞单曲排行榜榜首。该曲“Wherever You Are”是从军人夫妇们往来的信件中摘录而来。