英语听力精选进阶版 7698（在线收听）

The United States has welcomed an announcement by North Korea that it will halt its uranium enrichment programme and suspend nuclear and long-range missile tests. Washington described the measures as a positive first step towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. Steve Kingstone reports.

朝鲜宣布停止核浓缩项目、核及远程导弹试验，美国对此表示欢迎，称这些措施是朝着朝鲜半岛完全无核化的第一步，有积极意义。Steve Kingstone报道。

This announcement follows talks between American and North Korean officials in Beijing. In a written statement, Victoria Nuland of the US State Department said the North Koreans had agreed to suspend uranium enrichment at the Yongbyon nuclear plant and to allow UN inspectors to return to the site. In return, the US is offering 240,000 tonnes of food aid. It's come two months after the death of North Korea's long-standing leader Kim Jong-il. The question now is whether his son and successor Kim Jong-un will engage in broader talks about disarmament.

就在此前，美国和朝鲜官方在北京进行了会谈。美国国务院发言人维多利亚·纽兰称，朝鲜答应停止宁边核工厂的铀浓缩项目，允许联合国检查员返回此地。作为交换条件，美国将向朝鲜提供24吨的粮食援助。朝鲜长期执政的领导人金正日去世已有两月，问题在于，作为他继承人的儿子金正恩是否会扩大裁军会谈。

The South African youth leader Julius Malema has been expelled from the governing African National Congress. Mr Malema says he's been persecuted for advocating that the party should adopt a policy to nationalise mines and replace his former ally President Jacob Zuma as ANC leader. Milton Nkosi reports from South Africa.

南非青年领导人朱利叶斯·马勒马已被逐出执政的非洲国会大会(ANC)，马勒马称自己之所以被迫害，是因为他要求该党采取政策将煤矿国有化，并取代前盟友兼总统雅各布·祖玛担任ANC领导人。Milton Nkosi在南非报道。

In a statement, the chairman of the party's disciplinary committee, Derek Hanekom, said the 30-year-old youth league leader violated the ANC's constitution. The controversial youth leader was sentenced to a five-year suspended sentence in November last year, but he appealed against the sentence. The ANC's appeals committee led by veteran leader and businessman Cyril Ramaphosa looked into his plea and still found him guilty on the charges of sowing divisions within the party and for bringing the ANC into disrepute.

该党纪律委员会主席Derek Hanekom在声明中说，这位30岁的青年联盟领导人违反了ANC的章程。去年11月，这位争议颇多的青年领导人被判5年缓刑，但他上诉反对判决。由资深领导人兼商人Cyril Ramaphosa领导人的ANC上诉委员会调查了他的申诉，不过仍认定他在党内散播分裂，有损ANC的名声。

Syrian government forces are reported to have tried to advance into the district of Baba Amr in Homs as they unleash their heaviest bombardment so far on the area. Government officials said they would clear out opposition fighters in a matter of hours. Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.

Explosions echoed around all parts of Homs as the attack on Baba Amr quarter got underway. Sources on both sides said government troops tried to advance into the embattled quarter on several fronts after weeks of heavy bombardment. Regime officials in Damascus told reporters that clearing out the rebels would only take a few hours and that it had already become a mopping-up operation. But activist postings on the Internet said the Free Syrian Army fighters had repelled repeated attacks by army forces and inflicted heavy losses.

A date has been announced for a presidential election in Egypt a year after Hosni Mubarak was ousted by street protests. The election will be held on 23 and 24 May. The military council that's been governing Egypt since the fall of President Mubarak has come under increasing pressure to honour its promise to hand over power to civilian authorities.

正值穆巴拉克被街头抗议者驱逐一年后，埃及宣布总统大选的日期，即五月23-24日。自穆巴拉克总统倒台以来，一直是军事委员会执政，该委员会曾承诺将权力转交给民选当局，而如今要兑现承诺的时候到了，委员会面临的压力越来越大。

World News from the BBC

Non-governmental organisations operating in Zimbabwe say they will defy a government ban to work in the country. Last weekend at his 88th birthday celebrations, President Robert Mugabe attacked the mainly foreign NGOs for being partisan and ordered them to leave. The NGOs say that intimidation is now happening on a national scale and is being carried out by supporters loyal to the president.

津巴布韦的非政府组织称将违抗政府禁止他们在该国工作的禁令。上周，总统穆加贝在自己88岁生日庆典上，抨击成员多是外国人的非政府组织有所偏袒，并命令他们离开。该组织称整个津巴布韦都在都他们发出恐吓，这些恐吓都是总统的效忠者发出的。

The iPhone and iPod manufacturer Apple is now reckoned to be worth $500bn. Its market capitalisation broke through the $0.5tn mark on the New York Stock Exchange early on Wednesday. Mark Gregory reports.

iPhone和iPod的制造商苹果公司被估算价值5000亿美元。周三早晨，苹果市值在纽约证券交易所突破5000亿美元大关。Mark Gregory报道。

The latest climb in Apple's stock market value came amid reports that it will unveil a next generation of iPad tablet computers next week.

苹果股票市值达到最新成绩之时，有消息称苹果将于下周发布新一代的ipad平板电脑。

Apple was already the world's biggest company measured by the value of its shares, worth about $90bn more than its nearest rival, the oil giant Exxon. And now following another surge in the share price, Apple has become only the sixth American corporation ever to have a market capitalisation of above $500bn.

根据股价衡量，苹果已是世界最大公司，比其劲敌埃克森石油公司要高900亿美元。如今，随着股价的再一次上涨，苹果成为市值超过5000亿美元的六家美国公司之一。

Reports from the Seychelles say the government believes the operation to rescue a stricken cruise liner has been affected because the fishing boat towing it to land refused help from tugboats. The Seychelles' home affairs minister said the financial objectives of the French fishing boat may have been put ahead of the interests of the passengers and crew of the Costa Allegra. A spokesman for the liner said it didn't use the tugs because the fishing vessel guaranteed the smoothest voyage.

来自塞舌尔的报道称，援救一艘受灾游轮的行动受到了影响，原因是拖拉游轮上岸的游船拒绝使用拖船。塞舌尔内政部长称，这艘法国渔船将自己的经济目标放在阿莱格拉海岸号乘客和船员利益之前。游轮发言人称，由于渔船想确保航行顺利，就没有使用拖船。

The British-born singer and songwriter Davy Jones of the 60s pop group, The Monkees, has died. He was an actor and singer on stage and television in Britain before gaining wider recognition as a pop performer. Among The Monkees' hits were Daydream Believer and Last Train to Clarksville. Davy Jones reportedly died of a heart attack in Florida.

英国出生的歌手兼作曲家、60年代流行乐“门基乐队”成员 戴维琼斯去世。在成为一名广泛认可的流行乐手之前，琼斯是一名舞台和电视演员兼歌手。“门基乐队”最受欢迎的歌曲是Daydream Believer和Last Train to Clarksville。据悉戴维琼斯因心脏病在佛罗里达去世。