英语听力精选进阶版 7700（在线收听）

An attempt to rescue a kidnapped British engineer and his Italian colleague in Nigeria has failed, and both are dead. The British Prime Minister David Cameron said early indications were that the hostages were killed by their captors before they could be freed. The men were kidnapped last May. British forces supported the Nigerian-led operation. Our correspondent in Rome Alan Johnston reports on the reaction in Italy.

一起试图营救在尼日利亚被绑架英国工程师和他的意大利同事的努力失败了，两人均已死亡。英国首相戴维德·卡梅隆说，早期的调查表明，两名人质未能获得自由就被其逮捕者杀害了，他们是上周五被绑架的。英国军队支持这次由尼日利亚领导的行动，BBC驻罗马记者Alan Johnston在意大利报道此事的反响。

News of the failed rescue mission was broken here in a statement from the office of the Prime Minister Mario Monti. It described the unfolding of events in very much the same way as the British side did, but it also said that the Italian government has only been informed that military action was being taken after the rescue mission had begun. And this has caused some concern here. A member of parliament, Rosa Calipari, demanded to know why the Italians hadn't been involved in the decision-making process from the start.

这条营救失败的新闻，是由总理马里奥·蒙蒂的办公室公布的。意大利与英国公布消息的方式类似，同时称意大利政府只是得知，军事行动是在营救工作开始后进行的，这就让人产生了担忧。议员Rosa Calipari要求知道为何意大利人一开始就没有参与到决策制定中来。

A deadline for private creditors to join a multi-billion euro Greek bond swap has now passed without an announcement on the outcome of negotiations. Before the deadline, the Greek government had indicated it was confident of completing a deal with investors that could help it avoid defaulting on its huge debts. An official told the BBC correspondent in Athens that he believed some 80% of private creditors would sign up.

私人债权人加入价值数十亿欧元的希腊债券互换的最后期限已到，却没有有关协商结果宣布出来。最后期限之前，希腊政府称，相信能与投资者达成协议，帮助本国在巨额债务上违约。一位官员在雅典告诉BBC记者，他相信有80%的私人债权人会签署协议。

The Kenyan government says it's sacked 25,000 health workers from public hospitals who've been on strike for a week over pay and conditions. A health workers' union has dismissed the action as a negotiating tactic. Will Ross reports from Nairobi.

肯尼亚政府称已从公共医院辞掉2.5万医疗工作者，这些人曾罢工一周，要求增加收入并改善工作条件。一个医疗人员工会称政府此举不过是协商的策略。Will Ross在内罗毕报道。

This appears to be an extraordinarily drastic measure by the Kenyan government. It said the names of 25,000 nurses and lab technicians have been removed from the payroll . They've been on strike for four days demanding better pay. A government spokesman described the strike action as unethical and urged unemployed or retired health workers to turn up on Friday to be interviewed for jobs. The health workers' union dismissed this as a tactic intended to blackmail the striking staff.

这显然是肯尼亚政府极具戏剧性的举措，政府称这2.5万名护士和实验室技工已被从在职人员名单中删掉，这些人罢工四天了，要求提高报酬。政府发言人称罢工是违反职业道德的，并要求失业或退休的医疗人员周五前来应聘。医疗人员工会驳斥此举不过是在要挟罢工人员。

The United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos says she's concerned to find out what's happened to the people of a ruined district of the Syrian city of Homs. She said she was still waiting for the Syrian government to respond to a request to let humanitarian aid in. Jim Muir has this report from Beirut.

Valerie Amos said she was devastated by what she saw during her brief 45-minute visit to Baba Amr on Wednesday.

"The devastation there is significant. That part of Homs is completely destroyed, and I'm concerned to know what has happened to the people who lived in that part of the city."

Activist groups continue to report the summary execution of men from Baba Amr, the butchering of entire families and also the systematic mass rape of women.

World News from the BBC

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has welcomed a statement by President Obama that there's a window of opportunity to solve the Iranian nuclear issue diplomatically. Ayatollah Khamenei said they were good words although he said the US still wanted to bring the Iranian people to their knees through sanctions . But a BBC correspondent points out that Mr Obama said Washington would take no options off the table in order to stop Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.

奥巴马总统宣称，现在有机会用外交手段解决伊朗核问题，伊朗最高领导人Ayatollah Khamenei对此表示欢迎，尽管他说美国仍希望通过制裁来降服伊朗人民。然而，一位BBC记者指出，奥巴马曾说过，美国可能采取军事手段来阻止伊朗得到核武器。

The Pakistani interior minister says the three widows of Osama Bin Laden have been charged with illegally entering and living in Pakistan.

巴基斯坦内政部长称，本拉登的三位遗孀已被指控非法进入并居住巴基斯坦。

The three women, thought to be two Saudi Arabians and a Yemeni, were taken into Pakistani custody after American commandos killed the al-Qaeda leader at his home in Abbottabad last May.

这三名妇女分别是两位沙特阿拉伯人和一位也门人，美军去年五月在本拉登家里杀死这位基地组织领导人后，她们就被送往巴基斯坦接受监禁。

Indigenous protesters in Ecuador have begun a two-week march across the country to demand that the government abandon plans for large-scale mining projects. Several hundreds protesters set off from an Amazon province where a Chinese company has been authorised to develop a huge open-cast copper mine. Ecuador's main indigenous organisation says mining will contaminate water supplies.

A rare "wanted" poster offering a reward for the capture of King Charles II in 1651 has been sold at auction in England for more than $50,000. The poster was issued by the parliament led by Oliver Cromwell towards the end of the English Civil War. Here's Claire Marshall with the details.

一张罕见的1651年悬赏捉拿国王查尔斯二世的海报在英国拍得五万美元，这张海报是奥利弗·克伦威尔领导的议会发布的，时间是英国内战前夕。Claire Marshall报道。

The price went up and up.

价格涨了又涨。

"My hammer's down at ￡33,000. Thank you, sir."

“锤子拍下3.3万英镑，谢谢你，先生。”

Tony Whittaker was the winner.

赢得拍卖的人是Tony Whittaker。

"Is that what you expected to pay?"

“你原本就希望开这个价吗？”

"No, I was told either 1,000 or 4,000."

“不，人家让人开1000到4000。”

"Why did you pay so much for it?"

“那你为何开这么高的价？”

"Well, I doubt she's called Cromwell Manor, and I thought it would look good on the wall even though it's a very expensive wall now."

“我怀疑她会称作'克伦威尔庄园'，我想挂在墙上会很好看的，尽管这面墙这么昂贵。”

Enthusiasts should be pleased that it's staying in the local area so significant to the story of the Civil War.

听说这个在内战中如此重要的物品留在英国当地，渴慕者应该会很高兴的。