英语听力精选进阶版 7709（在线收听）

The Vatican says Pope Benedict has met the former President of Cuba, Fidel Castro, who led the 1959 revolution which made Cuba officially atheist . The meeting between the Pope and Mr Castro was described by the Vatican as "animated and cordial". Earlier, up to 300,000 people attended a Mass celebrated in Revolution Square in Havana, from where Sarah Rainsford reports.

梵蒂冈称班尼迪克教皇会见了古巴总统卡斯特罗，卡斯特罗领导了古巴1959年的革命，从此使古巴正式成为无神论国家。据悉，教皇和卡斯特罗的会面“活泼又热情”。早些时候，30万民众在哈瓦那革命广场参加了弥撒，Sarah Rainsford在哈瓦那报道。

Pope Benedict was greeted in Revolution Square by a vast crowd shouting and waving as he toured the plaza in his Popemobile. There were groups of Catholics from their parishes, plenty of Cubans just curious and others, including students who said they had been told to be there. He used his homily during Mass to deliver what's become the theme of this visit, urging Cuba along the path to renewal and change. The Pope praised progress on freedom of religion here, but he called for more, including religious teaching in universities and schools.

班尼迪克乘坐在他的教皇座车来到广场巡游，蜂拥的民众高呼着欢迎他，并对他挥手致意。这里教区里有多个基督教群体，许多古巴人出于好奇也来观看，还有学生们，他们说是被要求来这儿的。教皇在做弥撒时进行布道，这也是此行的主题，他敦促古巴进行革新和变革。教皇赞扬古巴宗教自由的发展，但他希望有更多自由，包括在大学和学校里传授宗教课。

The United States says President Assad of Syria has already reneged on his promise to accept the UN-Arab League peace plan. Yesterday, Damascus said it approved the plan, but the State Department spokeswoman in Washington, Victoria Nuland, said no action had been taken.

美国称叙利亚阿萨德总统未能履行他接受联合国阿盟和平方案的许诺，昨天，大马士革称已批准该方案，但华盛顿国务院女发言人Victoria Nuland称叙利亚并未采取任何行动。

"Certainly we have not seen the promises that Assad made implemented. The joint special envoy is continuing his work; his technical team continues its work in Syria. We will have the Friends of the Syrian People meeting this weekend. So it's incumbent on all of us to keep the pressure on Assad to meet the commitment that he's made, and that's our intention over the next few days."

“我们看到阿萨德并未履行承诺，这支联合特别使团仍在试图说服阿萨德，而阿萨德的技术团队仍在叙利亚继续工作。本周我们将会见‘叙利亚人民之友’组织，因此，我们有义务对阿萨德施压，使其兑现承诺，这也是未来几天我们的目的。”

The plan, brokered by Kofi Annan, calls for a UN-monitored end to the fighting, the pull-out of government troops from opposition cities and humanitarian access.

这项方案是科菲·安南从中斡旋的，呼吁在联合国的监督下结束战争，要求政府军从反对派城市撤出，并允许人道主义援助进入。

The discovery of eight fossilised foot bones in Ethiopia 3.4 million years old has given scientists a rare insight into the evolution of humans and their ability to walk. Jonathan Amos reports.

8个3.4百万年前的脚骨化石在埃塞俄比亚被发掘，这给科学家在研究人类进化和直立行走能力上提供难得的思路。Jonathan Amos报道。

The eight small bones of a right foot unearthed in the Afar region of central Ethiopia are an important discovery. Scientists know of one human ancestor that lived in this location 3.4 million years ago: the creature famously dubbed "Lucy", whose skeleton displayed a clear preference to walk upright - a key marker of what it is to be human. But researchers tell the journal Nature these new bones are not from Lucy. They are more primitive with a big toe that could grasp branches in a tree. Nonetheless, they too show an ability to walk upright on occasions albeit with a different gait.

在埃塞俄比亚中部阿法尔地区发掘的这八个右脚的小骨头是个重大发现，科学家知道3.4百万年前，人类的一个祖先就在这里生活，人们给这种生物取名为“露西”，从这类动物的骨骼来看，很显然它们更喜欢直立行走，这也是成为人类的一个重要标志。但研究者对《科学》杂志表示，这些新发掘的骨头并不是“露西”的。这种生物更原始，有一个脚趾很大，可以在树上抓住树枝。而且，这些动物还可以不同的步态直立行走。

The deposed President of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure, says he's safe and in the capital Bamako. He didn't give his precise location, but said he isn't being held by the soldiers who staged last week's coup. Mr Toure's whereabouts hadn't been known previously. Thousands of people marched through the streets of Bamako today in support of the coup, chanting slogans against the West African regional grouping Ecowas.

马里被废黜总统Amadou Toumani Toure称自己很安全，现身在首都巴马科。他并没说出自己的确切地址，但也表示，自己也不在那些上周发动政变的军人手中。此前Toure的下落不明。数千民众在巴马科大街上集会支持政变，高呼口号反对西非地区组织西非国家共同体。

World News from the BBC

Mobile phone charges for use abroad are set to fall drastically across Europe following a deal between the European Parliament and EU governments. Until now, there's been no limit to the amount you can be charged, and especially people using their phones for downloading data have often faced enormous bills. Chris Morris reports.

欧洲议会和欧盟各国政府签署一项协议，从此，贯穿欧洲的国际话费将大幅度下降。到目前为止，电话费尚无最高限制，尤其对于那些用手机下载资料的人，经常要面对高额的收费单。Chris Morris报道。

We've all heard horrid stories of people returning from a trip abroad with an enormous mobile bill. Under the new deal, a cap of 70 euro cents per megabyte will be set, which will fall to 20 cents by 2014. The cost of making and receiving mobile phone calls or sending texts will also come down sharply. Europe's big mobile providers aren't desperately happy they will lose revenue. And the EU is also introducing greater competition, allowing consumers to sign up with one provider for domestic calls and data, and another one when they are abroad all on the same number.

我们经常听说，那些从国外旅行回来的人话费高的惊人。而新协议规定每兆字节收费不得超过70欧分，2014年前将下降20欧分。这样一来，打电话、接电话或发送短信的费用也会大幅下降。欧洲最大的手机供应商因收入减少会很不高兴的。欧盟还会引进竞争，允许消费者同一个供应商娴熟国内电话和数据协议，而在国外时与另一家供应商签署协议，而且用的是同一个号码。

Prosecutors in Chile say they'll seek murder charges against four suspected neo-Nazis accused of brutally attacking and killing a young gay man. Hundreds of people in the Chilean capital Santiago attended a vigil for the man Daniel Zamudio, who died 25 days after the assault in which his attackers carved swastikas into his body.

智利检察官称，将调查一项指控四名新纳粹嫌犯残忍袭击并杀害一名年轻同性恋男子的谋杀案，在智利首都圣地亚哥，数百人为男子Daniel Zamudio守夜，他于25天前遭受袭击，袭击者在他身体上刻下纳粹的万十字章。

Doctors treating the former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva say his throat cancer is in complete remission. A statement by doctors said there was no longer any sign of a visible tumour in his larynx. Earlier this month, Lula was released from the hospital in Sao Paulo following treatment for a lung infection, common in patients who've received chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

为巴西前领导人Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva治病的医生称，他的喉癌已完全好转。医生们在声明中表示，病人喉部已看不到有肿瘤存在。本月早些时候，Lula从圣保罗医院出院，他因肺部感染在这里接受治疗，这种病情在接受过化疗和放射线疗法的病人中很常见。

One of Italy's biggest engineering unions has announced a national strike in protest at plans to make it easier to sack workers. The action is likely to coincide with other unions' plans for a general strike. The Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti says his overhaul of labour laws will stimulate growth and job creation.

意大利最大的工程联盟宣布举行全国性大罢工，抗议使解雇变得更容易的任何方案。别的工会也可能举行大罢工，因此，它们在这方面不谋而合。意大利总理马里奥·蒙蒂称，革新劳工法将能促进经济增长，并创造就业机会。