英语听力精选进阶版 8044（在线收听）

We start with Syria where the government and opposition have agreed to extend theirceasefire for another three days to allow more civilians to leave the besieged city of Homs. Some460 managed to leave on Monday, hundreds more left over the weekend. Lyse Doucet sent thisreport from Damascus.

首先来看叙利亚消息。叙利亚政府和反对军同意继续停火三天，为市民撤离被围困的城市霍姆斯留出时间。大约460人已于周一撤离，数百人于周末撤离。记者莱丝·杜赛从大马士革发回了报道。

"A tide of people continue to flee the ruins of the old city of Homs, exhausted mothers andtears, children who went straight into the arms of waiting aid officials from the UN and theSyrian Arab Red Crescent Society. Water, bread, even polio vaccinations were provided on thespot, immediate relief for hundreds of Syrians who've lived under a punishing siege for nearlytwo years. The old city is controlled by rebel forces and it's been cut off by Syrian governmenttroops. Many residents who finally escaped speak of having only grass and olives to eat. Today,the temporary ceasefire wasn't shattered by the mortar attacks and gunfire at the weekend,which temporarily halted but didn't stop a humanitarian mission which is so badly needed. Buthere in Damascus fighting did cause the suspension of another food distribution in thebesieged suburb of Yarmook. These breakthroughs are small glimmers of light in the dark anddevastating war, but they are only a start. The UN says about a quarter of a million Syrians arenow struggling to survive."

“大批人群继续从古城霍姆斯撤离，我们可以看到疲惫的母亲和她们的眼泪，孩子们径直向敞开怀抱的联合国和叙利亚阿拉伯国家红新月会救援官员跑去。他们当场提供水和面包，甚至还有疫苗接种，这对近两年来生活在围困中的数百名叙利亚人来说是十分及时的援助。这座古城已被叛军控制，与叙利亚政府军切断了一切联系。许多成功逃脱的居民说他们靠吃草和橄榄维持生命。今天是周末，迫击炮和枪声并虽没有影响到暂时的停火，但导致急需的人道主义救援暂时停滞，不过没有完全中断。然而，在大马士革，战乱却再次导致食品分发在被围困的雅穆克郊区受阻。这些突破是黑暗残酷战争中的微光，但这只是个开始。据联合国称，大约有25万叙利亚人仍在艰苦求生。”

Among those who came out of the old city were a number of men between the ages of 15 and55, clearly a group with particular fears being targeted by the Syrian authorities, suspicious oftheir involvement in the fighting. There are reports that some of the young and older menhave been taken away by the Syrian government. We aked the head of the UN mission in Syriawho's coordinating the evacuation to clarify what happened.

逃出古城的人是一批男性，年龄在15-55岁之间，很显然，他们是叙利亚当局瞄准的对象，怀疑他们曾参与战争。有报道称，他们当中一些年纪较轻或较大的人已被叙利亚政府带走。关于这个问题，我们还采访了联合国常驻叙利亚大使，他负责组织人员撤离。

To the United States now where a leading American footballer Michael Sam has come out to sayhe is gay. Some retired players have done this already but none still with the prospect of abright future in the game. He here is speaking to the US TV network.

下面来看美国消息：美国橄榄球明星迈克尔·萨姆承认自己是同性恋。一些退役球员也曾出柜，但是没有一个是在炙手可热、前途无量时做出这样的举动。他接受了美国电视网络的采访。

"How does that feel to say those words to the world?"

“向世界公开说出那些话是什么样的感觉?”

"I came out to my teammates and they took it great. They rally around me. They support me.And I couldn't ask for better teammates. This is something that I've known for a while."

“我向队友承认了我是同性恋，他们坦然接受，并且站在我这边支持我，没有比他们更好的队友了。我知道自己是同性恋已经有一段时间了。”

Sam has just completed a promising career in college football and is expected to be the chosenby an NFL team in May. That would make him the first openly gay player to compete in any ofNorth America's four major professional sports.

萨姆刚刚打完一场大学生橄榄球赛，发挥出色。而且，今年五月份，他有望被美国橄榄球联盟(NFL)的球队选中，成为参加北美四大职业运动赛事的首位公开同性恋球员。