英语听力精选进阶版 8895（在线收听）

A tense standoff is continuing at a cafe in an affluent suburb of Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, where gunmen are holding about 20 hostages. First reports say several of them are Italian. At least two police officers have been killed and thirty others have been injured. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility. The cafe was attacked in the evening by about eight young men who exploded bombs and opened fire on diners. Rashila Rahim lives next to the building.

在孟加拉国首都达卡富庶郊区的一家咖啡店内，一场紧张的对峙仍在继续，在那儿，枪手扣押了大约20名人质。早期发回的报道称其中有几个是意大利人。至少有2名警官在交火中丧生，30人受伤。极端组织“伊斯兰国”声称制造了这起袭击事件。该咖啡厅在晚上遭袭，在用餐时，8名年轻人引爆炸弹，与警方交火。Rashila Rahim居住在咖啡厅附近。

"I heard police shouting with a loudspeaker, asking them to come out. Maybe they were talking to the militants. After that we heard lots of sound from the police operation. When I tried to leave, my driver said 'Don't go out. They are shooting. Stay inside'. Next I heard a loud noise in my living room, and the glass of my living room shattered. My daughter and myself started crying. It was terrifying. We've just been hearing continuous gunshots, continuous gunshots. It's too much."

“我听到警方用扩音器高喊，要求他们出来投降。或许他们在和武装分子交谈，之后我们听到警察制造出很大的响声，当我想出去时，我的司机说：“别出去，他们在射击，呆在家里。”接下来，我在客厅里听到一声巨响，客厅的玻璃被射碎了。我的女儿和我开始哭泣。太恐怖了。我们只能听到枪声不断，持续的枪声，情况太可怕了。

The BBC's Akbar Hussain is near the restaurant in Dhaka.

 BBC Akbar Hussain在达卡餐厅附近发回报道。

Police they are now trying to negotiate with the attackers because they think this is the best way to deal with the situation. Senior police officials, they are now saying if they go for all-out operation against the Islamic militants, this will aggravate the situation farther because this will not bring any positive result there because the attackers from inside, they are sending messages with them: if anyone tries to cross the border line then they will kill all of the people who are being hostages inside.

警方正在努力与武装分子谈判。因为他们认为这是处理这种情况的最好办法。高级警官，他们现在表示如果他们全力以赴去对抗伊斯兰武装分子，这将进一步加剧目前形势，因为这不会带来任何积极的效果。因为咖啡厅中的武装分子一直在向警方传达一个信号：如果任何人想进入咖啡厅，就会杀死所有人质。

The US government has given an official estimate to the number of civilians killed by American drone strikes since President Obama came to power. It puts the figure at between 64 and 116. Gary O'Donoghue reports.These figures do not include countries such as Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. They focus on places such as tribal areas in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, where the US has targeted terrorist groups and individuals. Officials say that almost 500 strikes took place in these areas between 2009 and the end of 2015, killing around 2,500 combatants. At the same time the figures were released, the White House said the president had signed an executive order requiring the numbers to be published each year, something that could be reversed by a future administration. 

美国政府对自奥巴马上台以来，美国无人机空袭所造成的贫民死亡人数做出官方估计，人数在64到116之间。Gary O'Donoghue报道。这些统计数据不包括如伊拉克、叙利亚和阿富汗等国。美国政府主要盯准巴基斯坦、也门、索马里的部落地区，因为这些地区里有美国政府锁定的恐怖组织和个人。官员们表示，在这些地区，从2009年到2015年底，发生近500次袭击，杀死大约2500名战士。在这些数据被公之于众的同时，美国政府称奥巴马已经签署了行政命令，要求每年公布这一数字，并表示，未来，美国政府可能会扭转这一情况。

The Australian mining giant BHP Billiton says it will fight a decision by the Brazilian supreme court to suspend a settlement for damages imposed after a dam burst at an iron ore mine. Prosecutors say the settlement is too lenient. The chemical-laden waste water flooded the Doce river valley in November last year, flattening two towns; 19 people were killed. BHP and the Brazilian company Vale agreed to pay around $2bn in March to clean up about 600km of river. But prosecutors say the real cost will be three times as much.

澳大利亚矿业巨头必和必拓(BHP Billiton)表示对巴西高级法院的判决不服，想延迟赔偿因堤坝崩塌造成的铁矿事故。检察官表示该判决过于仁慈。去年11月，化学废水淹没了河谷公司，两个城镇夷为平地，19人丧生。必和必拓和巴西淡水河谷公司同意支付约20亿美元用于清理河流中约600公里的污染物。但是检察官表示真正的成本将是该数目的三倍。

BBC News

欢迎收听BBC新闻。

The polls have opened in Australia's federal election. The current Conservative Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull has promised tax cuts for big business to improve job prospects. The opposition Labor Party leader Bill Shorten wants to raise business taxes to fund more schools and hospitals. Phil Mercer reports.

澳大利亚联邦选举投票已经开始。目前保守党首相麦肯·腾博（Malcolm Turnbull ）做出承诺，为了提升就业前景会减少税收。而其竞选对手共党领袖比尔（Bill Shorten）想提高税收以资助更多的学校和医院。请听 Phil Mercer发回的报道。

Politics in Australia is a volatile business. There have been four prime ministers in the past 3.5 years. Voters simply want stability at a time when a long mining boom continues to fade and because of the global uncertainty caused by Britain's decision to leave the European Union. Both the centre-right Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull and the Labor Party opposition leader Bill Shorten insist they have the safe hands Australia needs. It is though expected that record numbers of voters will support minor parties or independent candidates. 

澳大利亚政局动荡不堪。在过去的三年半中换了4个首相。而选民只是想要简单的稳定时期，因为澳大利亚的支柱矿业持续消退，而且英国脱欧也造成了极大的不确定性。但上述的两名竞选者都表示，他们有能力让澳大利亚一切好起来。不过也有人希望选民能将支持少数派或者独立参选人。

The authorities in the West African state of Guinea-Bissau have confirmed they've identified the first three cases of Zika virus. An emergency committee has been set up to deal with the situation. Zika is currently spreading through the Caribbean and South America. 

西非国家几内亚当局已确认了三例寨卡病毒。目前已成立应急小组来解决这一问题。寨卡病毒目前在加勒比海和南美广泛传播。

In the European football championship Wales has beaten one of the tournament favourites, Belgium, 3-1, to record arguably their greatest ever victory. They came back from 1-0 down with goals from Ashley Williams, Sam Vokes and the superb strike from Hal Robson-Kanu. After the match Wales's manager Chris Coleman says his team was fearless."Four years ago, I was as far away from this as you can imagine. And look what has happened. If you work hard enough and you're not afraid to dream, then you're not afraid to fail. And every now and again - I can't say every now and again because this has never happened to me, but I'm enjoying it. It's sweet, and I think we deserve it." Wales will now play Portugal in the semi-finals. It's the first time they've reached the semis of a major tournament. 

在欧洲足球锦标赛，威尔士威尔士3-1逆转世界杯的夺冠热门之一比利时。突破了所取得的最好成绩。阿什利·威廉姆斯将比分打平、沃科斯（Sam Vokes）进球将比分反超为2：1以及尔·罗布森-卡努（Hal Robson-Kanu）精彩进球将比分锁定为3：1。赛后威尔士主教练克里斯·科尔曼表示，他的团队无所畏惧。四年前，你可想而知，想要达到现在的成就简直是遥不可及。但请看看现在所发生的。如果你足够努力，你就不怕梦想，不害怕失败。不时地- 我不是说偶尔，因为这从来没有发生在我身上，但我很享受它。最终的结果是甜蜜的，我认为这是我们应得的。威尔士队将与葡萄牙队在半决赛中争夺决赛资格。这是他们第一次进入主要赛事的半决赛。