英语听力精选进阶版 10263（在线收听）

The French President Fancois Hollande has said a French-led military operation to protect civilians in the Central African Republic will be launched immediately after it was authorized by the UN Security Council. The UN approved an increased military presence from France in the African Union to curb escalating violence. Christian Fraser reports from Paris.

法国总统弗朗索瓦·奥朗德称，在经过联合国安理会授权后，将立即派遣以法国为首的军队来保护中非共和国平民。联合国批准增加非盟中法国军队的力量，来遏制愈发升级的暴力。克里斯蒂安·弗雷泽在巴黎报道。

“Well before President Hollande made a speech tonight, French troops had already been in action in the capital Bangui. 600 troops are currently in place, other 600 will join them in the coming days. Mr Hollande said the French role would be different to the one mounted in Mali where French troops hunted down Islamist militants in the desert. This time, they'll be the gendarme, the thin blue line between order and chaos.”

“就在奥朗德总统今晚讲话前，法国军队已经在首都班基开始部署，600名士兵已经到位，另外600名将在未来几天内加入。奥朗德说法国的角色将不同于在马里的法军的角色，在马里，法军一路追捕伊斯兰武装分子到沙漠里。这次，他们将充当宪兵，置身于秩序与混乱之间。”

The Central African Republic slid into chaos when rebels overthrew President Francois Bozize in March. More than 100 people have been killed in fierce fighting between Christian supporters of Mr Bozize and Muslim former rebels in the capital Bangui today. More than 50 corpses were seen at a mosque. There've also been violent clashes in the northern town of Bossangoa.

三月份叛军推翻了弗朗索瓦·博齐泽，中非共和国自此陷入混乱。今天在首都，博齐泽的基督教支持者和穆斯林前叛军展开了激烈战斗，100多人丧生，人们还在一座清真寺看到50多具尸体。北部城市博桑戈阿也发生了暴力冲突。

There has been increased activity around the home of the former South African president Nelson Mandela. Family members gathered two days after his eldest daughter Makaziwe said he was continuing to put up a courageous fight from what she called his deathbed. Mr Mandela, who's 95, spent almost three months in hospital after being admitted in June with the recurring lung infection. Mike Wooldridge reports from Johannesburg.

南非前总统纳尔逊·曼德拉家周围开始热闹起来，他的家庭成员聚集一起来，就在两天前，他的长女马卡兹维说他还在弥留之际与疾病进行勇敢斗争。今年95岁的曼德拉6月份因肺部感染入院，然后在医院度过近三个月时间。麦克·伍尔德里奇在约翰内斯堡报道。

“It appears to have been an unusually large family gathering on this occasion including family elder Bantu Holomisa. A number of government vehicles have been here during the evening, too. Rarely in recent time has Nelson Mandela's home in the quiet suburb of Houghton seen this level of activity. Reason is not clear, but Makaziwe Mandela told South Africa's public broadcaster SABC this week that even though you could see that her father was struggling, he was still displaying a fighting spirit.”

“这次显然是场不寻常的大家庭聚会，包括家族长者洛米萨。今晚来了大批政府车辆，最近霍顿郊区纳尔逊·曼德拉家很少出现这样热闹的场面，原因尚不清楚，但本周马卡兹维·曼德拉告诉南非公共广播台SABC，尽管你能看到她父亲在苦苦挣扎，但他仍表现出战斗的精神来。”

Officials in Yemen say more than 50 people were killed in a coordinated attack on defense ministry buildings in the capital Sanaa. The attack involving a suicide car bomber and a gunman in army uniforms was focused on a hospital inside the ministry compound. The dead include foreign medical staff and a nephew of the Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

也门官方称首都萨那国防部大楼发生连环袭击，导致50多人丧生。其中有一场自杀式汽车炸弹袭击，一名穿军装的武装分子袭击了该部大院内的医院。死者包括外国医疗人员和也门总统哈迪的侄子。

“This attack on the ministry of defense compound is the deadliest the capital has seen in years. Heavy gun fire could be heard throughout the day and continued into the night. Security forces have carried out clearing operations around the area of the explosion. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but some analysts are saying it has the hall marks of al-Qaeda. The country is the hub of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and suicide bombings are quite regular here. But an attack of this magnitude at the heart of the capital is a huge blow to a government trying to assert its authority.”

“这次对外交部大院的袭击是几年来首都发生的最严重案件，整个一天都能听到激烈的枪火声，晚上仍能听到。安全部队在爆炸现场展开了清理工作，尚未有人声称对袭击负责，但有分析家称这是基地组织的作为。该国是基地组织在阿拉伯半岛的枢纽，自杀式爆炸案时有发生。但首都中心地带发生这么严重的袭击，确实对努力确定权威的政府的沉重打击。”

A powerful storm is battering northern Europe, leaving thousands of homes without power, disrupting transport and threatening the biggest storm surge in decades. In Britain, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in coastal areas. Dozens of flights are cancelled or delayed in Scotland and Netherlands and Germany. Phillip Rothwell from the British Environmental Agency explains why storm surges are particularly dangerous.

欧洲北部遭遇强风暴袭击，导致数千户人家断电，交通受影响，有可能发生几十年来最强风暴潮。在英国，数千人已经从沿海的家中撤离，苏格兰、荷兰和德国数十条航班被取消或延迟。英国环保机构的菲利普·罗斯韦尔解释了为何风暴潮非常危险。

“Storm surges are caused by a low pressure system, which lift water up, sucking it up, causing a huge number of water which is now travelling down the North Sea. And as it comes down the North Sea, its funnel, the North Sea narrows as it gets towards the channel and this causes the surge to growing height. This is, often happens what isn't a problem. It happens and it's a problem now because it's coupled with high tides.”

“风暴潮是由低压系统引起的，低压系统使得水位上涨，吸着水往上涨，使得大量的水流到北海，抵达北海后，流往海峡导致北海变窄，这就使得海浪变高。通常这不是个问题，但现在伴随着很高的浪潮就出问题了。”

Pope Francis is setting up a panel of experts to combat child sex abuse in the Catholic Church and to help the victims. The announcement followed a meeting between the Pope and 8 cardinals who are advising him on Church governance and reform. The commission will study programs to protect children, screen priests and suggest new initiatives.

圣方济将成立专家委员会来处理该天主教堂的儿童性虐问题，从而帮助受害者。就在此前，教皇和八位红衣主教举行会议，后者就教堂治理和改革向教皇提供建议。该委员会将研究保护儿童、筛选牧师的项目，并提出新的提议。

Fast food workers in the United States are holding demonstrations and strikes to demand higher salaries. The employees say they cannot survive on a wage of $7.25 an hour for full-time work. Jonny Dymond reports from Washington.

美国速食工人举行游行和罢工，并要求加薪。雇员们称全职工作每小时7.25美元的工资无法过活。约翰尼·戴蒙德在华盛顿报道。

"Outside Washington's National Aerospace Museum, 50 or so protesters and protest organizers gathered demanding change. In Detroit, in New York and in cities across the US, small-scale demonstrations have been held to highlight the plight of those denied what they described as a living wage. Critics pointed to the vast profits earned by corporations that employ so many on low-wages."

“在华盛顿国家航空博物馆外，50多名抗议者和抗议组织者要求做出改变。在底特律、纽约和美国各城市都举行了小规模游行，游行者强调了所谓糊口工资下的悲惨生活。批评家指出大部分利润被雇佣这么多低薪工人的公司拿走。”