英国新闻听力 13

BBC News with Mike Cooper.

Foreign journalists in China will continue to enjoy the extra reporting rights that were introduced for the Olympic Games. At a late night news conference minutes before the freedoms were due to expire, a foreign ministry¹ spokesman said China believed it was important to open up to the outside world and to achieve better mutual² understanding. Jill McGivering reports:

The announcement came at the very last minute, just as the rules for foreign journalists were expiring. It's likely to be applauded by journalists and media watchdogs. The decision means foreign journalists who are based in China can continue to carry out interviews without first applying for official permission. In practice, the new rules are far from perfect. In the last 18 months, there have been hundreds of examples of foreign journalists being followed by the police, harassed³ and intimidated⁴, either because officials in the provinces didn't know about the new rules or chose to ignore them.

Four days of negotiations⁵ in Zimbabwe have failed to produce an agreement on the composition of a power-sharing cabinet. The main opposition⁶ leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he and President Robert Mugabe were far apart on the principle of the equitable⁷ sharing of power. Mr. Tsvangirai said he was worried that his own party, the Movement for Democratic Change, was being sidelined.

"We believe that for an inclusive government to work, the principle of equitable sharing of power consistent with the spirit of the global political agreement signed on the 15th of September should be embraced. It appears we're far apart on this principle. We're concerned that there is an attempt to reduce the MDC to a meaningless position in the Coalition⁸ government. "

Mr. Mugabe said the negotiations had gone, in his words, in the wrong direction. But the mediator⁹, the former South African President Thabo Mbeki, said the discussions would continue.

Aid workers in the Sudanese region of Darfur say more than 20, 000 people who were displaced by fighting 6 weeks ago are still living in the desert in desperate conditions. They fled their villages in North Darfur when Sudanese government forces attacked rebels in the region. The United Nations is trying to find a way to fly basic supplies into the area. A UN official in north Darfur Gregory Alex said people were living in terrible conditions.

"Some of them are just living, you know, in the hills, the rocks, the valleys, fairly unprotected, with whatever they took with them, that's what they have. So I would guess that their access to the basic necessities [is] extremely limited. "

The United States says North Korea has kept its promise and reversed steps to restart its nuclear reactor¹⁰ at Yongbyon. A State Department spokesman in Washington, Sean McCormack said the North Koreans had replaced seals on the reactor and reinstalled surveillance equipment. Pyongyang agreed to resume its stalled nuclear disarmament program after the US removed the communist state from its terrorism blacklist. North Korea tested a nuclear device in 2006.

World News from BBC.

A top political committee in Iraq has adjourned¹¹ its debates on a draft agreement with the United States that could see the withdrawal¹² of American troops in three years' time. There is no indication when the Political Council for National Security will resume discussing the deal or if it will finally approve it, despite months of negotiations by senior Iraqi officials.

The United States has imposed a travel ban on some members of the military government in Mauritania.The U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott said the officials would not be allowed to visit America because they were blocking the return of constitutional order in Mauritania. The military overthrew¹³ Mauritania's first democratically elected President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi in August.

Five new countries, Japan, Turkey, Austria, Mexico and Uganda have been elected to serve as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for the next 2 years. The unsuccessful candidates were Iceland and Iran. Laura Trevelyan reports:

Japan's election to the UN Security Council and its defeat of Iran was expected. Japan is an established major power and the second biggest contributor of funds to the United Nations after the US. Iran, which is actually under UN Security Council sanctions over its nuclear program, only got 32 votes, a performance Britain's ambassador was quick to describe as a thrashing. Austria and Turkey won the two European seats defeating Iceland. Turkey's pitch for election was its role as a bridge between East and West with an understanding of the problems in the Middle East. Austria emphasized its historic support of the UN. Mexico and Uganda were elected unopposed.

Levi Stubbs, the lead singer of the Four Tops, one of the most successful American groups of the 1960s, has died at his home in Detroit, aged¹⁴ 72. Stubbs was the robust-voiced front man for a string of big hits for the Motown group, including "Reach out I'll Be There", "Simple Game” and "Bernadette".

BBC [News].

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

3 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

4 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

10 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

11 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

12 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

13 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

14 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。