英国新闻听力 19

BBC News with John Jason.

The Head of Colombia's Intelligence Services, Maria del Pilar Hurtado, has resigned after admitting that her agents spied on left-wing political opponents of President Alvaro Uribe. Ms. Hurtado said she was stepping down to preserve the honor of the security services. Emilio San Pedro reports.

This is the latest in a series of scandals surrounding the Colombian intelligence agency, the DAS. One of its former directors Jorge Noguera is currently under investigation¹ for his alleged² links to the country's right-wing paramilitary groups. His critics accuse him of having used the DAS to take on all of the government's opponents from union members to high-ranking politicians. And the latest scandal which has prompted the resignation of the agency's current director, Maria del Pilar Hurtado, would seem to indicate that those practices may have continued after his departure.

One of the most prominent journalists in Croatia and a colleague have been killed by a car bomb in the capital Zagreb. The bomb went off outside the offices of the weekly publication, Nacional. From Belgrade, Helen Fawkes reports.

The bomb was planted under the car of Ivo Pukanic. His publication has often exposed corruption³ and human rights abuses. This car bomb follows a wave of violent attacks in the capital which have been linked to organized crime. Earlier this month the daughter of a prominent Croatian lawyer was shot dead. Her killing⁴ sparked public outrage⁵ and led to two government ministers been sacked. Following this latest incident, the prime minister vowed⁶ that there would be a further crackdown on organized crime, and he said he would not allow Croatia to become Beirut.

The South African Parliament has voted to abolish the elite⁷ crime-fighting unit, known as the Scorpions⁸, and merge⁹ it with a national police force. The Scorpions were involved in investigating corruption allegations against the ANC leader Jacob Zuma and other senior party figures. An opposition¹⁰ party leader, Kenneth Meshoe, said the ANC was pursuing a political vendetta¹¹ against the unit, and the South African police service was not equipped to fight organized crime.

"There can be no doubt that disbanding the Scorpions will harm the fight against organized crime, since the SAPS, we are not convinced,[it] is well positioned or equipped to deal effectively with those organized crime. Like most South Africans, we believe that the ANC's decision to disband the Scorpions was not motivated by the Scorpions's low success rate, but was rather motivated by the fact that the Scorpions have been too successful."

Car manufacturers in the United States and other parts of the world have announced more job and production cuts in a further sign of the global economic crisis. The giant American corporation Chrysler is to cut 2,000 jobs. General Motors is also reported to be cutting staff. Fiat¹² in Italy said profits could drop as much as 65%, and Daimler in Germany is forecasting sharply lower revenue, profits and sales.

World News from the BBC.

A United Nations Special Representative has delivered a scathing¹³ report on human rights in North Korea, urging the Communist authorities there to end public executions and stop providing food for only the country's elite. The UN envoy¹⁴ said the North should end the punishment of asylum-seekers who return from abroad and account for foreigners kidnapped by North Korean agents.

Nearly 50 heads of state and government from Asia and the European Union are holding a summit in Beijing to discuss the global economic crisis. The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said a coordinated¹⁵ response was needed and the economies of Asia and Europe would either swim together or sink together. The Chinese Foreign Ministry¹⁶ said the leaders would explore measures to stabilize¹⁷ international financial markets.

The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, is being allowed to seek a third term in office. Current laws limit mayors to two terms of four years each, but the New York City Council voted to allow him to run again when his second term ends next year. From New York, here's David Willis.

A self-made billionaire, Michael Bloomberg, had campaigned to be able to run for a third term on the premise¹⁸ that his financial experience was vital to guide New York through the lean financial times that are expected to lie ahead. He achieved his wish thanks to a narrow vote by the New York City Council, two-thirds of whose members will also be able to run for a third term as a result of this decision, despite opinion polls which suggested that the vast majority of voters preferred a referendum on the issue.

The Spanish golfing champion, Severiano Ballesteros, is to undergo further surgery in a Madrid hospital where he is in a serious condition. The operation is to relieve swelling¹⁹ in his brain and try to remove the remains²⁰ of a tumor²¹. Ballesteros was admitted to hospital earlier this month after receiving or after suffering epileptic fit.

And that's the latest BBC News.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

8 scorpions   

n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You promise me that Black Scorpions will never come back to Lanzhou. 你保证黑蝎子永远不再踏上兰州的土地。 来自电影对白
• You Scorpions are rather secretive about your likes and dislikes. 天蝎：蝎子是如此的神秘，你的喜好很难被别人洞悉。 来自互联网

9 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

10 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。

11 vendetta   

n.世仇，宿怨

参考例句：

• For years he pursued a vendetta against the Morris family.多年来他一直在寻求向莫里斯家族报世仇。
• She conducted a personal vendetta against me.她对我有宿仇。

12 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

13 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

15 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

16 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。

17 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

18 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

19 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

21 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。