英国新闻听力 38

BBC News with Fiona McDonald.

Leaders from the 21 countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum¹, or APEC, have pledged not to raise new barriers to trade or investment within the next 12 months and to continue to take steps to stabilize² their financial sectors³. There were also calls for another attempt to revive the Doha Round of the world trade talks which broke down in acrimony in July. The summit in Peru is the last being attended by President Bush before he leaves office. Brandy Marshall has more details.

The APEC leaders’ rejection⁴ of protectionist policies was matched by their commitment to reach an outline agreement on the World Trade Organization talks next month. A Japanese spokesman said concern over the global financial crisis had reinforced their determination to push forward on the talks which have been going on for seven years. The APEC countries include some of the richest economies, such as the United States, Russia, China and Japan, as well as major developing nations, such as Malaysia, and account for about half the world’s trade. But while the leaders endorsed⁵ further development to free trade, many of them are likely to face popular pressure at home as their economies see unemployment rise.

The United States President-elect Barack Obama has named his close aide Robert Gibbs to be the new White House Press Secretary. Mr. Gibbs has been working with Barack Obama for the last four years, serving as the communications director of his office in the Senate and as his spokesman during the presidential campaign.

The authorities in Guatemala say several prisoners have been beheaded during a clash between armed rival gang members in the jail south of the capital. A prison spokesman said the violence broke out when prisoners who belong to one gang objected to the transfer of prisoners from a rival gang to the prison. He said that seven prisoners were killed; five of them beheaded and mutilated during a five-hour clash before police and prison officials were able to restore control. Violence is common in Guatemala's overcrowded prisons where prisoners often have access to weapons and members of street gangs face off against each other.

Astronauts on the International Space Station have been carrying out a spacewalk to solve the latest technical glitch⁶. They are trying to fix a joint⁷ that's supposed to keep the station's solar panels pointed⁸ towards the sun. Scientists are still struggling to repair a new recycling system intended to convert astronauts' urine into drinking water. Warren Bull reports.

The latest shuttle mission to the International Space Station has been plagued with problems. This is the third spacewalk made by the crew to repair the station's solar panels. It’s expected to be the longest and hardest of the mission and could last up to seven hours. The astronauts will try to complete repairs made during a previous spacewalk earlier this week, when a tool box worth more than 100,000 dollars was lost.

That was Warren Bull. World News from the BBC.

The rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda has condemned⁹ the planned deployment¹⁰ of extra United Nations troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying they could not bring peace to the region. Speaking at a rally in the town of Rutshuru, about 80 kilometers north of Goma, General Nkunda said his forces would not accept outsiders coming in to provide security.

The government of Zimbabwe says it has refused entry to the former American President Jimmy Carter and the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan because they’d failed to consult the authorities before their trip. The two men were hoping to visit Zimbabwe as representatives of a humanitarian¹¹ group, known as The Elders. A spokesman in the Harare said the visit had been postponed¹³ to allow proper protocol¹⁴ to be followed. Peter Biles reports.

The Zimbabwean authorities have accused Kofi Annan of misrepresenting their position. They said they’d advised him to postpone¹² the visit to a later date. But this was a clear snub by President Robert Mugabe to a group of respected world figures. The Elders said the mission to Zimbabwe had been cancelled because the government had refused to cooperate in any way to make the visit possible. Jimmy Carter said the group had been led to believe that their visas would be issued on arrival in Harare.

A former Argentine police chief wanted for crimes against humanity has committed suicide on television as he was about to be arrested. During a live interview on the roof of his house, Mario Ferreyra, affirmed his innocence¹⁵, said goodbye to his wife and shot himself in the head. As police arrived, TV camera showed him bleeding heavily. Mr. Ferreyra had been accused of kidnapping and torture during Argentina’s military ruling.

The Gulf¹⁶ state of Qatar has opened a new museum housing one of the world’s finest collections of Islamic art. The building, a simple white geometric structure on its own artificial island was designed by the 91-year-old Chinese-American architect IM Pei. He was tempted¹⁷ out of retirement¹⁸ for the project.

BBC News.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 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。

3 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

5 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 glitch   

n.干扰；误操作，小故障

参考例句：

• There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.这个计算机程序中的某个部分有点小问题。
• It could just be a random glitch that can be solved by restarting the machine.可能只是一个小故障，重新启动主机就能解决了。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

13 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

14 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

15 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

16 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

17 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

18 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。