英国新闻听力 42

BBC News with Nick Kelly.

Further explosions and gunfire have been heard from inside the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai as Indian forces continue operations against militants¹ who stormed the hotel on Wednesday. In all, more than 140 people are now known to have been killed in Wednesday's multiple attacks across Mumbai. Karishma Vaswani is in the city.

The Indian police have been telling us that their search and rescue operation at this hotel is still underway. They are going room-to-room, door-to-door, trying to flush out any of the remaining hostages or the attackers inside. This is their most difficult and their last targeted building. This is the, really the last building that's been left for them to clear out and to continue with their rescue operations, because, of course, the Jewish center we've, that appears to be, the situation there, appears to be resolved as well as the Oberoi, but here at the Taj the standoff continues.

A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed in the Nigerian city of Jos after clashes between rival political parties left at least 20 people dead and 300 wounded, thousands are reported to have fled their homes following a disputed local election. Alex Last has more.

The election had been played out along old ethnic² and sectarian divisions, the violence soon followed that pattern. Groups of young men from both sides took to the streets armed with machetes. Reports say several homes, churches and mosques³ were burned. Jos in the middle of Nigeria has seen clashes like this before, in broad terms on one side, there are ethnic Hausa who are largely Muslim and regarded as settlers, and on the other are several ethnic groups who tend to be Christian⁴ who consider themselves to be indigenous⁵ to the area.

The European Union has condemned⁶ China's execution of a medical scientist for spying, on the very day EU officials met their Chinese counterparts to appeal for clemency⁷. The Austrian foreign minister said that executing the scientist Wo Weihan was an affront⁸ to the entire European Union. Mr. Wo lived in Austria for several years. He was found guilty last year of passing military secrets to Taiwan. But his family says he was tortured into making a false confession⁹.

A former British army interpreter who worked for a senior NATO commander in Afghanistan has been sentenced to ten years in prison for spying for Iran. Daniel James, who was born in Iran, was found guilty at a previous hearing of sending coded email messages to the Iranian embassy in Kabul. Robert Brumby reports.

Daniel James was sent to Afghanistan in May 2006 and was arrested in December of that year after making email contact with Colonel Mohammed Hossein Heydari, an Iranian military assistant based at Tehran's embassy in Kabul. Prosecutors¹⁰ said it was the height of betrayal. Sentencing today, Judge Roderick Evans said the gravest part of the crime was that he'd done it whilst actually severing¹¹ in a war zone. The judge said he was a ripe target because of his disenchantment with the army and what he called his "narcissistic¹²" personality.

World News from the BBC

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have fired several mortar¹³ bombs across the border into a military base in southern Israel. Israelis say six soldiers were wounded. A small Palestinian group, allied¹⁴ to the Hamas Movement, the Popular Resistance Committees, said it carried out the attack to revenge the killing¹⁵ of some of its members.

More than 600 illegal migrants have landed on the Italian Mediterranean¹⁶ island of Lampedusa in one day. They made the crossing crammed¹⁷ into two boats in treacherous¹⁸ sea conditions. Duncan Kennedy reports from Rome.

The 600 migrants were on board two vessels¹⁹, making them some of the biggest single landings on Lampedusa in recent months. The crossings were made in what's described as treacherous sea conditions. The migrants have now been taken to the island's identification center. More than 300 vessels have arrived on Lampedusa this year, bringing around 30,000 migrants. Many arrived in rickety boats, often without having had food or water for days. About a third of those arriving are from war zones or areas affected²⁰ by drought in the Horn of Africa.

The Thai prime minister has promised to use peaceful means to end the sieges that have paralyzed Bangkok's airports for several days. In a television address, Somchai Wongsawat said the standoff with anti-government demonstrators will be resolved by negotiation²¹ but didn't say when that might be. The founder²² of the protest movement rejected the idea of talks, saying there was no way he would negotiate. Meanwhile, more protestors have been arriving at the airports.

A shop worker in the United States has been knocked to the ground and killed by frantic²³ bargain hunters who broke down the doors of a superstore as it opened early in the morning. At least four shoppers were also trampled²⁴ at the Wal-Mart store in the suburbs of New York. Customers around the US queued before dawn for shops to open on the day after the Thanksgiving holiday, the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season.

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

6 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。

7 clemency   

n.温和，仁慈，宽厚

参考例句：

• The question of clemency would rest with the King.宽大处理问题，将由国王决定。
• They addressed to the governor a plea for clemency.他们向州长提交了宽刑的申辨书。

8 affront   

n./v.侮辱，触怒

参考例句：

• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
• This remark caused affront to many people.这句话得罪了不少人。

9 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

10 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

11 severing   

v.切断，断绝( sever的现在分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The death of a second parent is like severing an umbilical cord to our past. 父母当中第二个人去世，就象斩断了把我们同过去联在一起的纽带。 来自辞典例句
• The severing theory and severing method for brittle block are studied. 研究裂纹技术应用于分离脆性块体的分离理论和分离方法。 来自互联网

12 narcissistic   

adj.自我陶醉的，自恋的，自我崇拜的

参考例句：

• In the modern vocabulary, it was narcissistic. 用时髦话说，这是一种自我陶醉狂。 来自辞典例句
• This is our Nielaoshi, a dwarf has also grown narcissistic teachers. 这就是我们的倪老师，一个长得又矮又自恋的老师。 来自互联网

13 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

14 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

15 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。

16 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

17 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

18 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

19 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

21 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

22 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

23 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

24 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。