英国新闻听力 70

BBC News with Blerry Goga.

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an immediate¹ end to the violence in Gaza, and has condemned² both Israel and Hamas. Mr. Ban accused Israel of using excessive force in its air offensive but he said he was deeply distressed³ that Hamas had not heeded⁴ calls to end rocket attacks.

“While recognizing Israel's right to defend itself, I have also condemned the excessive use of force by Israel in Gaza. Both Israel and Hamas must halt their acts of violence and take all necessary measures to avoid civilian⁵ casualties. The fighting nature of what is happening on the ground, in particular its effects on children who are more than half of the population, troubles me, uh, greatly.”

Palestinian medical officials say at least 345 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli air attacks began on Saturday. The UN says about 60 were civilians⁶. Three more Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rockets bringing the number since Saturday to four. World leaders have called for Israel to keep open its border with Gaza to allow medical and humanitarian⁷ supplies through to the territory's 1.5 million residents. Egypt has allowed some trucks laden⁸ with medical aid to enter Gaza but the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, said the effective blockade of Gaza by Israel in the past months meant supplies of basic foodstuff⁹ and medicines were dangerously low. He said 60 truckloads had been allowed in so far.

“These supplies are better than nothing but there remain wholly inadequate¹⁰. At the point is this vital that these crossings remain open, whatever the level of violence and we will be looking to Israel to uphold the promises it's made in this regard in the coming days whatever the level of violence might be.”

There have been more street protests against the Israeli military action in Gaza, not just in the Middle East, but also in Europe. In Beirut, the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, called for a third Palestinian uprising against Israel. In Tehran, Iranian officials joined protesters in demanding that Israel be, in their words, wiped off the map. Demonstrators also took to the streets in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan. In Europe, there were protests in London, Athens and several Scandinavian cities.

The Ugandan rebel movement, the Lord's Resistance Army, has rejected allegations that its fighters killed nearly 200 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past few days. The LRA said the allegation made by UN officials was untrue, and it believed that the Ugandan army had in fact carried out the killings¹¹. UN officials said that Ugandan rebels had carried out a series of massacres¹² in neighboring Congo including an attack on a Roman Catholic Church. The LRA said it was still committed to peace talks with the government but it first wanted the international arrest warrant for its leader Joesph Kony to be suspended.

This is Blerry Gogan with the latest international news from the BBC.

And official results from Bangladesh's parliamentary election are pointing to a substantial victory for the party of the former Prime Minister Sheik Hasina, the Awami League. Provisional figures show Sheik Hasina's alliance has taken more than 150 seats in the 300-seat parliament. Mark Dummett reports.

“The final official results won't be declared for several hours, but according to results coming into Bangladesh's election commission in Dhaka from constituencies around the country, the Awami League is heading for a landslide¹³ victory. Public celebrations have been banned until two days after the elections to prevent clashes between gangs of rival supporters. Earlier, amid tight security, Bangladesh's voters turned out in huge numbers to cast their ballots¹⁴ in a festive¹⁵ atmosphere. If the result is confirmed, it will mark a dramatic reverse in fortunes of the two main parties. In 2001, the BMP won overwhelmingly. Now it seems it's the turn of the Awami League.”

Official partial results from Ghana's closely fought run-off presidential election give the opposition¹⁶ candidate John Atta Mills a slender lead over his rival Nana Akufo-Addo of the governing MPP. Local broadcasters are pointing, however, to an unassailable lead for Mr. Mills.

The top UN envoy¹⁷ for Somalia has welcomed the resignation of the Somali President, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed. The envoy, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, said it would enable Somalia to open a new chapter in its history. A senior official of the Africa Union called for a new unity¹⁸ government to be formed as soon as possible.

The former President of Taiwan, Chen Shui bian, has been returned to prison following a court order reversing a decision earlier this month to release him pending¹⁹ his trial on corruption²⁰ charges. The Taipei District Court judges are reported to have said there was a risk that Mr. Chen would collude with other suspects, destroy evidence and flee the island. Mr. Chen left office in May and he denies any wrongdoing.

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 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。

3 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

4 heeded   

v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She countered that her advice had not been heeded. 她反驳说她的建议未被重视。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I heeded my doctor's advice and stopped smoking. 我听从医生的劝告，把烟戒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 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。

8 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

9 foodstuff   

n.食料，食品

参考例句：

• They handled groceries and foodstuff.他们经营食品杂货。
• Construct a international foodstuff promotion and exhibition trade center.建成国际食品会展经贸中心。

10 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。

13 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

14 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

16 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。

17 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。

18 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

19 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

20 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。