英国新闻听力 美国国防部宣布新军事预算案

Emergency services in central Italy are trying to provide shelter for tens of thousands of people left homeless by the earthquake that struck before dawn. Rescuers are continuing to dig through the rubble¹ for survivors². At least 150 people were killed and 1,500 injured in the quake——Italy’s worst in nearly 30 years. The epicenter was near the city of L’Aquila. David Willey reports.

The small medieval town of L’Aquila was one of Italy’s architectural treasures. With a tremor³ lasting⁴ some 30 seconds reduced this historic center to ruins and caused heavy casualties in many surrounding towns and villages. Field hospitals are treating hundreds of injured people. More than half the population has been forced to evacuate⁵ their homes even the ones which bear no obvious external signs of damage. The authorities have built a tent city to accommodate tens of thousands of homeless families

On his first overseas tour, the American President Barack Obama has declared that the United States is not at war with Islam, and never will be. Addressing Parliament in Turkey, Mr. Obama called for a greater partnership⁶ between America and the Muslim world. He said that was the way to defeat al-Qaeda. But he added that the cooperation should not be limited to security issues.

“I also want to be clear that America’s relationship with the Muslim community, the Muslim world cannot and will not just be based upon opposition⁷ to terrorism. We seek broader engagement based on mutual⁸ interest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground. ”

The United States Defense⁹ Secretary Robert Gates has announced a budget plan, which, if passed by Congress, will profoundly reform the way the Pentagon buys its weapons. Mr. Gates says he wants the military to stop buying hardware designed for the Cold War, such as the expensive F-22 fighter jet, which is now being used in Iraq. Adam Brookes reports.

Some of the US military’s most high-profile weapon’s programs may be falling victim to the unrelenting acts of Robert Gates. The secretary of Defense says he wants to save money and he wants the military to stop buying weapons that were designed with the Cold War in mind, and he says he wants to impose the lessons of the low-tech wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, overall, the US defense budget will still rise this coming year. The United States accounts for about 40% of all military spending in the world.

The Kenyan Justice Minister Martha Kara has resigned from her post, raising doubts over the stability of the country’s coalition¹⁰ government. At a news conference, the minister said that her reform agenda was being undermined and that judges were being appointed without her knowledge. Last week, the Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki appointed seven new judges.

The leader of South Africa’s main opposition Helen Zille says she will challenge the decision to drop corruption¹¹ charges against the President of the African National Congress Jacob Zuma. The decision clears the way for Mr. Zuma to become South Africa’s next president in elections later this month. Mrs. Zille, who heads the Democratic Alliance, said prosecutors¹² had bowed to political pressure.

“Nothing takes away from the fact that there are 783 charges of corruption, fraud, money laundering¹³ you name it, against Jacob Zuma, all of which stood up as a prima-facie case. If anybody in the national prosecuting¹⁴ authority misuses¹⁵ their position, they must also be charged. But it is no reason at all to withdraw the charges against Jacob Zuma. ”

A British-owned cargo¹⁶ ship has been seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf¹⁷ of Aden, the fifth such hijacking¹⁸ in just 2 days. The gunmen swept up in two speed boats and boarded the vessel¹⁹ and overpowered its crew before the captain could summon help. This latest hijacking in broad daylight prompted one ship owner to say that the pirates have clearly adapted to operating in the presence of international naval²⁰ patrols.

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has published his family income and assets as part of a campaign against corruption. On his presidential website, Mr. Medvedev reviews that he owns 124,000 dollars and owns a Moscow apartment of almost 400 square meters jointly²¹ with his wife, Svetlana. President Medvedev has changed the law to force senior Russian officials to disclose their income and property.

One of America’s iconic skyscrapers²², the Empire State Building in New York, is to undergo a major environmental overhaul²³ that will see its energy use reduced by more than a third. The works include the renovation²⁴ of 6500 windows and the rebuilding of a cooling plant in the basement. It will cut the building’s annual energy bill by more than $4,000,000.

意大利中部的应急服务中心设法为地震中几万名无家可归者提供避难处，这次地震是在黎明之前爆发的。救援者继续在瓦砾中挖掘幸存者，至少150人死亡，1500人受伤，这是将近30年来意大利最严重的一次地震。震中在拉奎拉城附近。

拉奎拉是一座中世纪小城，是意大利的建筑珍宝之一。持续30秒的地震使这座历史上著名的小城成为废墟，周边的许多城镇和村庄人员伤亡严重。战地医院正在救治数百名受伤人员。一半以上的人口被迫撤离自己的房屋，并撤离那些外部没有明显受损的房屋。政府已搭建一个帐篷城，供几万名无家可归者提供住处。

在首次海外访问中，美国总统奥巴马宣布，美国并没有在同伊斯兰作战，以后也永远不会。在土耳其国会发表的演说中，奥巴马呼吁在美国和穆斯林世界之间建立更为强大的伙伴关系。他说，这是打击基地组织的途径。但是他补充说，这种合作并不局限于安全事务。

“我同时还想澄清的一点是，美国同穆斯林团体、穆斯林信徒的关系不应该、也不会仅仅建立在对抗恐怖主义的基础上。我们会在共同利益和相互尊重的基础上寻求更广泛的关系。我们会仔细聆听，我们会化解误解，我们将寻求共同之处。”

美国国防部部长罗伯特.盖茨宣布了一项预算方案，如果这项方案被国会通过，将深入改革五角大楼购买武器的办法。盖茨说，他希望国防部停止购买转为冷战设计的装备，比如昂贵的 F-22战斗机，该机目前正用于伊拉克战争。

美国军事上一些高调的武器项目可能要成为盖茨这一无情的方案的受害者，国防部长说，他希望削减开支，希望停止购买那些为冷战而设计的武器，希望加强对伊拉克和阿富汗这种低科技战争的投入。然而，总体上，美国国防部明年的预算将会增加。美国军事开支占全世界的40%。

肯尼亚司法部长Martha Kara已经辞职，这让人们怀疑这个联合政府的稳定性。在一个新闻发布会上，司法部长说，她的改革议程遭到了破坏，新任命了法官，而她并不知情。上周，肯尼亚总统 Mwai Kibaki 任命了七名新法官。

南非主要反对派的领导人海伦·齐勒说，她将向撤销对南非人国民大会领袖祖马指控的决定发起挑战。该决定为祖马本月晚些时候在大选中成为南非的下届总统扫清了道路。领导民主联盟的齐勒说，检察官是向政治压力低头。

“没有人可以避开的事实是，针对祖马的指控有783起：腐败、诈骗、洗钱等等，凡你能想得到的，所有这些都是无争论与地的。如果国家检察当局的哪个人滥用职权，他也必须被指控。但是，撤销对祖马的指控是毫无道理的。”

一艘英国所有的货船在亚丁湾被索马里海盗捕获，这是两天来的第五次劫持。持枪歹徒洗劫了两艘快艇，在船长发出呼救之前就迅速上船并制服了全体船员。这次最近的劫持是在光天白日下进行的，这让一名船主不得不承认，这些海盗显然已经掌握了如何在国际海军巡逻的眼皮子底下抢劫。

作为反腐运动的一部分，俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫公布了家庭收入和资产。在他的总统网站上，梅德韦杰夫公布，自己拥有124，000美元，并在莫斯科同妻子Svetlana共同拥有一处约400平米的公寓。梅德韦杰夫总统修改法律，迫使俄罗斯高级官员公布收入和资产。

美国的一处地标性摩天大楼--纽约帝国大厦--将进行一次大规模的环境整治，这将至少节能1/3。工程包括更新6500个窗子，重建地下室冷库。这将使每年减少400万多美元的能源开支。

1 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 tremor   

n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震

参考例句：

• There was a slight tremor in his voice.他的声音有点颤抖。
• A slight earth tremor was felt in California.加利福尼亚发生了轻微的地震。

4 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

5 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 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。

8 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。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

15 misuses   

n.用错，滥用( misuse的名词复数 )；误用者v.使用…不当( misuse的第三人称单数 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misuses his horses by giving them loads that are too heavy. 他给它们过重的负荷来虐待他的马。 来自互联网
• He often misuses his authority to tyrannize his underlings. 他常用手中的职权凌轹下属。 来自互联网

16 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

17 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。

18 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。

19 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

20 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

21 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

22 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

23 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

24 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。