英国新闻听力 美联邦调查局加入解救被海盗劫持船长行动

Pirates have attacked two more ships off the coast of Somalia, capturing one and damaging the other. Maritime¹ official said an Italian-owned tugboat with 16 sailors on board was seized in the Gulf² of Aden. Another vessel³ sailing under the Turkey’s flag escaped when its crew used water hoses to repel⁴ the pirates. The attacks come as a standoff continues between the US navy and pirates holding an American captain hostage at sea. The ship, the Maersk Alabama, has meanwhile arrived in the Kenyan port of Mombassa, from where Jonah Fisher sent this report.

Agents from the FBI are now thought to be on board the Alabama, learning how the crew of 20 Americans fought off a pirate attack last week. Captain Richard Phillips is believed to still be several hundred kilometers off the coast of Somalia, being held in a lifeboat with 4 pirates. Several US warships⁵ in the area with the FBI are thought to be leading negotiations⁶.

The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Japan have agreed on a draft statement condemning⁷ North Korea's rocket launch earlier this month. However, the draft is for a non-binding⁸ statement, not a binding resolution. From Washington, Joe Donison reports.

This statement does urge the council to step up the enforcement of its current sanctions against King Zong Il’s weapons program. It also says that in carrying out the launch, North Korea was in contravention of the existing Security Council resolution 1718 passed in 2006. As it’s often the case with the United Nations, this statement is a compromise. It sends a message to North Korea, but not in the strongest terms, that America and especially Japan would have wanted.

Supporters of the former president of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana have pulled out of talks aimed at ending the country's political crisis. The announcement came after more than 10,000 people gathered in the capital to call for Mr. Ravalomanana’s reinstatement. He was ousted⁹ in a military-backed takeover last month. From the capital, Antananarivo, Joey Hogg has the details.

The senior spokesman for Mr. Ravalomanana’s supporters launched a scathing¹⁰ attack on the negotiations and the way they were being run by the UN envoy¹¹, Tiebile Drame. He accused Mr. Drame of being partial, having his own agenda and attempting to impose his own solutions on the crisis. He concluded that the talks were a waste of time. For his part, Mr. Drame denied the accusations¹². This development will be a blow to those who hoped that the talks will bring an end to the political crisis which continues to beset¹³ the country.

A special adviser¹⁴ to the British Prime Minister has resigned after it emerged he had discussed a smear¹⁵ campaign against leading members of the opposition¹⁶ conservative party. The aide, Damian McBride, has sent messages about the plan from his official email address. The government says neither the Prime Minister Gordon Brown nor anybody in his office has been aware of the plan, which he called "juvenile¹⁷ and inappropriate".

Pakistan says it has formally requested information about 11 Pakistanis who were arrested in Britain in connection with an alleged¹⁸ terror plot. The head of the Interior Ministry¹⁹, Rehman Malik, told journalists that Islamabad hadn’t yet received any details from London. The men were described by British police as Pakistanis living in Britain on student visas. From Islamabad, here is Babara Plett.

Rehman Malik said Pakistan has contacted Interpol and written to the Foreign Office, requesting details about those arrested, including the charges, and any evidence that links them to the alleged terror plot. He said so far London has supplied no information to Pakistan, not even enough to verify that the suspects are indeed Pakistani. But once it did, he said, Islamabad would extend full support to the investigation²⁰ and follow up any leads that arose. He also said if there’s solid evidence against the suspects, they should be tried in the UK, and not deported²¹ to Pakistan.

Thousands of people whose homes were destroyed by an earthquake in central Italy are preparing to celebrate Easter in makeshift camps. The Italian Prime Minister Silvio BERLUSCONI has said he would attend a special Mass in L'Aquila on Sunday. The extent of the damage caused by the earthquake has raised questions about the quality of buildings and their construction. And the L'Aquila prosecutor²² is opening an investigation into allegations of shoddy workmanship. More than 290 bodies have now been removed from the rubble²³.

Journalists from a Moldova newspaper and its sister television station say they fear for their safety and are seeking political asylum²⁴ in the United States. Employees of "Jurnal de Chisinau" and JTV say they’ve been intimidated²⁵ by the Moldavian authorities. And that a number of their homes have been searched by police. On Tuesday, opposition supporters stormed Parliament in the capital Chisinau, during a protest against what they say was “a rigged election” in which the communist party was returned to power. Riot police were called in when the protest turned violent.

海盗袭击了索马里海岸的两外两艘船只，一人被捕获，一人受伤害。海事官员声称一艘载着16名水手的意大利拖船在亚丁海湾被捕获，另一艘悬挂土耳其国旗的航船的船员用水管击退海盗，得以逃生。海盗在海上劫持一名美国船长做人质，他们与美国海军之间的仍未化解的僵局引发了此次袭击。同时，“马士基-阿拉巴马”号海船已抵达肯尼亚蒙巴萨岛港口，记者约拿.费希尔从此处发回报道。

美国联邦调查局可能已登上“马士基-阿拉巴马”号，调查这20名美国船员上周是如何击退袭击的海盗的。菲利普斯船长可能仍被劫持在离索马里海岸数百千米的一只救生船上，同劫持他的四名海盗在一起。可能有几艘美国军舰同联邦调查局一起同海盗进行协商。

联合国常任理事国同日本已就朝鲜本月早期发射火箭一事进行谴责的声明草案达成一致，这是一项非强制性声明，而非强制性的。Joe Donison从华盛顿发回报道。

该声明敦促委员会加快对金正日的武器计划进行制裁，同时声称，朝鲜发射火箭违背了现有的2006年通过的联合国安理会1718号决议。如联合国通常的作法，该声明也是一次妥协。是向朝鲜发出的一个信号，但并没有实施美国、尤其是日本希望的最强硬的条款。

马达加斯加前总统马克·拉瓦卢马纳纳的支持者结束了一项意在结束本国政治危机的对话，该声明是在一万多人聚集首都、要求马克·拉瓦卢马纳纳复职后作出的。拉瓦卢马纳纳上月在一场军事政变中被驱逐。Joey Hogg从首都塔那那利佛发回详细报道。

拉瓦卢马纳纳拥护者的高级发言人对协商和联合国特使 Tiebile Drame的行事方式进行严厉抨击，他指控Drame有自己的议程并试图将自己的决议强加在危机上，是不公正的。他认为这次对话是在浪费时间。Drame对指控表示否认。这对于那些希望该对话结束这场仍在困扰该国政治危机的人们来说，事态的如此发展是一打击。

由于曾参与讨论污蔑反对派保守党高级官员的运动，事情败露后，英国首相的一名高级顾问被迫辞职。顾问麦布赖德曾用自己的官方电子邮件，发放有关该运动计划的邮件。政府声称首相戈登.鲁朗和办公室的任何人都对该计划不知情，并此事“幼稚且不恰当”。

巴基斯坦表示，目前尚未正式收到在英国被捕的11名巴基斯坦人的消息，这11人因与一起所谓的恐怖密谋有关而被捕。内务部长Rehman Malik告诉记者，伊斯坦堡尚未收到来自伦敦的任何详情。据英方警察称，这些人是巴基斯坦人，目前持学生签证住在英国。Babara Plett从伊斯坦堡发回报道。

Rehman Malik说，巴基斯坦已同国际警察组织联系，并致信给英国外交部，要求得到被捕人员的详情，包括罪名、与所谓的恐怖阴谋有关的证据。他说伦敦方面目前尚未向巴基斯坦提供任何信息，这不足以证明嫌疑犯就是巴基斯坦人。他说，但是如果确实如英方所说，伊斯坦堡将对调查提供全力支持，把案件追究到底。同时他表示，如果确有不利于嫌疑犯的有力证据，应该在英国对其进行审问，而不是驱逐回巴基斯坦。

意大利中部数千名地震中家园被毁的人们已在暂时帐篷中为庆祝复活节做好准备，意大利总理贝卢斯科尼表示，他将参加周日拉奎拉举行的特别弥撒仪式。地震造成的严重损害使人们对建筑物和建筑质量进行质疑。拉奎拉检察官已开始对建筑低劣指控进行调查。290多人已从废墟中获救。

摩尔多瓦一家报纸和其姐妹电台的记者们声称，他们担心自身安全，正在寻求美国的政治避难。《基希讷乌日报》和JTV电视台的员工声称，他们遭受了摩尔多瓦当局的威胁。他们中一些人的家已遭到警察搜查。周二，反对派的拥护者在首都基希讷乌对国会进行抨击，抗议所谓的“操纵选举”，在这次选举中共产党重新掌权。抗议升级为暴力行为后，防暴警察被派前来镇压。

1 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

2 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。

3 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。

4 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

5 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

9 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

10 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》

11 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。

12 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

13 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

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。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

14 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

15 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。

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 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

18 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

19 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。

20 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。

21 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

23 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。

24 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

25 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》