英国新闻听力 通用汽车将减少40%经销商

President Obama has announced that he will restart the military trials at Guantanamo Bay for some terrorism suspects, a judicial¹ system he had previously² denounced. He said that additional safeguards would ensure that suspects got a fairer hearing. From Washington, James Coomarasamy reports.

After several months of consideration, President Obama has decided³ to modify a system that many of his supporters want to see scrapped⁴. In a statement, the White House said he was recommending that the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay resume once Congress has approved certain changes to their rules, guaranteeing greater rights to the detainees. No longer will evidence be admissible that was obtained through cruel, inhuman⁵ or degrading forms of interrogation, there will be strict limits on hearsay⁶ evidence and more leeway for prisoners to choose their defense⁷ and if they wish, to refuse to testify. President Obama says these changes will protect the country and uphold its values but human rights groups are angry. They argue that he is simply tinkering with a system that is fatally flawed.

The United States has released a Guantanamo detainee whose landmark⁸ appeal to the Supreme⁹ Court secured inmates¹⁰ at the military prison the right to challenge their confinement¹¹. The man an Algerian, Lakhdar Boumediene flew to France after being freed from seven years’ custody¹² at the Guantanamo naval¹³ base. France confirmed earlier this month that it would accept Mr. Boumediene who was cleared of wrongdoing last November. Mr. Boumediene was one of six Algerian men arrested in October 2001 in Bosnia.

Thousands of people have fled from Mingora, the main town in the Swat valley in northwest Pakistan to escape fighting between the army and the Taliban insurgents¹⁴. The United Nations says almost one million people have been displaced in the region as Pakistani forces engage in three offensives against the Taliban. The military commander in North West Frontier Province General Tariq Khan said the military operations would probably be wrapped up within about a month, but the fight against the Taliban would continue in other ways.

If you’re talking about bringing a closure to cohesive¹⁵, organized military operations as we’re looking at the Swat operations right now, I wouldn’t give it more than about something like a month. If you’re looking at it all told, if we continue with the resolve and the rest of the agencies as well I think by the end of the year or so we should be able to see military operations changed into policing operations.

The American carmaker General Motors has told more than 1000 of its dealers¹⁶ in the United States that their contracts are being terminated. GM says it wants to cut the total number of dealers by 40% by 2010. It says this is part of a plan to save the firm from insolvency¹⁷. The company’s rival Chrysler has said it would close a quarter of its dealerships in the US. The moves by GM and Chrysler mean up to 100,000 people may lose their jobs. Both companies have received billions of dollars in US government aid in an attempt to stay in business.

World News from the BBC

The head of the British Army General Sir Richard Dannatt says Britain’s experience in Iraq has damaged its reputation as a reliable ally and military partner of the United States. General Dannatt said Britain needed to make an honest self-appraisal of its performance in Iraq to restore its credibility. In a speech in London, he also called for reappraisal of what Britain’s military was for. Here is our defense correspondent Rob Watson reports.

Put crudely, the debate pits those who believe Britain and other western countries should prepare for the possibility of conflicts with other large states like China against those who believe the future will look very much like the present and that the main threats will come from violent extremism. General Sir Richard Dannatt has now come down firmly in the second camp, arguing that Britain is likely to find itself in a generational struggle against al-Qaeda and other militant¹⁸ Islamists rather than against other states.

The United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay has called for an independent investigation¹⁹ into the killing²⁰ of civilians²² in the conflict in Sri Lanka. A spokesman for Mrs. Pillay said there had to be accountability for what had gone on in Sri Lanka. The comments come as the Sri Lankan army is engaged in what it contends to be a final assault on the last strip of territory controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels on the northeastern coast. The government is accused of shelling civilian²¹ areas while the rebels are charged with holding civilians as human shields and shooting at those who are attempting to flee the conflict zone. Both sides deny the charges.

The main rebel group in Nigeria has declared an all-out war in the Niger Delta²³ following what it described as an aerial bombardment. The Movement for the Emancipation²⁴ of the Niger Delta, MEND accused the air force of attacking civilians. A Nigerian military spokesman said the operation which was continuing was aimed at releasing sailors taken hostage when two ships were hijacked²⁵ earlier this week. There has been no official response to a rebel statement that one hostage was killed in crossfire²⁶.

美国总统奥巴马宣布将恢复关塔纳摩军事法庭对恐怖分子嫌疑人的审判。此前，奥巴马曾公然抨击该审判体系。他说，将增派警卫人员，确保嫌疑人的审判更加公正。华盛顿， James Coomarasamy报道。

经过数月考虑，奥巴马总统决定修正他的众多支持者希望废弃的体系。在一份声明中，白宫方面表示，一旦国会通过一些条例变革，能够保证被拘留者享有更多的权利，奥巴马将建议恢复关塔纳摩军事委员会。使用酷刑﹑非人道的和践踏人格的审讯手段获取的证供，将不允许作为证据。对第三方证据将有更严格的限制，囚犯选择辩护律师将有更大的余地，还可以拒绝作证。奥巴马称，这些变革可以保卫国家，支撑价值观。但是人权组织表示愤慨。他们表示，奥巴马只是在修补一个有致命瑕疵的体系。

美国释放一名关塔纳摩囚犯，此标志性事件为军事监狱被关押囚犯提供了向最高法院挑战限制的权利。这名男子是阿尔及利亚人，名叫Lakhdar Boumediene，在关塔纳摩海军基地被关押七年，被释放后飞往法国。法国本月初确认将接受Boumediene，因为他于去年11月已消除不道德行为嫌疑。Boumediene是2001年10月份在波斯尼亚被捕的六名阿尔及利亚人之一。

数千人从巴基斯坦西北部的斯瓦特河谷主要城镇Mingora遁逃，以逃离军队和塔利班叛乱分子之间的战争。联合国称，自巴基斯坦军队对塔利班分子发动三次袭击以来，该地区已有一百万人被迫转移。北部边境省份General Tariq Khan军事指挥官称，军事行动一个月之内将会结束，但是，反对塔利班分子的战争会以其他方式继续进行。

如果考虑结束斯瓦特河谷地区有组织的军事行动，时间不会超过一个月。如果我们继续这种方案，我认为大约在今年年底，我们就会看到军事行动转变为警察行动。

美国汽车制造商通用汽车通知美国1,000多名经销商合同终止。通用汽车表示，截止到2010年，他们将把经销商的数量减少40%。它表示，这是防止公司破产的部分计划。其竞争对手克莱斯勒则表示将结束该公司在美国四分之一的代理权。通用和克莱斯勒此举意味着将有100,000人失业。双方均接受了美国政府数十亿美元的援助以继续经营。

BBC世界新闻。

英国陆军上将Richard Dannatt称，英国军队在伊拉克的经历完全毁坏了其作为美国最可信赖的盟友和军事搭档的名声。Dannatt上将称，英国需要为其在伊拉克的表现做一个诚实的自我评估以重塑其信誉。在伦敦发表讲话时，他同样呼吁重新评估英国军事行为的目的。下面是我们的国防记者Rob Watson提供的报道。

简单的说，争论的焦点是，一部分人认为英国和其他西方国家应该准备应对与其他大国，比如中国发生冲突的可能性，另外一些人则认为未来的形势和现在大抵相同，主要的威胁来自暴力极端主义。Richard Dannatt上将现在完全支持第二阵营，认为英国会发现自己几代的时间都在对抗基地组织和其他激进伊斯兰分子，而不是对抗其他国家。

联合国人权组织领导Navi Pillay要求对斯里兰卡冲突中平民被杀事件进行独立调查。Pillay一名发言人称，必须有人为斯里兰卡的事件负责。有评论称，斯里兰卡正在对东北沿海由塔米尔猛虎组织控制的最后区域发起总攻。政府军队被指控轰炸平民区域，而反叛分子被指利用平民作为人肉盾牌，射杀企图逃离冲突区域的平民。双方对指控内容均表示否认。

尼日利亚主要反叛组织发动空中炮击之后宣布在尼罗河三角洲发动全面战争。尼罗河三角洲释放运动（ The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND）指责空军袭击平民。尼日利亚军方发言人称，仍在继续的军事行动的目的是释放本周初被劫持的两艘船只上的水手。反叛分子发表声明称，一名人质在交火中被杀，官方目前为止未做出任何回应。

1 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

5 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。

6 hearsay   

n.谣传，风闻

参考例句：

• They started to piece the story together from hearsay.他们开始根据传闻把事情的经过一点点拼湊起来。
• You are only supposing this on hearsay.You have no proof.你只是根据传闻想像而已，并没有证据。

7 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。

8 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

12 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

13 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。

14 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

15 cohesive   

adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的

参考例句：

• She sealed the parcel with cohesive tape.她用粘胶带把包裹封起来。
• The author skillfully fuses these fragments into a cohesive whole.作者将这些片断巧妙地结合成一个连贯的整体。

16 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

17 insolvency   

n.无力偿付，破产

参考例句：

• The company is on the verge of insolvency.该公司快要破产了。
• Normal insolvency procedures should not be applied to banks.通常的破产程序不应当适用于银行。

18 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

19 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。

20 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。

21 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。

22 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。

23 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

24 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

26 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。