英国新闻听力 泰坦尼克号最后一名幸存者去世

Aid workers and journalists have painted a picture of destruction and human misery¹ in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, a day after the army retook the main town of Mingero from the Taliban. The International Committee of the Red Cross says tens of thousands of vulnerable civilians² remain in the Swat Valley, in need of immediate³ and comprehensive help. It demanded unimpeded access for relief teams. The BBC’s Rifatullah Orakzai was among the group of journalists who entered the city today without military supervision⁴.

"We saw that the whole area is under control of the military, but the basic facilities, there are the people complain very much because there is no electricity, there is no water-supply, gas is suspended and telephone and mobile services have already suspended for the last three weeks, so they complained very much. And the people were very much more confronted with the shortage of foods.”

The United States says Cuba has agreed to its proposal to resume talks on the legal migration⁵ of Cubans to the US that were broken off by the Bush administration. The State Department said the Cubans also wanted to discuss direct mail links and other issues. From Washington, Kim Ghattas reports.

US officials described Cuba’s response as a positive development and a step forward. Cuba has an interest in migration talks because of often embarrassing illegal migration by Cubans into the United States. The new American administration has been pursuing engagement with Cuba and has already lifted restrictions⁶ on remittances⁷ and travel for Cuban-Americans. But Washington has so far resisted calls for further bigger steps like removing the trade embargo⁸ on the island.

A controversial American doctor, one of the few still carrying out late-term abortions¹⁰ has been shot and killed at his church in Wichita, Kansas. Local media say a suspect has been taken into custody¹¹. Police have not given any motive¹² for the killing¹³ of the doctor, George Tiller. However, he had survived an attempt to kill him at his abortion⁹ clinic in 1993.

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has accused forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of crossing a red-line after a raid on Hamas militants¹⁴ in the West Bank left six dead. Officials from Fatah which controls the West Bank under President Abbas say police raided a Hamas hideout in the town of Qalqiliya. Tensions between the two Palestinian factions¹⁵ have intensified¹⁶ since Hamas ousted¹⁷ Fatah from Gaza. Here’s Aleem Maqbool.

For nearly two years, Hamas has been in charge of the Gaza Strip while Fatah dominates in the West Bank. During that time, both sides have been accused by human rights groups of abuses of power against rival supporters. But Fatah says this incident was a case of simply trying to enforce the law, but that hasn’t stopped raising tensions. Hamas has accused Fatah of collaborating¹⁸ with Israel and now says it's considering withdrawing from already faltering¹⁹ reconciliation²⁰ talks.

World news from the BBC

The giant American car manufacturer General Motors is reported to have reached an agreement with the majority of its bondholders in a move that’s expected to ease a massive restructuring of the company. GM officials have been holding talks, a day before they are expected to file for bankruptcy²¹ protection in the courts in a government-backed plan to save the company from liquidation²². Reports from Washington said that 54% of bondholders had signed up to a deal that would give them at least a 10% stake in what’s likely to emerge as a much smaller company. The government is expected to take a stake of more than 70%.

The last survivor²³ of the Titanic²⁴ disaster Millvina Dean has died. She was 97. Helena Wilkinson reports.

At just nine weeks old, Millvina Dean was the youngest Titanic passenger. Her family were emigrating to America when the ship sank in 1912. Miss. Dean was placed in a sack and carried to safety along with her mother and brother. Her father Bertram died in the tragedy, one of more than 1,500 people who lost their lives. In October last year after struggling to pay for her private nursing home care, she sold some of her mementos²⁵.

The US Treasury²⁶ Secretary Timothy Geithner has said President Obama's administration wants to form a closer relationship with China. On his first official visit to Beijing, Mr. Geithner also sought to reassure²⁷ China that its 800-billion-dollar investment in US government debt was safe, saying the administration was committed to reducing future deficits²⁸. Mr. Geithner will hold two days of talk with Chinese leaders, including the Premier²⁹ Wen Jiabao, who in March expressed concern of the value of Beijing’s US assets.

Venezuela's president Hugo Chaves has called off what was supposed to be a marathon four days of television broadcast, citing technical problems. President Evo Morales of Bolivia who was supposed to appear on the program alongside his socialist³⁰ ally has also canceled his visit to Venezuela.

巴基斯坦军方从塔利班分子手中夺回该地区主要城镇Mingero的第二天，救助工作人员和记者描述了斯瓦特河谷地区的毁坏和人道主义痛苦景象。国际红十字委员会称，斯瓦特河谷地区仍有数万受害平民需要即刻的广泛帮助。并要求巴基斯坦政府不要妨碍救济组织的进入。BBC记者今天与其他记者团一起在没有军方监控的情况下进入Mingero。

“我们看到整个地区都在军队的控制下，但是基础设施方面引起人们诸多抱怨，因为没有水电供应，在过去的三周之内，天然气，电话和移动服务全都暂停了，所以人们有很多怨言。现在，人们面临最大的问题就是食物短缺。”

美国称，古巴已同意其建议恢复古巴居民向美国合法移民的会谈，在布什政府期间，会谈活动被中断。美国国务院称，古巴居民还希望讨论直接通邮和其他事项。华盛顿，Kim Ghattas报道。

美国官员称古巴的反应是非常积极的发展和进步。古巴对移民会谈非常感兴趣，因为古巴向美国的非法移民向来非常尴尬。新一届美国政府一直寻求与古巴的合作，并对古巴裔美国人实施汇款和旅游方面的限制。但是华盛顿目前为止仍然拒绝在取消贸易禁令方面采取更大举措。

一名一直为孕妇实施后期堕胎的有争议的美国医生在堪萨斯Wichita的教堂被枪杀。当地媒体称已有一名犯罪嫌疑人被拘留。警方没有给出George Tiller被枪杀的动机。然而，1993年已有人企图在其堕胎诊所将其杀害，不过被他侥幸逃脱。

巴勒斯坦伊斯兰运动哈马斯指控总统阿巴斯的部队在对西岸的哈马斯好站分子发动袭击导致6人死亡之后穿越红四警戒线。控制西岸的法塔赫组织官员称，警方袭击了位于Qalqiliya的哈马斯隐藏点。自从哈马斯将法塔赫逐出加沙地带之后，这两个巴勒斯坦派系之间的形势更加紧张。

在接近两年的时间之内，哈马斯一直控制加沙地带，而法塔赫则掌管西岸。在此期间，双方都被人道主义组织指控对其对手的支持则滥用权力。但是法塔赫称此举仅仅是为了加强法律，但是这并没有阻止紧张形势的增加。哈马斯指控法塔赫与以色列相勾结，现在正考虑退出已经停滞不前的和谈。

BBC世界新闻。

据报道，美国汽车制造巨头通用汽车在一项预期将缓解该公司重组的活动中与大多数债权人达成协议。在公司向美国政府支持的保护公司免于关闭的法庭申请破产保护的前一天，通用公司官员已经在召开谈话。来自华盛顿的报告称，54%的债券所有人已经签署了协议，在公司重组成更小的公司后，他们将持有至少10%的股份。政府将控股超过70%。

泰坦尼克号灾难的最后一个幸存者Millvina Dean去世，终年97岁。Helena Wilkinson报道。

当时Millvina Dean只有九周大，是泰坦尼克号上年龄最小的乘客。1912年泰坦尼克号沉没的时候，他们已经正在往美国移民。 Dean小姐被放在一个袋子里，和她的母亲和哥哥一起被带到安全的地方。他的父亲在那次灾难中丧生，另外还有1,500人也失去生命。去年10月份，由于难以支付私人护理费用，她出售了一些纪念品。

美国财政部长盖特纳称奥巴马政府希望与中国建立更紧密的关系。在其第一次正式出访北京的过程中，盖特纳向中国保证，中国在美国政府债券方面的8,000亿美元的投资是安全的，美国政府承诺减少未来的财政赤字。盖特纳将与中国领导人进行为期两天的会谈，其中包括国务院总理温家宝。温总理在三月份曾经对中国在美国的投资的价值表示担忧。

委内瑞拉总统查韦斯停止原本计划的在电视广播中进行的为期四天的马拉松式脱口秀节目，称是技术问题。玻利维亚总统莫拉莱斯原本计划与其社会主义联盟一起出现在节目中，但是现在已宣布取消出访委内瑞拉。

1 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

2 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。

3 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。

4 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网

8 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

9 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

10 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

13 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。

14 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。

15 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

16 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

19 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

20 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

21 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

22 liquidation   

n.清算，停止营业

参考例句：

• The bankrupt company went into liquidation.这家破产公司停业清盘。
• He lost all he possessed when his company was put into liquidation.当公司被清算结业时他失去了拥有的一切。

23 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

24 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

25 mementos   

纪念品，令人回忆的东西( memento的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The museum houses a collection of mementos, materials and documents. 博物馆保存着很多回忆录以及文献资料。
• This meant, however, that no one was able to retrieve irreplaceable family mementos. 然而，这也意味着谁也没能把无可替代的家庭纪念品从火中救出来。

26 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

27 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

28 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

29 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

30 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。