英国新闻听力 国际油价下跌到60美元以下

World oil prices have fallen below 60 dollars a barrel is seen as an indication that investors¹ are worried that the recovery of the global economy may not be as strong as hoped and it comes as the recession in the US hit a new low with this year's budget deficit² now more than $1 trillion. Robin³ Smith reports.

For all the signs of optimism from the international think tanks, there're still many conflicting signals about the state of the global economy and the prospects⁴ for long-term recovery. The drop of more than a tenth in oil prices in recent days reinforces this uncertainty⁵ as both cause and effect. The oil price shot up 40% from March to June, hitting 73 dollars a barrel. Now oil analysts⁶ are forecasting the price to fall back to 55 dollars and to stay there until there're better signs of recovery in the global economy. Robin Smith.

President Obama said that the allegations of allies of the US military in Afghanistan killed as many as 2, 000 Taliban prisoners had not been properly investigated. The killings⁷ took place in 2001 and are said to be overseen⁸ by the Afghan warlord, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who fought alongside the US troops. John Donaldson reports from Washington.

In 2001, General Dostum was a commander with Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, working with American forces in the fight against the Taliban. The allegations against him say he oversaw⁹ the suffocating¹⁰ of up to 2, 000 Taliban prisoners who have been transported in Northern Alliance container trucks. They were then apparently¹¹ buried in mass graves. When asked about it in a television interview, President Obama stop short of calling for a formal investigation¹², but said he’d asked his security advisers¹³ to gather report of the facts.

Five people have been killed in an attack by Nigeria militants¹⁴ on an oil depot¹⁵ in the main city Lagos. It's the first such incident outside the Niger Delta¹⁶ where militants say they're fighting for a greater share, share of oil revenues. The Movement for the Emancipation¹⁷ of the Niger Delta said it carried out the attack. Henry Okah thought to be the leader of MEND has been released from jail after the government dropped treason charges against him. With more details, here is Caroline Delphi.

Henry Okah has been in jail for a month, facing charges that carry the death penalty here in Nigeria. His lawyers have done a deal with Nigerian government and he accepted an offer of amnesty. What he now says may sway the minds of other militants in the Delta. The government wants all of the armed groups in the Niger Delta to accept an amnesty and to disarm¹⁸. MEND say they are now entering a new phase of campaign of violence alongside political negotiations¹⁹. And to prove their point, they attacked the primary oil depot serving Lagos, blowing up its supply channels. Caroline Delphi.

The President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe and his Prime Minister and former rival Morgan Tsvangirai have jointly²⁰ addressed the media, calling for unity²¹ and condemning²² disturbances²³ at a meeting to discuss a new constitution. Mr. Mugabe said the government wouldn't accept further disturbances, adding it was necessary to complete the update of the charter. Earlier the opening session of discussions about the new constitution had to be abandoned after supporters of President Mugabe disrupted it, dancing and singing revolutionary songs.

Israeli Arab politicians have criticized the plan by the Israeli government to remove traditional Arabic and English place names from road signs and replace them with transliterations from Hebrew. Under the new system, Jerusalem will be identified only as "Yerushalaim" in stead of "Jerusalem" in English, and "al-Quds" in Arabic. Israeli authorities said the aim was to end confusion over spelling variations.

The Burmese ambassador to the United Nations, Than Swe has told the UN Security Council that his government will release political prisoners to allow them to take part in elections next year. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the move as “encouraging". From New York, Laura Trevelyan.

Using careful, bureaucratic²⁴ language, Burma's ambassador Than Swe announced following Ban ki-moon's request, the Burmese government was processing the granting of an amnesty to political prisoners so they could take part in the 2010 elections. The ambassador didn't say how many of the estimated 2, 100 prisoners would be released and nor did he say whether the most famous of them, the jailed opposition²⁵ leader Aung San Suu Kyi, would be included. That seems unlikely. The ambassador warned that only appropriate recommendations from Mr. Ban would be implemented²⁶. Laura Trevelyan reporting from the UN in New York.

国际油价下跌到每桶60美元以下，这被视为投资者担心全球经济复苏不像希望的那样强劲。而且美国的财政赤字已经超过1兆美元，让人担心美国的经济衰退达到新的低点。RobinSmith报道。

尽管国际智囊团宣布出现乐观迹象，然而对于全球经济状态和长期状况仍然有很多冲突信号。近日油价下跌超过10%，更加深了这种不确定性。

从三月份至六月份，油价上升了40%，达到每桶73美元。现在，石油分析家预测油价将重新下跌到55美元，而且一直保持该价位，直到全球经济复兴出现更乐观的迹象。

美国总统奥巴马表示，对于美国驻阿富汗盟军杀害2,000名塔利班囚犯的指控尚未进行适当调查。杀戮事件发生在2001年，据说，与美军并肩作战的阿富汗军阀Abdul Rashid Dostum负责监视这一过程。JohnDonaldson在华盛顿报道。

2001年，Dostum将军是阿富汗北方联盟的指挥官，与美国军队一起打击塔利班分子。对他的指控称，北方联盟用封闭集装箱运送战俘致使他们窒息死亡，随后集体埋葬。在接受电视采访时，奥巴马总统没有要求进行正式调查，但是他说，他已经要求安全顾问收集相关报告。

尼日利亚好战分子在首都拉各斯一家油库发动袭击，已造成5人死亡。这是尼日尔三角洲以外发生的首次袭击事件。好战分子称他们希望争取石油收益的更大份额。尼日尔三角洲解放运动称他们发动了这次袭击。由于政府取消了对其叛国罪的指控，尼日尔三角洲解放运动领袖Henry Okah被从监狱释放。Caroline Delphi报道详细信息。

Henry Okah在监狱被囚禁一个月，面临死刑判决。其律师与尼日利亚政府达成协议，随后Henry Okah得到特赦。政府希望尼日尔三角洲所有军队组织均接受该特赦令并解除武装。尼日尔三角洲解放运动称，他们已进入暴力运动与政治协商并行的新阶段。为了证明他们的观点，他们袭击了拉各斯城内主要油库，炸毁其供应管道。Caroline Delphi。

津巴布韦总统穆加贝和总理及前竞争对手摩根·茨万吉拉伊联合向媒体发表讲话，在讨论新宪法的会议中呼吁统一，谴责动乱。穆加贝称，政府不会接受进一步的动乱。他补充说，完成宪章的更新是非常必要的。此前，由于总统穆加贝的支持者用舞蹈和演唱革命歌曲进行扰乱，不得不放弃了关于新宪法的公开讨论会议。

以色列政府计划将路标上传统的阿拉伯和英文地名取消，换成希伯来语直译，该计划引起了以色列阿拉伯政治家的批判。按照新的体系，耶路撒冷在英语中只能写作Yerushalaim，而不是Jerusalem，而用阿拉伯语表示则是al-Quds。以色列当局表示，此举是为了消除拼写多样化引发的混乱。

缅甸驻联合国大使Than Swe告诉联合国安理会，缅甸政府将释放政治囚犯，允许他们参加明年的选举。联合国秘书长潘基文称此举非常“鼓舞人心”。纽约，Laura Trevelyan报道。

缅甸大使Than Swe使用了小心翼翼，官僚化的语言宣布，应联合国秘书长潘基文的要求，缅甸政府决定特赦政治囚犯，让他们得以参加2010年的选举。Than Swe没有表明，大约2,100名囚犯中有多少可以得以释放，也没有表明其中最著名的反对派领袖昂山素季是否包括在内。这似乎是不可能的。这位大使表示，他们只会执行潘基文的建议中比较合理的部分。Laura Trevelyan在联合国报道。

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

4 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 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。

8 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

9 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

10 suffocating   

a.使人窒息的

参考例句：

• After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后，她感到自己毫无自由。
• That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了，我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

12 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。

13 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

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 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

16 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。

17 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》

18 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

19 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。

20 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。

21 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。

22 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》

23 disturbances   

n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍

参考例句：

• The government has set up a commission of inquiry into the disturbances at the prison. 政府成立了一个委员会来调查监狱骚乱事件。
• Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances. 已调集了增援警力来平定骚乱。

24 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

25 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。

26 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句