英国新闻听力 尼日利亚北部发生暴力冲突

More than 100 people have been killed in two days of continuing violence in northern Nigeria. There have been gun battles between Islamist militants¹ and police in four mainly Muslim states. The clashes began when militants demanding the wider adoption² of Islamic law attacked a police station in the city of Bauchi. Caroline Duffield reports from Lagos.

The worst of the violence is in Maiduguri in Borno State. Eyewitnesses³ there describe corpses⁴ piled up at the police station. People who’ve seen the bodies say that they are mostly young men and civilians⁵. Around the city, there are corpses scattered⁶ on streets and pavements. These appear to be civilians who have been pulled out of cars and shot. Residents in Maiduguri are now hiding in their homes. They say that the streets are now empty with the police and army moving through neighborhoods, firing shots into the air.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has used a meeting with the visiting American Defense⁷ Secretary Robert Gates to underline Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. An Israeli statement said Mr. Netanyahu had told Mr. Gates that all available means should be used to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Mr. Gates said President Obama will consider further sanctions against Iran if there was no improvement in bilateral⁸ relations.

“If the engagement process is not successful, the United States is prepared to press for significant additional sanctions that would be non-incremental, in other words, we will try and get international support for a much tougher position. Our hope still remains⁹ that Iran will respond to the president’s outstretched hand in a positive and constructive¹⁰ way. But we’ll see.”

President Obama has said the US and China must coordinate¹¹ their economic policies because the recession has shown how closely their decisions affect each other. He was addressing the first meeting of the new US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Washington. John Donaldson reports.

Little of substance was announced today, but President Obama said America’s relationship with China would shape the 21st century. He said the two countries needed to work together on issues such as climate change, trade and stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, with particular reference to North Korea. On the economy, he said both powers needed to work together for what he called a “lasting economic recovery”. America’s financial health is very much in China’s interest given that the US is in debt to Beijing to the tune¹² of over 700-billion dollars.

The Swedish government says it’s investigating reports that powerful Swedish-made rocket launchers were found in camps of Colombia’s Maoist rebel group, the FARC. The Colombian government says it believes the weapons were sold to neighboring Venezuela by a European country and it’s appealed for international help to stop the trade. Colombia has in the past accused Venezuela of supporting the rebel movement.

Canada has described a ban by the European Union on the imports of seal products as an unfair restriction¹³ on trade. It says it will appeal to the World Trade Organization. The international trade minister defended the annual hunt in which hundreds of thousands of seals are clubbed to death as being scientific, sustainable and humane¹⁴. European foreign ministers had agreed to the ban following years of appeals from animal rights groups.

The British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says insurgent¹⁵ groups in Afghanistan must be broken up and some of them reintegrated into Afghan politics. Mr. Miliband called for NATO and Afghan forces to make protecting people from the Taliban their top priority.

The French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says the European Union has agreed to train Somali security forces to fight piracy¹⁶. At talks in Brussels, EU foreign ministers said they wanted to stabilize¹⁷ Somalia which has been without a functioning government since 1991. Analysts¹⁸ say trainers from EU countries could soon be posted to Djibouti which neighbors Somalia.

A house in Johannesburg in South Africa where the Indian spiritual and political leader Mahatma Gandhi lived is being put on for sale. The owner of the property says she’s selling it after failing to find anyone interested in preserving its historical legacy¹⁹. Richard Hamilton reports.

Gandhi lived in the house on a quiet street in the northern Johannesburg suburb of Orchards²⁰ for three years from 1907 at a time when he began to formulate²¹ his philosophy of Truth and Nonviolence. He lived there with a friend Herman Kallenbach who actually designed the house with round walls and a traditional African thatch²². The current owner, an American artist who has lived there for 25 years, was hoping that a university or charitable foundation might be interested in preserving the house for antiquity²³. But having failed to attract such a buyer, she is putting it onto the open market.

尼日利亚北部持续两天的暴力冲突中已有100多人死亡。在四个主要的穆斯林州，伊斯兰好战分子和警方之间发生枪战。伊斯兰好战分子要求扩大采用伊斯兰教法的地区，他们对Bauchi一所警察局发动了袭击，随后，冲突开始。Caroline Duffield在拉各斯报道。

暴力冲突最严重的地区是在Borno州。目击者称，警察局尸体堆积如山。见到尸体的人称主要是年轻人和平民。在整个城市，街道和人行道上也有零散的尸体分布，似乎是被从车内拉出然后枪击的平民。Maiduguri的居民目前都藏在家中。他们说，由于警方和军队在社区展开行动，不断向空中扫射，街道上空荡荡的。

以色列总理内塔尼亚胡与到访的美国国防部长罗伯特·盖茨举行会议，借此机会，内塔尼亚胡强调了对伊朗核问题的担忧。以色列发表的一份声明称，内塔尼亚胡告诉盖茨，应该采取一切方法来阻止伊朗建立核武器。盖茨说，如果双边关系没有任何进展，奥巴马总统将考虑对伊朗进行进一步的制裁。

“如果洽谈进程不成功，美国准备对伊朗进行更多更严厉的制裁。换句话说，我们将获取国际社会的支持，增强我们的立场。我们仍然希望伊朗能够以积极和有建设性的方式对奥巴马总统伸出的橄榄枝作出回应。但是我们会继续观察。”

奥巴马总统说，美国和中国在经济政策方面应该采取合作，因为经济衰退已经表明双方的决定会密切影响对方。他在华盛顿举行的中美战略性经济对话第一场会议上发表讲话。John Donaldson报道。

今天没有宣布任何基本内容，但是奥巴马总统说，美国和中国之间的关系将会塑造二十一世纪。他说，两国需要在气候变化，贸易和防止核武器扩散，尤其是朝鲜的核武器方面采取更多的合作。在经济方面，他说，两个大国需要团结协作，创造“持久的经济复兴”。由于中国持有美国7000亿美元的债券，美国的金融体系健康深切关系到中国的利益。

有报告称，瑞典制造的强力火箭助推器在哥伦比亚武装力量毛泽东思想反叛组织营地内发现。瑞典政府称正在对此展开调查。哥伦比亚政府称，他们相信这些武器由一个欧洲国家出售给邻国委内瑞拉，他们呼吁国际支持来制止这种贸易。过去，哥伦比亚曾指控委内瑞拉支持其反叛运动。

欧盟颁布规定，禁止海豹制品的进口。加拿大称该禁令是不平等的贸易限制。加拿大称他们将诉诸世贸组织。其国际贸易部长称每年捕杀数十万头海豹的活动是科学的，可持续的，人道的。欧洲各国外交部长在经历了来自动物权利组织的呼吁之后同意了该禁令。

英国外交大臣戴维·米利班德称阿富汗的反叛组织必须解体，其中一些组织干预了阿富汗政治。米利班德呼吁北约和阿富汗军队保护人民免受塔利班分子的欺压，这是首要任务。

法国外交部长库什内尔称，欧盟已同意训练索马里安保部队打击海盗。在布鲁塞尔举行会谈时，欧盟外交部长称，索马里自1991年开始就没有正常运转的政府，他们希望能够稳定索马里的局势。分析家称，来自欧盟国家的训练人员很快就会抵达索马里邻国吉布提。

位于南非约翰内斯堡的原印度精神和政治领袖甘地居住过的一所房子即将出售。该财产业主称，她找不到人来保存这个历史遗产，只能将它出售。

1907年甘地开始形成其真理和非暴力哲学史在约翰内斯堡郊区Orchards这所房子里居住了三年。他和一个朋友Herman Kallenbach一起住在这里，实际上是Kallenbach设计了这座房子，用圆墙和传统的非洲屋顶建成。现在的业主是一名非洲艺术家，在这里居住了25年。她希望能有一所大学或慈善基金对保存这座古物有兴趣。但是她没有找到任何感兴趣的买主，只能将它放到自由市场上出售。

1 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。

2 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

3 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

4 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

5 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。

6 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

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 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

11 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

12 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

13 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

14 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

15 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

16 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

17 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

18 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。

19 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

20 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

21 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

22 thatch   

vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋)

参考例句：

• They lit a torch and set fire to the chapel's thatch.他们点着一支火把，放火烧了小教堂的茅草屋顶。
• They topped off the hut with a straw thatch. 他们给小屋盖上茅草屋顶。

23 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。