英国新闻听力 美联储称将继续提供低利率贷款

The BBC has learned that a Libyan man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing is likely to be released from a Scottish prison next week on compassionate¹ grounds. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi has terminal prostate cancer. Steve Jackson reports.

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is serving a life sentence in jail for blowing up a Pan Am airliner² over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing³ 270 people. But the BBC has now learned that preparation is being made to free him and return him to Libya by the end of next week in time for Ramadan. The Scottish government has yet to make a formal order for Mr. al-Megrahi's release but is expected to do so within days. Freeing him is likely to be a controversial move with the US attorney general and many relatives of those who died in the bombing fiercely opposing his release.

Georgia has strongly condemned⁴ the visit by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to its breakaway region of Abkhazia just a year after the two countries fought a brief war over the territory. Mr. Putin promised to spend 500 million dollars next year on military bases in Abkhazia and on fortifying⁵ the territory's border with Georgia. Richard Galpin reports from the Abkhaz capital Sukhumi.

The Russian prime minister was given a hero's welcome here by relatives of those killed in the first war with Georgia in the early 1990s, people calling him a guardian⁶ angel and thanking him for Russia's military intervention⁷ last year which crushed Georgia's hopes of regaining⁸ control of its breakaway regions. A top advisor⁹ to the Abkhaz government said Abkhazia had no choice but to get help from Russia. Just like in Georgia's, other breakaway region of South Ossetia, Moscow has now taken full control of security here.

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continuing her African tour has asked Nigeria to take a firmer line on corruption¹⁰ and on strengthening democracy. Mrs. Clinton, who's been meeting senior figures from the government and political parties, offered American help to implement¹¹ electoral reform in Nigeria.

We strongly support and encourage the government of Nigeria's efforts to increase transparency, reduce corruption, provide support for democratic processes in preparation for the 2011 elections.

The authorities in the Chinese capital Beijing have reportedly ordered hotels and residence there not to give lodging¹² to people trying to petition the central government about local grievances¹³. Reports from Hong Kong said the measure is to be enforced for two months.

The police in Sri Lanka say they're to round up all the street children in the capital, Colombo, to ensure that they go to school. A police spokesman said the children would be brought to Magistrate’s Courts if parents or guardians¹⁴ could be traced, they too would be summoned. The official said that if the children's families couldn't afford to send them to school, the government would fund it. The authorities expect most of the operation to be over in a few days which the BBC correspondent in Colombo describes as an ambitious target.

The United States central bank, the Federal Reserves says it will keep interest rates close to zero for an extended period. It said it wanted to ease the effects of recession despite signs of recovery in the economy. Greg Wood reports from New York.

The Federal Reserve believes that the US economy has entered a new phase, whereas two months ago it thought the activity was continuing to decline, albeit¹⁵ at a slowing pace. It now detects signs that the economy is leveling out. In other words, things are not getting worse. Household spending has stabilized¹⁶ and companies are rebuilding their stocks of goods, but this is not yet a recovery. Jobs are still being lost, incomes are growing sluggishly¹⁷ and credit remains¹⁸ tight.

A court in the United States has ordered the software giant Microsoft to pay more than 290 million dollars in damages to a Canadian firm i4i for violating a patent. A district court in Texas also barred Microsoft from selling any products that contain the patented technology, including versions of its popular word processing software Word. The patent, relates to the use of a programming language called XML. Microsoft said it would appeal against the judgment¹⁹.

In some of the strongest criticism to date, the Roman Catholic Church says it feels mortified²⁰ by revelations surrounding the private life of the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. An editorial in the Italian Bishop's Conference Newspaper says the church has sent clear signals about its unease. Mr. Berlusconi's political party relies heavily on the support of Catholic voters.

The acclaimed²¹ opera singer Dame²² Kiri Te Kanawa said she was retiring. Dame Kiri, who is 65, said the strain of performing was becoming too intense. She will be singing for the last time in Germany next April. Dame Kiri started singing popular music in New Zealand in her late teens and gained attention as a classical singer when she won an opera contest in 1963. Her career blossomed after she moved to London to study.

BBC获悉1988年洛克比爆炸案的利比亚主要嫌疑犯下周将在苏格兰监狱获得释放。迈格拉希(Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi)已患末期前列腺癌。Steve Jackson报道。

由于在苏格兰小镇洛克比上空对泛美航空实施爆炸，造成270人死亡，迈格拉希(Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi)被判处无期徒刑。但是现在BBC获悉，苏格兰已准备释放迈格拉希，让他在下周末之前返回利比亚参加斋月节。苏格兰政府目前还没有正式下达释放迈格拉希的命令，但

是预期几天之内命令将公布。对于美国检查部门和爆炸中遇难的死者家属来说，迈格拉希被释放是非常有争议的举动。他们强烈反对将其释放。

俄罗斯总理普京在与格鲁吉亚进行短期战争一年之后访问从格鲁吉亚脱离地区阿布哈兹，格鲁吉亚强烈谴责了普京的行为。普京总理承诺，明年将提供5亿美元，用于建设阿布哈兹军事基地以及加强其与格鲁吉亚边境。Richard Galpin在阿布哈兹首都苏呼米报道。

普京总理在这里受到了英雄一般的欢迎，尤其是90年代初期与格鲁吉亚第一次战争中牺牲者的家属。他们称普京为“守卫天使”，感谢俄罗斯去年对格鲁吉亚采取军事干涉，粉碎了格鲁吉亚重新夺得分裂地区的希望。阿布哈兹政府一名高级顾问称，阿布哈兹别无选择，只能从俄罗斯寻求帮助。就好像格鲁吉亚其他分离地区南奥塞梯，现在莫斯科也完全控制了那里的安全形势。

美国国务卿希拉里继续其非洲之旅。她要求尼日利亚在反腐败和加强民主方面制定更加坚定的路线。希拉里会见了政府和政党高级官员，她说美国将帮助尼日利亚实施选举改革。

我们强力支持和鼓励尼日利亚政府增加透明度，减少腐败，我们将在2011年选举的准备工做中支持民主进程。

据报道，北京政府下令宾馆和当地居民不得为企图向中央政府控告当地政府的请愿者提供住宿。来自香港的报道称这个措施将执行两个月。

斯里兰卡警方称，他们将聚拢首都科伦坡医院的所有流浪儿童，确保他们去上学。一名警方发言人称，如果能够追踪到孩子的父母或监护人，孩子将被带到地方法庭，监护人也会收到传唤。这位官员称，如果孩子的家庭无力承担上学费用，政府将提供资助。斯里兰卡当局期望几天之内能够完成该行动。BBC驻科伦坡记者称这是一个非常宏伟的目标。

美国中央银行美联储称将继续提供接近零利率贷款更长时间。美联储称，尽管经济开始出现复苏的迹象，他们仍然希望减轻经济衰退带来的影响。Greg Wood在纽约报道。

联邦储蓄相信美国经济已经进入一个新的阶段，而两个月之前他们还认为经济活动将继续下滑，虽然下滑的速度减慢。现在，美联储观察到经济开始走出低谷的迹象。换句话说，形势不会更糟。家庭支出开始稳定，公司正在重新准备货物储备，但是这还不代表经济复苏。仍然有更多人失业，收入上涨缓慢，信贷依然紧缩。

美国一法庭下令美国软件巨头微软公司加拿大公司i4i支付2.9亿美元，以赔偿违反专利权给后者带来的损失。得克萨斯区级法院也下令禁止微软出售任何包含该专利技术的产品，包括其受欢迎的word处理软件。该专利是关于语言程序XML的使用。微软成其将对该判决提起上诉。

在目前为止最严厉的批评中，罗马天主教堂称非常悔恨披露了意大利总理贝卢斯科尼的私生活。意大利天主教会议报编辑称教堂明确表示了自己的不安。贝卢斯科尼的党派非常天主教投票者的支持。

著名的歌剧演员卡娜娃称她即将退休。65岁的卡娜娃说演出越来越紧张。明年四月，她将在德国进行最后一场演出。卡娜娃十几岁在新西兰开始演唱流行歌曲，1963年，她在一次歌剧比赛中作为古典歌手引起了大家的注意。她转移到伦敦学习之后，事业开始走上顶峰。

1 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

2 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

3 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。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

5 fortifying   

筑防御工事于( fortify的现在分词 )； 筑堡于； 增强； 强化（食品）

参考例句：

• Fortifying executive function and restraining impulsivity are possible with active interventions. 积极干预可能有助加强执行功能和抑制冲动性。
• Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, fortifying himself against still another disappointment. 文戈不再张望，他绷紧脸，仿佛正在鼓足勇气准备迎接另一次失望似的。

6 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

12 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

13 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

15 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

16 stabilized   

v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The patient's condition stabilized. 患者的病情稳定下来。
• His blood pressure has stabilized. 他的血压已经稳定下来了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 sluggishly   

adv.懒惰地；缓慢地

参考例句：

• The river is silted up and the water flows sluggishly. 河道淤塞，水流迟滞。
• Loaded with 870 gallons of gasoline and 40 gallons of oil, the ship moved sluggishly. 飞机载着八百七十加仑汽油和四十加仑机油，缓慢地前进了。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821

18 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。

19 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

20 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

22 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。