英国新闻听力 波音787完成处女航

The European Union has initialed an agreement to end one of the world's longest-running trade disputes over bananas. The EU, the world's biggest importer of bananas, is to cut the duty it imposes on Latin American producers of the fruit, while bananas grows in former European colonies will gradually lose the preferential terms they've enjoyed. Andrew Walker reports.

The deal signed in Geneva commits the European Union to gradually lowering the tariffs¹ it imposes on bananas imported mainly from Latin America. The cut will be over a third by 2017. That will reduce the competitive advantage of a group of countries, mainly former colonies of EU states in Africa and Caribbean, which enjoyed tariff-free access. The EU plans to provide those countries with some compensation, in a shape of nearly 300,000 dollars in additional aid.

Britain has announced big changes in defense² spending to pay for the war in Afghanistan. Two warships³ have been off board and many civilian⁴ jobs will go to help found a 1.5 billion dollar boost for the campaign in Afghanistan, including 22 new Chinook transport helicopters. Nick Childs reports.

There's been much anguish⁵, emotion and political debate in Britain around whether British troops in Afghanistan are getting enough of the right equipment, not least helicopters. So on one level, these increases, especially in the workhorse Chinook helicopters, will be broadly welcomed. But the first of these new machines won't be available before 2012. And these improvements will be paid for by reducing other defense capabilities⁶, cutting two to three squadrons of fighters, phasing out reconnaissance aircraft early and closing an airbase.

A new more fuel-efficient airliner⁷ designed by the American plane maker⁸ Boeing has been making its maiden⁹ test flight near Seattle. Boeing, which invested 10 billion dollars in the project, says the new 787 Dreamliner will save airlines millions of dollars a year in fuel and maintenance cost. Our correspondent Rajesh Mirchandani watched as the flight got on the way.

Under leaden skies outside Seattle, hundreds of Boeing employees and members of the media watched as the 787, or Dreamliner, took off for the first time -- the maiden voyage of a plane some think will revolutionize air travels. Airlines have ordered more than 800, but production delays mean it is two years behind schedule. And some nervous customers have canceled their orders. Still there were cheers from Boeing workers when it took off. In the race for the skies, they know they face stiff competition from among others, the European consortium Airbus.

The former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has condemned¹⁰ the arrest warrant issued against her by a court in London as an abuse of the British legal system. The warrant alleged¹¹ that Ms. Livni was responsible for war crimes during Israel's campaign in Gaza earlier this year, when she was a member of Israel's inner cabinet. The warrant was canceled when Ms. Livni called off a visit to London.

President Obama has ordered the purchase of a civilian prison in the United States to house suspects currently held in the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. From Washington, Adam Brooks¹² reports.

It was one of the earliest acts of the Obama administration, an order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention¹³ camps. And today the administration took a significant step towards doing so. The prison in Thomson, Illinois, will provide a bleak¹⁴ new home for up to 100 Guantanamo Bay detainees when the camps in Cuba finally close down. Human rights lawyers today welcome to the news that the process of closing Guantanamo Bay seems to be moving ahead. But they still questioned whether all the detainees, many of whom have spent seven years in detention without trial, will ever receive due process.

Mr. Obama has told Democratic Senators not to let disagreement over details halt the passage of a landmark¹⁵ health care reform bill. Mr. Obama said the measure, regardless of its final form, could be the greatest legislative¹⁶ achievement on health care in more than 40 years. Similar legislation has already been passed by the House of Representatives. The bill in the Senate is stalled over several provisions, including one which would extend Medicare public health coverage¹⁷ to people as young as 55. Democrats¹⁸ need all the 60 votes they control in the Senate to get the bill passed.

A trial in Turkey, which lasted nearly 28 years, has finally concluded. More than 1,200 defendants¹⁹, all alleged members of an extreme left-wing group, were charged following a military coup²⁰ in 1980. The initial trial lasted for ten years. Then the case went to the appeal court, where it’s set for 13 more years because some of the evidence had gone missing. Thirty-nine of the defendants have now been given life sentences, although they won't actually serve any time because they've already spent so long in jail. Thirteen died during the trial.

欧盟最终达成协议，终止了世界上历时最长的香蕉贸易争端。欧盟是世界最大的香蕉进口商，它将减少拉丁美洲香蕉种植者的进口关税，而前欧洲殖民地的香蕉种植也将逐渐失去所享受的优惠条款。Andrew Walker报道。

在日内瓦签订的协议规定，欧盟逐渐降低从拉丁美洲进口的香蕉的关税。截至2017年，降低幅度将超过三分之一。这将使享受免税政策一些国家失去竞争优势，主要是欧盟国家在非洲和加勒比海的前殖民地。欧盟计划对这些国家提供补偿，为他们提供接近300,000美元的额外援助。

英国宣布对阿富汗战争的国防开支出做出重大调整。两艘战舰已经出发，许多平民就业岗位将为阿富汗的活动增加15亿美元的刺激，包括22架新的切努克运输直升机。Nick Childs报道。

在英国，针对英国驻阿富汗军队是否拥有足够的正确的设备，尤其是直升机，一直存在着痛苦，情绪和政治争论。所以，在某种程度上，这次增加设备，尤其是重型机器切努克运输直升机的增加将受到广泛的欢迎。但是首架新型机器要到2012年之后才能出炉。而这次增加设备的费用将通过削减其他国防项目，减少两架战斗机，撤出侦察机以及关闭空军基地来实现。

美国飞机制造商波音公司制造的更加节省燃料的新型飞机在西雅图进行首次试航。波音公司在该项目投资100亿美元。他们表示，这种新型的787梦想飞机每年将为航空公司节省数百万美元的燃料和维修费用。我们的记者Rajesh Mirchandani观看了飞机启航的过程。

在西雅图灰色的天空下，数百名波音公司职员和媒体人员观看了787梦想飞机首次起飞——这是波音787的处女航，有人说这架飞机将使空中运输发生革命性的变化。航空公司已经下达800多架的订单，但是生产的延误使整个过程比原计划推迟了两年。一些焦急的顾客取消了自己的预定。然而，波音787起飞时，波音公司的员工中仍然爆发出欢呼声。在天空的竞争中，他们知道自己仍然面临其他飞机制造公司的激烈竞争，例如欧洲空客国际财团。

伦敦一家法庭指控以色列前外交部长利夫尼违反英国司法体系，签署了逮捕令。利夫尼对此提出谴责。逮捕令声称利夫尼应为今年年初以色列在加沙地带活动期间犯下的战争罪负责。利夫尼取消对伦敦的访问之后逮捕令被取消。

奥巴马总统下令在美国购买平民监狱，容纳目前关押在古巴关塔纳摩湾监狱的嫌疑犯。华盛顿， Adam Brooks报道。

关闭关塔纳摩湾拘留营是奥巴马政府采取的最早的行动之一。现在，奥巴马政府采取了进一步的措施。古巴关塔纳摩湾的集中营最终关闭之后，伊利诺伊州的汤姆森监狱将为100多名嫌疑犯提供阴冷的新家。关闭关塔纳摩湾监狱的过程似乎又进了一步，人权律师对该新闻表示欢迎。但是他们仍然质疑，这些大部分已经被关押了7年而未接受审判的囚犯最终能否获得公平的审判。

奥巴马总统告诉民主党参议员，不要让细节方面的分歧阻碍了里程碑式的医疗改革法案的进程。奥巴马总统表示，无论最终版本如何，这些措施都将成为40多年来医疗保健方面最伟大的成就。众议院目前已经通过了类似的法案。参议员的法案在某些条款方面搁浅，包括是否将公众医疗保险扩大至55岁人群。为了该法案通过，民主党需要他们在参议员控制的所有60个席位的赞成票。

土耳其历时接近28年的审判终于得出结论。1,200多名被告都被指控是极端左翼组织的成员，他们在1980年的军事政变之后被控告。首次审判持续了10年。随后，该案件被上诉，由于一些证据丢失，该案件又历时13年。现在已有39名被告被判处无期徒刑。然而他们已经在监狱被关押了这么久，他们已经没有多长时间来继续服刑了。13人在审判期间死亡。

1 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

2 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。

3 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

4 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。

5 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 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。

8 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

9 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

10 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。

11 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

12 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

14 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

15 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。

16 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

17 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

18 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

20 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。