英国新闻听力 法航客机乘客失窃

Less than six months before a general election in Britain, the governing Labour Party is embroiled¹ again in internal strife². Two former cabinet ministers have called for secret ballot³ of members to decide whether the Prime Minister Gordon Brown should continue as party leader. Mr Brown has called a general election by June this year. Our political correspondent Rob Watson reports.

The two former cabinet ministers Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt had stunned⁴ everyone at Westminster with their last-minute efforts to challenge Gordon Brown's leadership. But Downing Street and Labour Party officials have moved quickly to quash any revolts. Most importantly, current cabinet ministers have come out and backed the prime minister,orbiting some cases with little apparent enthusiasm. So the latest challenge looks likely to be short lift. Although many within the Labour Party doubt Mr Brown's leadership qualities, they also seem to think it would only make things worse to get rid of him before the general election.

A grand jury in the American city of Detroit has formally charged the Nigerian man in connection with an alleged⁵ attempt to blow up an American airliner⁶ on Christmas Day. Among the six charges filed against Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab are attempted murder and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Richard Lister reports from Washington.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been indicted⁷ on six counts including the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and the attempted murder of the 278 other passengers and 11 crew aboard the plane. Northwest Flight 253 had taken off from Amsterdam. And it was about 20 minutes from landing at Detroit on December 25th, when it's alleged the young Nigerian tried to detonate bomb he had concealed⁸ in his underwear.

Shia Muslim rebels in Yemen have said the West's strategy to counter Al-Qaeda there almost certainly failed unless it is changed. The rebels,who oppose Al-Qaeda, said the plans to strengthen the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh against Jihadi organizations wouldn't work because its government had itself nurtured⁹ such groups. Yemeni officials denied this.

In Argentina, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has called on the Central Bank governor Martin Redrado to resign after he refused to allow the bank's reserves be used to repay government debt. Here is our economics correspondent Andrew Walker.

Argentina's government finance is stretched and President Fernandez wants to dip into Central Bank's reserves to ease the debt burden. The Central Bank governor has resisted and the president has called for his resignation. The Central Bank governor's reluctance¹⁰ to comply probably reflects the fact that Central Bank's reserves are usually meant for stabilizing¹¹ the value of the national currency. Using Central Bank funds to finance government activities is also widely seen by economists¹² as a policy that can cause inflation. AndArgentina has a long history of serious inflation problems.

The outgoing United Nations special representative to Afghanistan Kai Eide has delivered a strongly word at a very negative assessment¹³ of the situation in Afghanistan to the UN Security Council. From UN headquarters in New York, our correspondent Matthew Price reports.

Almost a decade now into United Nations' mission in Afghanistan and there is a growing acknowledgement that things are a mass. The UN special representative there didn't use that word of course, but Kai Eide's assessment paints a bleak¹⁴ picture indeed. He is worried about certain negative trends which he fears could become unmanageable. Afghans are frustrated¹⁵ with the situation, he says, so to international donors¹⁶. And like many,he worries that the insurgency¹⁷ is growing stronger.

A leading Democratic Party member of United States Senate Christopher Dodd says he won't be standing¹⁹ for re-election this year, a senator for over 30 years. Mr Dodd has faced questions about his links with the financial industry. His decision to stand down clears the way for another leading Democrat¹⁸ Richard Blumenthal to run for the seat.

French police were investigating reports that passengers on an Air France Flight from Tokyo to Paris had nearly 6,000 dollars stolen from their wallets. The thief is alleged to have struck while the victims all in business class were asleep. Police briefly²⁰ searched the plane on landing but failed to make any arrests. Air France said such events almost unheard of, but stressed that passengers were responsible for their own carry-on belongings²¹.

And as a row intensifies²² about a huge statue being built in the Senegalese capital Dakar, an architect involved in the project has said the woman featured in the monument should be dressed more decently. The architect said he'd submitted a proposal to President Abdoulaye Wade²³ to cover the woman's bare-legs with a concrete skirt. The 27-million-dollar statue has been denounced as idolatrous by Muslim leaders.

距离英国大选不到六个月之际，执政党工党再次卷入内部纷争。两位前内阁大臣要求进行无记名投票来决定首相戈登·布朗能否继续担任工党领袖。布朗呼吁在今年6月份之前进行大选。我们的政治记者Rob Watson报道。

两位前内阁大臣Geoff Hoon和Patricia Hewitt在最后一刻仍然试图挑战戈登·布朗的领导地位，他们的行为使国会大厦的每一个人都感到震惊。但是唐宁街和工党官员迅速采取行动平息纷争。最重要的是，现任内阁大臣们站出来支持首相，使一些案件没有明显的热情。所以，最新的挑战看上去可能是徒劳无益的。尽管工党内部许多人质疑布朗的领导质量，但是他们认为，在大选之前让其退位只会雪上加霜。

美国底特律一个大陪审团正式对试图在圣诞节当天在美国航班上实施爆炸的尼日利亚男子提起控告。陪审团共对阿卜杜勒-穆塔拉布提起六项控告，其中包括意图谋杀和意图使用大规模破坏性武器。Richard Lister在华盛顿报道。

阿卜杜勒-穆塔拉布共被控告六项罪名，其中包括试图使用大规模破坏性武器，试图谋杀飞机上其他278名乘客和11名机组人员。西北航空253航班从阿姆斯特丹起飞。12月25日，飞机还有20分钟就在底特律着陆，这时，这名尼日利亚年轻人试图引爆他藏在内衣中的炸弹。

也门什叶派穆斯林叛军称，西方打击基地组织的战略已经濒临失败，除非做出改变。叛军本身也反对基地组织，他们表示，支持也门总统阿里·阿卜杜拉·萨利赫(Ali Abdullah Saleh)打击圣战组织的计划不会成功，因为政府本身就培养出这样的组织。也门官员对此予以否认。

在阿根廷，中央银行行长里拉多(Martin Redrado)拒绝使用该银行储备来偿还政府债务，总统克里斯蒂娜·费尔南德斯·德基什内尔(Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner)要求他下台。下面是我们的经济记者Andrew Walker的报道。

阿根廷政府财政捉襟见肘，总统费尔南德斯希望动用中央银行储备来缓解债务负担。中央银行行长对此进行了拒绝，总统要求他辞职。这位中央银行行长不愿服从总统的命令反应了一个事实，即中央银行储备通常是用来稳定该国货币的价值。使用中央银行资金来为政府活动提供资金的行为也广泛地被经济学家视为可能导致通货膨胀的政策。而阿根廷长久以来一直存在通货膨胀的严重问题。

即将离职的联合国驻阿富汗特使Kai Eide用激烈的言辞向联合国安理会描述了对阿富汗形势的消极评估。我们的记者Matthew Price在纽约联合国总部报道。

联合国驻阿富汗任务迄今为止已经接近十年时间，人们逐渐认识到形势一团糟。当然，这位联合国特别代表并没有这么说，但是Kai Eide的评估确实描绘了一幅暗淡的图片。他担心这种消极的趋势最终会变得无法处理。他说，阿富汗人民对形势非常沮丧，国际捐赠者也是如此。像许多人一样，他担心反叛势力正在逐渐壮大。

美国参议院主要的民主党成员Christopher Dodd表示他今年不会再次参选，他已经担任参议员30多年的时间。Dodd面临着他与金融行业的联系的问题。他辞职的决定为另外一名民主党人士Richard Blumenthal竞选该职位扫除了障碍。

有报告称，由东京飞往巴黎的法航航班上的乘客钱包中6,000美元被盗，法国警方正在进行调查。据称所有受害者都在商务舱，小偷趁他们睡着时动手。飞机着陆后警方简单地对飞机进行了搜查，但是没有逮捕任何嫌疑人。法航方面表示，以前从来没有听说过这样的事情，但是强调说，乘客为自己随身携带的行李负责。

随着对塞内加尔首都达喀尔巨型雕像的争吵不断加剧，负责该工程的一名建筑师表示，纪念碑中的女子的着装应该更得当。这位建筑师表示，他已经向总统阿卜杜拉耶·瓦德(Abdoulaye Wade)提交了建议，希望将女子裸露的双腿用水泥围栏遮盖。这座造价2700万美元的雕像被穆斯林领袖抨击为偶像崇拜主义。

1 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

3 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

4 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

5 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

6 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。

7 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

8 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

9 nurtured   

养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
• Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。

10 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

11 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

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 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

18 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

19 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

20 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

21 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

22 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。