英国新闻听力 美国以网络自由名义巩固网络霸权

Nigeria's acting¹ President Goodluck Jonathan has sacked the country's National Security Adviser² in the wake of ethnic³ violence that left hundreds dead at the weekend. The announcement was made after a special security meeting in the capital Abuja. Earlier, police said they had restored order to three villages in the center of the country where the violence occurred. Here is Caroline Duffield.

Nigeria's acting President Goodluck Jonathan was closeted in a meeting with security officials all afternoon. It broke up, and it was confirmed that the powerful National Security Adviser had been sacked. Abdullahi Muktar Sarki is replaced with Aliyu Gusau, a retired⁴ general. It comes amid the ongoing⁵ security crisis in Plateau State. Hundreds of corpses⁶ are still being counted and buried after areas, south of Jos town, returned to furious bloodletting at the weekend.

The United States has eased sanctions on Iran, Sudan and Cuba in an effort to increase the use of the Internet and social networking sites there. The new regulations will authorize⁷ the export of web-based services including instant messaging. Kim Ghattas reports.

Internet freedom is fast becoming a principle of American foreign policy. The Treasury⁸ Department said that its decision to lift the ban on export of Internet software and services would make it easier for people in Iran, Sudan and Cuba to use the Internet and communicate with each other as well as the outside world. The statement added this would allow people in those countries to exercise their most basic rights. The technology will likely be bought by small businesses, and some of it will help circumvent⁹ government restrictions¹⁰ of the use of programs like Twitter and even Internet-based email accounts.

The Ugandan government says it'll have to relocate around half a million people living in mountainous areas because of the danger of mudslides. Hundreds of people are thought to have been killed last week by a huge mudslide on the slopes of Mount Elgon, in the east of the country. Here is Will Ross.

The State Minister for Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru told the BBC the government had no other choice than to relocate 300,000 people living on the slopes of Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda, as well as 200,000 people from the Ruwenzori Mountains and Kigezi region, in the west of the country. Mr Ecweru admitted that people would be reluctant to move from their ancestral homes, and he said that it would be a major challenge to find suitable land for them.

The German Justice Minister has described Vatican confidentiality¹¹ rules as a wall of silence. She was outlining progress in prosecutors¹²' inquiries¹³ into alleged¹⁴ child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy¹⁵. Investigations¹⁶ are now underway in 18 of the Catholic Church's 27 dioceses in Germany. The Minister was referring to a Vatican confidentiality rule which requires all allegations to be first investigated by the Church itself.

President Obama has strongly criticized health insurance companies in a renewed push for the passage of his stalled health care reforms. In a speech in Philadelphia, he said insurance companies were denying coverage¹⁷ to some and raising premiums¹⁸ for others in a bid to maximize their profits. The White House wants the House of Representatives to vote on the bill in two weeks’ time.

The European Union's Human Rights watchdog has said that Britain's forthcoming general election will be in breach¹⁹ of human rights because prisoners aren't allowed to vote. The Committee of Foreign Ministers said it was seriously concerned by the British government's failure to apply an EU ruling that banning prisoners from voting was illegal. The Committee said it would consider the issue again in June, which would most likely be after the British election.

Scientists think they found a species of tiny wood-eating marine²⁰ crustaceans²¹ that could help them develop new bio-fuels. They say the creatures called gribble have a unique digestive system that can turn wood into sugar. With more details, here is our environment reporter Matt Mcgrath.

The wood-boring gribble have long been the bane of sailors' lives, causing large amounts of damage to boats and piers²². But researchers at two British universities say the creatures' unique abilities to digest the apparently²³ indigestible could be very useful in converting wood and straw into liquid bio-fuels. Enzymes²⁴ found in the stomachs of gribble are able to turn the cellulose and lignin in wood into sugars. The scientists hope to be able to decode²⁵ the genes²⁶ that make these enzymes, and then produce them on an industrial scale. Sugars could then be fermented²⁷ to produce alcohol for fuel.

State media in Cuba has accused a dissident journalist of blackmail²⁸, 12 days after he began refusing food in protest against the treatment of political prisoners. In its first reference to the hunger strike, the Communist Party daily Granma accused the journalist Guillermo Farinas of being an American agent.

周末，尼日利亚发生种族暴力，造成数百人死亡，之后，代理总统古德卢克·乔纳森(Goodluck Jonathan)解雇了国家安全顾问。首都阿布贾召开特别安全会议之后宣布了该决定。此前，警方宣布已经在发生暴力的该国中部三个村庄重建了秩序。Caroline Duffield报道。

整个下午，尼日利亚代理总统古德卢克·乔纳森(Goodluck Jonathan)都在与安全官员召开会议。现在已经证实权利强大的国家安全顾问被解雇。Abdullahi Muktar Sarki的职位被退休的将军Aliyu Gusau接替。此事发生在高原州持续的安全危机期间。周末，乔斯城南部地区再次发生暴力流血事件，造成数百人死亡，目前，尸体正在清点和埋葬的过程中。

美国缓解了对伊朗，苏丹和古巴的制裁，试图增加这些地区互联网和社交网络的应用。新的规定将允许出口基于网络的服务，包括即时信息。Kim Ghattas报道。

网络自由已经迅速发展为美国的外交政策方针。财政部表示，解除对互联网软件和服务的出口禁令的决定将使伊朗，苏丹和古巴人民使用互联网进行沟通，以及与外界联系更加便捷。该声明补充称，这将使这些国家的人民享受最基本的权利。这些技术可以由小型企业购买，其中一些将绕过政府对Twitter，甚至电子邮件账户使用的限制。

乌干达政府表示，由于泥石流的危险，政府必须重新安置居住在山区的大约50万民众。上周，由于该国东部艾尔贡山(Mount Elgon)发生泥石流，数百人遇难。Will Ross报道。

国家灾难防备部长Musa Ecweru告诉BBC，政府必须重新安置居住在乌干达东部艾尔贡山(Mount Elgon)山坡的大约300,000人，以及西部鲁文佐里山脉(Ruwenzori)和基杰奇(Kigezi)地区的200,000人，此外别无选择。Ecweru承认，民众肯定不情愿从自己的故土迁走，而且为他们寻找一个合适的安家之所也是一个巨大的挑战。

德国司法部长称梵蒂冈的保密条例就像一堵寂静的高墙。她指出，检察官对罗马天主教牧师虐童事件的调查已经取得了进展。现在，对德国18个天主教堂的27个主教区的调查工作已经展开。这位部长指的是梵蒂冈的保密条例，要求相关指控只能首先由教堂自己调查。

在最新推停滞不前的医疗改革的过程中，奥巴马总统对医疗保险公司提出了强烈谴责。在费城发表讲话时，他说，医疗保险公司拒绝对一些人进行赔付，并为了实现利益最大化而提高了一些人的保险费用。白宫希望众议院能够在两周之内进行投票。

欧盟人权机构表示，英国即将进行的大选违反了人权，因为监狱囚犯不允许进行投票。外交部长委员会表示，欧盟裁决禁止囚犯投票是非法的，他们对英国政府不遵守该条例表示出深切的担忧。该委员会表示将在六月份再次考虑这个问题，最有可能在英国大选结束之后。

科学家认为，他们发现了一种食用木头的微型海洋甲壳类生物物种，可以帮助他们研制新的生物燃料。他们表示，这种生物叫做吃木虫，他们拥有非常独特的消化系统，可以将木头转化为糖。我们的环境记者Matt Mcgrath报道更详细信息。

长期以来，食用木头的吃木虫一直是水手生命的祸根，对船只和支柱造成大量损害。但是英国两所大学的研究人员表示，这种生物独特的消化能力在将木头和稻草转化为液态生物燃料方面非常有用。在吃木虫的胃中发现的酶可以将木料中的纤维素和木质素转化为糖。科学家希望能够给制造这种酶的基因编码，然后进行工业化生产。然后，这些糖可以用来生产燃料用酒精。

古巴国家媒体指责一名意见不同的记者讹诈，12天之前，他曾经绝食抗议对政治犯提供治疗。在首次提到绝食抗议时，古巴共产党机关报纸《格拉玛》(Granma)指控记者Guillermo Farinas是美国间谍。

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 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

7 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

10 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

11 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

12 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

13 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 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

15 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

16 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

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 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

20 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

21 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

22 piers   

n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩

参考例句：

• Most road bridges have piers rising out of the vally. 很多公路桥的桥墩是从河谷里建造起来的。 来自辞典例句
• At these piers coasters and landing-craft would be able to discharge at all states of tide. 沿岸航行的海船和登陆艇，不论潮汐如何涨落，都能在这种码头上卸载。 来自辞典例句

23 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。

24 enzymes   

n. 酶，酵素

参考例句：

• It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
• Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

25 decode   

vt.译（码），解（码）

参考例句：

• All he had to do was decode it and pass it over.他需要做的就是将它破译然后转给他人。
• The secret documents were intercepted and decoded.机密文件遭截获并被破译。

26 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

27 fermented   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• When wine is fermented, it gives off gas. 酒发酵时发出气泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His speeches fermented trouble among the workers. 他的演讲在工人中引起骚动。 来自辞典例句

28 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。