英国新闻听力 奥巴马推迟对印尼澳大利亚访问

President Obama is postponing¹ a trip to Indonesia and Australia, so he can stay in Washington to try to get his health care reforms passed by Congress. Mr Obama had already delayed the long-arranged trip once and was due to set off on Sunday. But with the crucial vote on the reforms expected within days, the trip has been put off entirely² until June. From Washington, Mark Mardell reports.

The president has made changes to America's health care insurance system his flagship domestic legislation. It's dragged on for over a year and divided the country. He'll be damaged if he can't get it through. The climax³ is near. So far there is no sign of any Republicans voting for it. Its fate lies in the hands of a handful in the president's own party who either fear it allows for easier abortion⁴, or who simply fear a backlash in November's elections, (who favored)if they vote for a measure their constituents⁵ dislike.

The United States and Russia say they are close to a new nuclear arms reduction treaty. Speaking after discussions in Moscow with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a final agreement would be reached soon. From Moscow, Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports.

For the last year, US and Russian negotiators have been trying to thrash out a new treaty. Today in Moscow, Hillary Clinton confirmed that a new treaty is now close, and they are now discussing where it would be signed. President Obama urgently needs a foreign policy success. When he came into office a year ago, he made improving relations with Russia a centerpiece of his foreign strategy. A year on, there is little concrete to show for it. That is why for America much more than for Russia sealing this new treaty is so important.

Nigeria has recalled its ambassador to Libya following a suggestion by the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi that Nigeria be divided into two states - one Christian⁶ and one Muslim to help stop Nigerians from being slaughtered⁷. Hundreds of people have been killed in Nigeria in recent weeks in religious and ethnic⁸ violence. Our correspondent in Nigeria Peter Greste has more.

Colonel Gaddafi's comments implied that a recent wave of killings⁹ in the central Plateau state is about religion. But analysts¹⁰ say that while it has religious overturns, the core of the crisis is a struggle for land and political power. Now the Nigerian government has acted by recalling its ambassador to Tripoli for consultations¹¹. In a foreign ministry¹² press briefing, its spokesman Ozo Nwobu said Colonel Gaddafi's comments are insensitive and diminished the colonel's state

isn't credibility as an African leader who's been calling for the unity¹³ of the entire continent.

A man has pleaded guilty in a federal court in New York to hijacking¹⁴ an American airliner¹⁵ to Cuba more than 40 years ago. Luis Armando Pena Soltren, an American citizen, admitted to boarding the Pan American flight in 1968 and ordering its diversion to Cuba in mid-flight. He spent four decades in Cuba until surrendering to the US authorities last year.

World News from the BBC

An American woman accused of plotting with Islamist militants¹⁶ to commit murder overseas has pleaded not guilty to all charges against her in a court in Philadelphia. The authorities say the woman Colleen LaRose went online calling herself Jihad Jane and trying to recruit Islamist fighters and raise money for jihad or holy war.

A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip has killed a farm worker in southern Israel, the first death from such attacks since the Israeli offensive last year. Two Palestinian groups claimed to have carried out the attack. Abu Ibrahim who's a spokesman for al-Aqsa Martyrs¹⁷ Brigade said the operation was in response to what he described as Israeli abuse of Palestinian rights in East Jerusalem. "As part of the Palestinian resistance, we cannot stand idly by in the face of Israeli violations¹⁸ against our blessed Aqsa Mosque¹⁹. Hence this operation was carried out by our rocket group which fired deep inside Israeli territory." Israel said its response would be strong and appropriate. The rocket struck as the European Union foreign policy chief visited Gaza.

Scientists in the United States have genetically²⁰ engineered fruit flies so their sperm²¹ glows in the dark, a technique which could help research in human fertility.The scientists altered the sperm of fruit flies so that it glowed either red or green. When the flies mated, observers were able to see what happened to live sperm within the female after copulation. One of the authors of the research, Professor Scott Pitnick explained how he felt when he saw the multicolored sperm through the microscope for the first time.

"It far exceeds our expectations in that we can essentially²² track the fate of every sperm the female receives. But really, it's really seeing all the novel observations of the complexity²³ of what sperm do inside the female reproductive tract²⁴ that no one has ever been able to observe before. That's really knocked us out."

奥巴马总统推迟了对印度尼西亚和澳大利亚的访问，这样他就可以继续留在华盛顿，敦促国会通过医疗改革法案。此前，奥巴马已经推迟安排已久的访问，原本定于周日启程。但是预期关于该法案关键性的投票将在几天内举行，所以对印尼和澳大利亚的访问一直推迟至六月份。华盛顿，Mark Mardell报道。

奥巴马总统将对美国医疗保险体系的改革作为国内立法的旗舰。医改过程已经拖延了一年多的时间，国内意见有诸多分歧。如果医改法案最终不能通过，奥巴马的声望将严重受损。医改立法的高潮即将来临。目前为止，没有任何迹象表明共和党即将投票。医改法案的命运在于总统自己的民主党少数人手中。他们担心该立法会使堕胎更加简单，或者担心如果他们对选民不喜欢的立法投票，会对11月份的选举造成冲击。

美国和俄罗斯表示，他们即将达成新的核武器削减条约。在莫斯科与俄罗斯外长拉夫罗夫进行讨论后，美国国务卿希拉里·克林顿表示，很快将达成最终协议。莫斯科，Rupert Wingfield-Hayes报道。

去年，美国和俄罗斯的谈判代表一致努力协商试图达成新的条约。今天，希拉里·克林顿在莫斯科证实双方即将签署新的条约，目前正在商讨签约的地点。目前，奥巴马总统亟需外交政策方面的成功。一年前开始执政时，奥巴马总统将改善与俄罗斯的关系作为外交政策的核心。一年来，没有任何实质性的进展来表明这一点。这就是签署该新的条约对美国来说比对俄罗斯更加重要的原因。

利比亚领袖穆阿玛尔-卡扎菲(muammar qaddafi)建议尼日利亚应该分为两个国家，一个是基督徒国家，另外一个是穆斯林国家，这样可以阻止尼日利亚人被屠杀。随后，尼日利亚召回驻利比亚大使。在近几周的宗教和种族暴力中，已有数百名尼日利亚人遇害。驻尼日利亚记者Peter Greste报道详细内容。

卡扎菲上校的评论暗示最近尼日利亚中部高原州发生的一系列屠杀事件与宗教有关。但是分析家表示，尽管存在宗教因素，这场危机的核心是对土地和政治权利的争夺。现在，尼日利亚政府召回的黎波里(Tripoli)大使进行商讨。在外交部长新闻简报中，尼日利亚发言人Ozo Nwobu表示，卡扎菲上校的评论非常迟钝，削减了上校作为非洲国家领导人的声望。他一直呼吁整个大洲的团结。

一名男子在纽约联邦法庭承认曾在40多年前劫持一架美国航班飞往古巴。Luis Armando Pena Soltren是美国公民。他承认在1968年登上泛美航空的航班，在途中下令飞机转向古巴。他在古巴逗留了四十年，直到去年向美国当局自首。

BBC世界新闻。

一名美国女子被指控与伊斯兰好战分子密谋在海外实施谋杀行动，在费城法庭上，她否认对她的所有指控。当局表示，Colleen LaRose以Jihad Jane这个名字上网，试图招募伊斯兰战士，并为圣战组织筹款。

加沙地带发射的一枚火箭弹击毙以色列南部一名农场工人。这是自去年以色列发动进攻以来类似袭击导致的首次死亡。两个巴勒斯坦组织声称实施了这次袭击。阿克萨烈士旅发言人Abu Ibrahim表示，此举是为以色列在东耶路撒冷损害巴勒斯坦人的权利所做的回应。“作为巴勒斯坦反抗力量的一部分，面对以色列人对我们阿克萨清真寺的侵犯，我们不能无动于衷。因此，我们的火箭小组将这枚火箭弹发射入以色列领土。”以色列表示，他们的反应应该比较强烈，也是恰当的。火箭袭击发生在欧盟外交政策负责人访问加沙地带期间。

美国科学家对果蝇进行基因改造，因此它的精子可以在黑暗中发光。这项技术将有助于人类生育的研究。

科学家对果蝇的精子进行了改造，这样就可以发出红色或绿色的光。果蝇交配之后，观察人员可以看到交配后雌性体内存活的精子的状况。这项研究的作者之一，Scott Pitnick教授解释了他第一次在显微镜下看到色彩鲜艳的精子时的感受。

“这远远超出了我们的预期，我们可以追踪雌性接受的每一个精子的命运。但是实际上，我们得以观察到精子在雌性体内的繁殖路径的复杂性，而以前，这是任何人都观察不到的。这真的让我们非常震撼。”Scott Pitnick教授。

1 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

10 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。

11 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

13 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

14 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。

15 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。

16 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。

17 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

19 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

20 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

21 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

22 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

23 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

24 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。