英国新闻听力 英国前财政大臣遇刺

President Barack Obama has angrily accused oil companies of trying to duck the blame over the Gulf¹ of Mexico oil slick and said he would act to change the relationship between the industry and regulators.

“For too long, for a decade or more, there has been a cozy² relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill. It seems as if permits were too often issued based on no more than assurances of safety from the oil companies. That cannot and will not happen anymore.”

Speaking after discussing the huge oil spill with senior advisers³, Mr. Obama said the system to prevent such disasters had failed badly. Efforts to stop the oil leak are continuing, but forecasters say the weather could drive the oil slick ashore⁴ this weekend.

At least eight people are known to have died in the latest bout⁵ of violence that's engulfed⁶ the Thai capital Bangkok. More than 100 others have been wounded. Explosions and gunfire echoed across the city centre late into the night as soldiers fought protesters around their fortified⁷ camp. The exiled Thai leader Thaksin Shinawat who retains the loyalty⁸ of many of the Red Shirt protesters has urged the authorities to pull back the troops. Rachel Harvey is in Bangkok.

The government spokesman has gone on television to try and reassure⁹ people; he said that the security forces had only fired when they themselves came under attack. And he said that it would be safe soon, that the whole thing was under control. And that the aim was just to contain the area, not to clear it of protesters while even that is proving a very tough task for the security forces.

Police in Iraq say a suicide bombing at a football stadium has killed at least ten people and injured more than 100. It happened in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, near the city of Mosul. From Baghdad, here is Gabriel Gatehouse.

Police in Tal Afar say that a suicide bomber¹⁰ detonated explosives hidden inside his vehicle near the local stadium where a football match was underway. A crowd of people standing¹¹ at the entrance to the ground bore the brunt of the blast. Witnesses said that the first bombing was then followed by at least one other explosion. Earlier on Friday, a website linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq announced that it would replace the senior militant¹² who'd been killed last month in a joint¹³ operation by Iraqi and US forces. The statement warned of what it called "dark days of blood to come".

Share prices and the value of the euro have fallen sharply as investors¹⁴ become concerned that economic measures designed to tackle big debts in Greece, Spain and Portugal will stifle¹⁵ growth in the eurozone. The euro hit its lowest level against the dollar for 18 months. Stock markets closed more than 3% down in London and Frankfort and 4.6% down in Paris. The Spanish stock market index closed more than 6% lower.

Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in the Albanian capital, calling for a recount of last year's parliamentary elections which they claim were rigged. They have come out in support of hunger strikers who have been camped outside the prime minister's office in Tirana for the past two weeks. Our Balkan's correspondent Mark Lowan reports.

This is the second huge demonstration¹⁶ in Tirana in the space of two weeks. The last protest drew tens of thousands and this one appears to be of a similar scale. Socialist¹⁷ led opposition¹⁸ activists¹⁹ marched through the streets of the capital with banners and slogans calling for the government to reopen the ballot²⁰ boxes from last June's general election which they believed was fraudulent won by the Democratic Party. But the government says tampering²¹ with the ballot boxes would be unconstitutional and is standing firm.

Greece and Turkey have spoken of a big step forward in the relations during a visit to Greece by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A joint statement by the two leaders said they would strengthen peace and stability in the region. There was a joint meeting of cabinet ministers which will become an annual event and a range of agreements covering illegal immigration, the environment, tourism and energy.

The new British Foreign Secretary William Hague has held what he called very productive talks with the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington -- his first foreign trip since taking office. At a news conference afterwards, both leaders stressed their country's unity²² of approach on the war in Afghanistan and the need for further sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

A British member of parliament has been stabbed. The Labour MP Stephen Timms who was a Treasury²³ minister until the change of government this week was attacked while holding an advice session for constituents²⁴ in east London. He was taken to hospital with abdominal²⁵ injuries, but his condition is said not to be life threatening. A young woman has been arrested.

奥巴马总统愤慨地指控各石油公司在墨西哥湾漏油事件中互相推卸责任。他表示将采取行动改变石油行业和监管机构之间的关系。

“长期以来，十几年来，石油公司和联邦石油监管机构之间的关系一直比较融洽。看上去似乎石油公司只要做出安全保证，他们就可以获准开采石油。这种情况不能，也不会再次发生。”

与高级顾问就规模巨大的石油泄漏事件进行讨论之后，奥巴马总统表示，防止类似的灾难发生的预警机制严重失败。制止石油泄漏的工作仍在继续进行，但是预报员称，由于天气状况，本周末浮油将飘向岸边。

在遍布泰国首都曼谷的最新一轮的暴力活动中，至少8人死亡，100多人受伤。士兵在设防的营地附近抗击抗议者，枪声和爆炸声一直在深夜还响彻市中心。许多红衫军抗议者仍然非常忠诚于流亡的泰国领袖他信。他信敦促当局撤出军队。Rachel Harvey在曼谷报道。

政府发言人在电视上发表讲话，试图安抚民众。他说，安全力量只有在本身受到攻击的情况下才会开火。他说，形势很快将安全下来，所有的一切都已经在安全力量的掌控之下。安全力量采取行动的目的仅仅是控制该地区，而不是将所有抗议者驱散。然而，事实证明，对于安全力量来说，这也是一项非常艰巨的任务。

伊拉克警方称，一个足球场发生自杀式爆炸事件，至少10人死亡，100多人受伤。爆炸发生在摩苏尔附近的北部城镇塔拉法。巴格达，Gabriel Gatehouse报道。

塔拉法警方表示，一名自杀式爆炸者在当地一个足球场附近引爆了藏在汽车内的炸药。当时足球场内正在举行一场比赛。站在入口处的观众受到爆炸的正面冲击。目击者称，第一起爆炸过后再次发生了至少一次爆炸。周五早些时候，与伊拉克基地组织相关的一个网站宣布，他们

将替换在上月伊拉克和美国军队的联合行动中丧命的高级好战分子领袖。该声明警告称“血腥的黑暗时代即将来临”。

由于投资者担心应对希腊，西班牙和葡萄牙债务的经济措施将抑制欧元区的发展，股票价格和欧元的价格大幅下跌。欧元对美元的价格现将至18个月来的最低水平。伦敦和法兰克福股市收盘价格下跌超过3%，巴黎股市跌幅达4.6%。西班牙股指下跌了超过6%。

数十万名抗议者在阿尔巴尼亚首都聚集，他们声称去年的议会选举存在舞弊现象，要求重新计票。他们的行动是为了支持过去两周一直在地拉那总理办公室外驻扎的绝食抗议者。我们的巴尔干半岛记者Mark Lowan报道。

这是两周以来地拉那发生的第二起大规模示威活动。上次抗议共有数十万人参加，这次的抗议也几乎是同样的规模。社会党领导的反对派积极分子在首都街头游行，手持旗帜和标语，要求重开去年六月份大选的选票箱。上次的选举由民主党获胜，但是他们相信存在舞弊现象。但是政府称，干预选票箱是违反宪法规定的。他们的意见非常坚决。

土耳其总理埃尔多安访问希腊期间，希腊和土耳其称两国关系取得了重大进展。两国领导人发表的联合声明称，他们将努力增强该地区的和平和稳定。双方还举行了内阁部长联合会议，而且这将成为一年一度的事宜。双方就非法移民，环境，旅游和能源等一系列问题达成协议。

英国新任外交大臣海格(William Hague)与美国国务卿希拉里在华盛顿举行了他所说的“成果显著的对话”。这是他上台以来的第一次国外访问。在随后举行的新闻发布会上，两位领导人强调，英美两国在阿富汗战争和对伊朗核项目进行进一步制裁方面意见一致。

英国议会一名议员遇刺。工党议员史提芬(Stephen Timms)在本周政府更迭之前一直担任财政大臣。史提芬在伦敦东部为选民召开咨询会议时遭遇袭击，腹部受伤，随后被送往医院。但是据称他的状况没有生命危险。一名年轻女子已经被捕。

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

3 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

4 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

5 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

6 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

8 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

9 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

10 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

11 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。

12 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

15 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

16 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

17 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

18 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

19 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 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。

21 tampering   

v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄

参考例句：

• Two policemen were accused of tampering with the evidence. 有两名警察被控篡改证据。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As Harry London had forecast, Brookside's D-day caught many meter-tampering offenders. 正如哈里·伦敦预见到的那样，布鲁克赛德的D日行动抓住了不少非法改装仪表的人。 来自辞典例句

22 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。

23 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。

24 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》

25 abdominal   

adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Abdominal tissues sometimes adhere after an operation.手术之后腹部有时会出现粘连。