英国新闻听力

The oil company BP says it has finally been successful in siphoning oil from a burst pipe on the seabed in the Gulf¹ of Mexico. A BP spokesman said that so far the system was working very well but added that this wasn't the ultimate solution. Large quantities of oil have been spewing into the Gulf for nearly a month. Madeleine Morris reports from Washington.

Some good news finally in the Gulf of Mexico with the success of this third attempt to insert a small pipe into the broken well riser to funnel² away oil and natural gas. BP senior executive vice³ president Kent Wells said in a news conference, the operation was still in its first stages but was working well. He said over the next few days the company plans to slowly increase the amount of oil flowing through the pipe to the tanker⁴. Mr. Wells would not comment on scientists’ discovery of several new vast plumes⁵ of oil beneath the ocean surface.

The Thai authorities have rejected any foreign mediation⁶ in their confrontation⁷ with anti-government protesters that has seen about 30 people killed in the past four days. Many of the protesters known as the red-shirts are besieged⁸ by the Thai army in a camp in central Bangkok. Earlier they’d offered to open talks on condition that they were mediated⁹ by the United Nations and that the government removed its troops from the streets. The Thai government says military action is the only way to end the unrest.

More than 100,000 Roman Catholics have converged¹⁰ on the Vatican, in an organized show of support for Pope Benedict, as he struggles to deal with the scandal over pedophile priests. He’s invited priests from around the world to come to Rome next month. David Willey reports from Rome.

The rally was organized by lay Catholic organizations all over Italy. There’s a demonstration¹¹ of support for the Pope as he deals with serious sexual scandals involving priests in different parts of the world. Pilgrims, mainly Italians, arrived in Rome by bus and train and Pope Benedict thanked them repeatedly for coming to his support, as he repeated his words on the plane on a visit to Portugal last week, saying that priests must guard against worldly temptations.

England have beaten Australia to win the World Twenty20 cricket tournament in Barbados, the first time the side has won an International Cricket Council trophy¹². England beat their traditional rivals by seven wickets after being set a target of 148. England's Kevin Pietersen was named player of the tournament. He had nothing but praise for the team's commitment.

"This team is hungry for success. They want to, we want to win. In every single training session we go to. The boys try and work harder and harder and harder and they strive for success. But I must also thank the crowd, I mean, coming to Barbados, and playing in front of such an amazing crowd, it feels like a great, big home game for us. Thank you very much guys. Great support. Thank you again." Kevin Pietersen.

In the largest study of its kind, a ten-year World Health Organization survey has reached no definitive¹³ conclusion about the risks of contracting brain tumors from using mobile phones. Experts said the result from the study which involved 13,000 people indicated a possible health risk from heavy mobile phone use and even more in-depth research is needed.

At least 20 people have been killed in the Somali capital Mogadishu after insurgents¹⁴ fired on the meeting of the interim¹⁵ Somali parliament. African Union peacekeepers said they returned fire, shelling parts of Mogadishu's main market. There were rowdy scenes during the meeting as the parliamentary speaker was removed from office after disagreement with the interim president.

A partial recount of votes from Iraq's election two months ago has resulted in no change in the allocation of parliamentary seats. The recount by hand of 2.5 million ballots¹⁶ cast in Bagdad followed accusations¹⁷ of fraud by the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. From Bagdad, here is Gabriel Gatehouse.

Many will hope that this announcement marks the end of a series of challenges to the vote itself and the beginning of negotiations¹⁸ in earnest between the various political parties. No single group won enough seats to form a government on its own. A broad coalition¹⁹ of some kind including Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds seems the most likely outcome. The question is whether a deal can be struck that would be acceptable to all sides in this very delicate and tense stalemate.

Scientists in the United States say Lake Tanganyika in Africa, which is the second deepest lake in the world, is now warmer than at any time in the last 1,500 years. The geologists²⁰ involved in the study say the lake’s warming accelerated during the last century and coincided with an increase in greenhouse gas emissions²¹. The researchers say the higher temperature is likely to affect the lake's fish stocks, upon which millions of people depend.

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 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

5 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

6 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

7 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

8 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

9 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

10 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

13 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

14 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

15 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

16 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

19 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

20 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

21 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。