英国新闻听力 六大银行因汇率操纵被处巨额罚款

The Syrian city of Palmyra appears to have fallen to Islamic State militants¹, leaving one of the greatest archaeological sites in the Middle East at great risk.

叙利亚城市巴尔米拉似乎已经落入伊斯兰国武装分子之手，致使中东最大的考古遗址面临巨大危险之中。

Syrian State Television says the government troops have withdrawn². Our Arab Affairs Editor Sebastian Usher³ has more.

叙利亚国家电视台称政府军已经撤离，阿拉伯事务记者塞巴斯蒂安·亚瑟报道。

An eyewitness⁴ in Palmyra told the BBC that Islamic State fighters have taken the city.

巴尔米拉的一名目击者告诉BBC，伊斯兰国武装分子已经夺取该市。

He says that soldiers and pro-government militias⁵ are no longer to be seen on the streets.

他说街头已经看不到士兵和亲政府民兵，

The news raises fears for any remaining residents who may face brutal⁶ reprisals⁷, but may also give IS the opportunity to wreak⁸ destruction on ancient Palmyra.

这个消息让人们担心留在当地可能会面临野蛮报复的居民们，但可能也会给IS以破坏古城巴尔米拉的机会。

That's what they've taken great public violation⁹ doing in Iraq,

他们在伊拉克就犯下这样的暴力行径，

bringing in bulldozers, power drills and explosives to eradicate¹⁰ all trace of Nimrud and Hatra.

用推土机、机械钻机和炸药铲掉了尼姆鲁兹和哈特拉遗址。

Six of the world's largest banks have been fined nearly 6 billion dollars by British and American regulators, for colluding to manipulate currency markets and interest rates.

全世界六个最大银行因串通操纵货币市场和利率而被英国和美国监管机构处以近60亿美元的罚款，

They are Barclays, JP Morgan, CITI Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of America and UBS.

这些银行分别是巴克莱银行、摩根大通银行、花旗银行、苏格兰皇家银行、美国银行和瑞士联合银行。

Traders used internet chat rooms to fix rates, with one writing, "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying". Michelle Fleury reports.

交易者使用互联网聊天室来定价，“不骗人就不算努力”。米歇尔·弗勒里报道。

They called themselves the "Cartel".

他们自称为“卡特尔”，2007年12月到2013年1月之间，

In a secret chat room, traders of CITI Group, JP Morgan, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland colluded to manipulate the price of US dollars and euros between December 2007 and January 2013.

在一个秘密聊天室里，花旗银行、摩根大通银行、巴克莱银行和苏格兰皇家银行的交易者们串通一起操纵美元和欧元价格。

The four banks pleaded guilty to conspiring¹¹ to rig the world's biggest financial market, the foreign exchange market.

这四家银行承认阴谋操纵全世界最大的金融市场外汇交易市场。

Swiss bank UBS and Bank of America both avoided guilty pleas, but had to pay fines for their role in the scandal.

瑞士联合银行和美国银行都避免了有罪答辩，但必须因参与丑闻而接受处罚。

US intelligence officials have released new documents seized from the raid in Osama Bin¹² Laden's secret compound in Pakistan, in which he was killed four years ago.

美国情报官员公布了4年前击毙本拉登时在巴基斯坦其秘密院落中搜查到的新文件，

They include details about what books and newspaper articles the Al-Qaeda leader was reading at the time. Here's Barbara Plett Usher.

其中包括有关这位基地组织头目当时正在阅读的书籍和报纸的细节。芭芭拉·皮莱特·亚瑟报道。

There are application forms for people who wanted to join Al-Qaeda, so you have the standard questions like name, age, marital¹³ status,

其中包括申请加入基地组织的申请表，上面有诸如姓名、年龄、婚姻状况等标准问题，

but there are also questions like "do you wish to execute a suicide operation" and "who should we contact if you're martyred".

同时还有诸如“你愿意执行自杀行动吗”以及“一旦你成为烈士我们应该联系谁”这样的问题。

He was trying to keep members coming, and trying to keep them organized,

本拉登一直在招募新成员，并将他们组织起来，

and trying to make sure they got the training that they needed and carry out operations he wanted them to carry out.

并努力确保他们得到所需的培训，进行他希望他们进行的任务。

But in this isolated¹⁴ place in Pakistan there, with very poor communications, he had difficulty doing so.

但在巴基斯坦那个缺少通讯手段的偏僻地点，他这么做是有难度的。

Nearly 600 members of the Nigerian military have appeared before 2 courts martial¹⁵,

近600名尼日利亚军方人员出现在两个军事法庭上，

charged with disciplinary offenses¹⁶ related to the ongoing¹⁷ fight against the Islamist group Boko Haram. Human rights lawyers say some of them are accused of mutiny.

他们被控在目前仍进行的与伊斯兰博科圣地组织战斗中违反了纪律。人权律师称其中一些人被控以叛乱罪，

They say corrupt¹⁸ officers have often stolen funds meant for weapons and equipment. World News from the BBC.

他们称腐败官员经常盗用用于武器和装备的资金。BBC世界新闻。

The British Finance Minister George Osborne has told the Confederation of British Industry that the European Union risks pressing itself out of the world economy through costly¹⁹ regulation.

英国财政大臣乔治·奥斯本告诉英国工商业联合会，欧盟设置的规则代价过高，有将自身推出世界经济的危险。

But the Confederation's President Sir Mike Rake said business leaders should make it crystal clear that EU membership was in the national interest.

但联合会主席麦克·雷克爵士称商界领袖们应该明确表示欧盟成员国身份符合国家利益，

Britain's membership will be put to a referendum by 2017.

英国将在2017年之前就其成员国身份进行公投。

Scientists working in northern Kenya have unearthed²⁰ the oldest stone tools ever found. More details from Rebecca Morelle.

在肯尼亚北部做研究的科学家们发掘出至今为止发现的最古老石制工具，丽贝卡·莫雷勒报道。

About 150 tools were excavated²¹ in Kenya. They include sharp flakes²² of stone used for cutting, hammers and heavy rocks that most likely served as anvils²³.

他们在肯尼亚发掘出了大约150把工具，包括用于切割的锋利石斧、锤子和可能用作铁砧的大石头。

Tests show they are 3.3 million years old, which means they predate the earliest humans.

化验表明这些工具有330万年的历史，这意味着比最早的人类还要早。

It was thought that homo habilis was the first of our ancestors to use tools,

据悉能人是我们祖先中最早使用工具的，

but this one suggests even more primitive²⁴ species despite being ape-like with small brains may have been advanced enough to produce this early technology.

但这些发现表明有些更原始的物种，即使他们是有着较小大脑的类人猿，却可能足以先进来创造这种早期科技。

Brazil has stopped busing Haitian immigrants from northern Brazil to Sao Paolo, the country's largest city,

巴西已停止用公交车将海地移民从巴西北部运送到该国最大城市圣保罗，

after some 500 Haitians arrive in search for jobs, overwhelming the city shelters.这是因为有大约500名海地人来这里找工作, 使得该市的住所不堪忍受。

More than 50 thousand Haitians have migrated to Brazil since 2012, when the country started granting humanitarian²⁵ visas after Haiti's earthquake two years earlier.

自从2012年以来有5万多名海地人来到巴西，当时是海地地震发生的两年前，当时巴西开始授予人道主义签证。

The owner of an auction²⁶ house in Florida has been sentenced to three years in jail for helping²⁷ to smuggle²⁸ rhino²⁹ horns, elephant ivories and coral from the United States to China.

佛罗里达州一家拍卖行老板因被判三年徒刑，罪行是帮助将犀牛角、象牙和珊瑚从美国走私到中国。

Christopher Hayes was caught in a sting operation when he bought endangered black rhino horns from an undercover agent.

克里斯多夫·海耶斯是在一次诱捕行动中被抓获的，当时他正从警方卧底那里购买濒危黑犀牛角。

In a statement, the US Justice Department said it was the first such conviction of an auction house and should serve as a warning. BBC News.

美国司法部在声明中称这是首个获此罪名的拍卖行，应该引以为戒。BBC新闻。

1 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。

2 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

3 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

4 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

5 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

7 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

9 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

10 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

11 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

12 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

13 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

14 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

15 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

16 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

17 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。

18 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

19 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

20 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

21 excavated   

v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

23 anvils   

n.（铁）砧( anvil的名词复数 )；砧骨

参考例句：

24 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

25 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

26 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

27 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

28 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

29 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。