英国新闻听力 大赦国际警告卡塔尔未改善劳工处境

The Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, says he has ordered the country's Navy and maritime¹ authorities to try to find and rescue migrants stranded² at sea. It comes a day after Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to provide temporary shelter to such migrants, who include Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution³ in Myanmar. Here is Danny Aeberhard.

Only days ago, Malaysia was preventing boatloads of migrants from landing on its shores. But in the face of pressure from the United Nations and the international community, it seems to have completed a policy u-turn. Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a tweet that Malaysia has to prevent the loss of life. Thousands of migrants are believed to be at sea, many enduring desperate conditions. Some have been abandoned by their crews amid a crackdown on people smuggling⁴. Meanwhile, efforts to find a long-term solution to the crisis are continuing. Later on Thursday, the Malaysian Foreign Minister is to visit Myanmar for talks.

Islamic State militants⁵ have captured the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra from pro-government forces. There are fears that the militants will destroy Palmyra's two-thousand-year-old ruins, as Jim Muir reports.

The collapse⁶ of government forces of Palmyra was a sudden with army and local militia⁷ fighters abandoning the town after Islamic State militants forced their way into its northern quarters. The state media said the forces have pulled out after assuring the evacuation of most of the town's inhabitants. Many of the priceless moveable artefacts have already been removed to safety elsewhere. But there are fears that the temples and columns of the site itself may be demolished⁸ by IS as it's done to sites in Iraq. International appeals and concern are only likely to make that more probable, since IS, which sees ancient monuments as idolatry, delights in outraging⁹ world opinion.

The human rights organisation¹⁰, Amnesty International, says Qatar must do more to improve conditions for migrant workers as it prepares to host the 2022 Football World Cup. Amnesty said the government had made little progress on promises made a year go. x reports.

Last year, the government said it would change the system, under which workers have to seek permission from their employers to leave the country or change jobs. Today, Amnesty, which has been in regular contact with the Qatari government and workers, says little progress has been made. But Qatar's Labour Prime Minister, Dr. Abdullah bin¹¹ Salih Al-Khulaifi, insists the Gulf¹² state is using its hosting of the World Cup as a catalyst¹³ for change. Dr. Abdullah says he's ninety percent sure changes in employment law will be made by the end of this year.

The owner of an auction¹⁴ house in Florida has been sentenced to three years in jail for helping¹⁵ to smuggle¹⁶ rhino¹⁷ horns, elephant ivory and coral from the U.S. to China. Christopher Hayes was caught in a sting operation.

BBC News.

The Pentagon has, for the first time, released surveillance footage of an island that China is building in a disputed part of the South China Sea. The video, along with audio recordings¹⁸ of the Chinese Navy warning the plane to leave the area, was broadcast by CNN, which was on board a U.S. surveillance flight on Wednesday. Beijing lays claims on large parts of the South China Sea and has been building the artificial islands for several years. Neighbouring countries contest the claim.

A cleanup operation is underway on beaches and seas near the sea city of St. Barbara in California, after an oil spill caused by eruption¹⁹ pipeline²⁰. The oil company involved has estimated that two and a half thousand barrels had leaked, of which a fifth, it said, had gone into the ocean.

Scientists in Britain say a study of the effects of paracetamol in mice suggests that women who use the painkiller²¹ extensively during pregnancy²² might damage the reproductive health of the unborn sons. Britain's health body says pregnant women should take the drug only if necessary and for the shortest possible time. Smith reports.

Paracetamol can be important in pregnancy, for example, helping to treat fevers that would otherwise cause harm. But researchers at the University of Edinburgh say women using it when not entirely²³ necessary should think again. Their experiment tried to mimic²⁴ human pregnancies²⁵ implanting human fetal tissue into mice. When taken for a week, the drug disrupted the production of testosterone. This hormone²⁶ is critical to the development of male reproductive systems.

The German police raid on a suspected art trafficking gang's warehouse²⁷ has turned up valuable Nazi²⁸ era sculptures not seen for a quarter of a century. The find includes two monumental horse sculptures by Josef Thorak, which once stood outside Adolf Hitler's Chancery in Berlin.

马来西亚总理纳吉布·拉扎克下令该国海军和海事当局努力搜救被困海上的移民，就在一天前，马来西亚和印尼决定向这些移民提供临时栖身处，这些移民包括孟加拉国人和逃避缅甸迫害的罗兴亚穆斯林。丹尼·爱博哈德报道。

就在几天前，马来西亚阻止移民船只登陆本国海岸，但面对联合国和国际社会的压力，该国的政策似乎来了个大转弯。总理纳吉布·拉扎克在推特上发文称，马来西亚必须阻止生命损失。据悉已有数千名移民在海上，很多都在受着绝望遭遇的煎熬。对人口走私的打击使得有些人被船员抛弃，同时，目前仍在努力寻找这一危机的长期解决办法。周四晚些时候，马来西亚外长将前往缅甸进行商谈。

伊斯兰国武装分子已从亲政府军队手中夺走叙利亚古城巴尔米拉，人们担心这些武装分子会毁掉巴尔米拉有着2000多年历史的遗迹。吉姆·缪尔报道。

政府军是突然之间抛弃了巴尔米拉的，由于伊斯兰国武装分子用武力闯入该市北部城区，军队和地方民兵就放弃了该市。国家媒体称，在确保撤离该市大多数居民后，军队就撤出了。很多可移动的无价文物已被转移到其他安全地方，但人们仍担心这里的神庙和廊柱会被IS摧毁，就像该组织在伊拉克所做的那样。而国际上的呼吁和担忧只会让IS更可能这么做，因为该组织视古代纪念物为偶像崇拜，以违背国际意见为乐。

人权组织大赦国际称由于卡塔尔在准备2022年足球世界杯，就必须做更多来改善其移民工人的条件。大赦国际称对于一年前做下的承诺，政府取得的进步甚微。

去年，政府称将改变制度，据此，工人们必须得到雇主的允许才能离开该国或换工作。今天，一直与卡塔尔政府和工人们保持联系的大赦国际称所取得的进展甚微。但卡塔尔的工党首相阿卜杜拉坚称本国在利用举办足球杯的契机来促进变革，阿卜杜拉称他90%确信将在今年年底之前实现雇佣法方面的变革。

佛罗里达州一家拍卖行的老板因帮助将犀牛角、象牙和珊瑚从美国走私到中国而被判3年徒刑，克里斯多夫·海耶斯是在一次诱捕行动中被抓的。

BBC新闻。

五角大楼首次公布有关中国在南中国海争议区域建造岛屿的监控视频，这段视频和中国海军警告飞机离开该区域的声音资料一起在CNN上播放，周三这架美国飞机在进行监控飞行。北京对南中国海大片区域声称主权，几年来一直在那里建造人工岛屿。邻近国家也都声称有主权。

在输油管道爆裂导致漏油事故后，加州滨海城市圣芭芭拉的海滩和海上进行了清理行动。相关石油公司估计有2500桶油泄露，其中有五分之一已经进入海洋。

英国科学家称，扑热息痛对小白鼠的影响表明，妇女怀孕期间过量使用这种止痛药可能会损害其未出生儿子的生殖健康。英国医疗机构称孕妇应该必要时才使用这种药，而且要在尽可能短的时间内使用。史密斯报道。

扑热息痛在孕期很重要，比如可以帮助治疗可能会造成伤害的发烧。但爱丁堡大学的研究者称，在不是完全必要时妇女应该三思后再使用。他们的实验试图模仿人类怀孕过程，将人类胎儿组织植入小白鼠。服药一周后，这种药物会扰乱睾丸素的声称，这种荷尔蒙对男性生殖系统的发育很关键。

德国警方对嫌疑艺术走私团伙库房进行突袭，发现了消失25年的纳粹时期无价雕塑。这些发现包括约瑟夫的两个纪念马匹雕塑，它们一度耸立在阿道夫·希特勒在柏林的法庭外。

1 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

2 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

3 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

4 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

5 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。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

8 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

9 outraging   

引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

10 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

11 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。

12 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。

13 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 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。

18 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

19 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

20 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

21 painkiller   

n.止痛药

参考例句：

• I shall persuade him to take the painkiller.我将说服他把药吃下去。
• The painkiller only provides him a short respite from his pain.止痛药仅仅让他在疼痛中有短暂的疏解。

22 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

23 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。

24 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

25 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

26 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

27 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

28 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。