英国新闻听力 欧盟领导人峰会在布鲁塞尔闭幕

An inquiry¹ into the deaths of 34 striking miners in South Africa three years ago has heavily criticised the police who opened fire and has recommended a criminal investigation². The South African President Jacob Zuma said the inquiry had found that police operation at the Marikana platinum³ mine to be defective⁴. It also blamed rival unions and the mine owners' lawmen, but absolved⁵ government ministers. From Johannesburg, here's Maseko.

"If you look at the 600-paged report, the four guys are the management of lawmen, the police officers who were there at the mine on the day of the shooting, and also the mine workers themselves. But there is deafening⁷ silence regarding the political leadership that included the deputy president, who was in the board of lawmen, and also the mining minister. So there is a lot of anger here in South Africa, regarding why is it that the political leadership has not been held accountable."

Nine people in Northern Nigeria have been sentenced to death for blasphemy⁸. The verdict was handed down by an Islamic court in the state of Kano, which met in secret. The defendants⁹ are thought to include at least one woman.

The International Crisis Group has warned that western counter-terrorism policies in the Sahara region of North Africa are failing. The Brussels-based campaign group says the tendency to label non-violent Islamists as potential jihadists was liable to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Thomas Fessy has more details.

"Regional youth, the ICG says, are restless overall lack of job opportunities, and a narrow political space. Islamist charities provide an attractive alternative to poorly equiped state schools. Moreover, state institutions have colluded with criminal networks, which, in some regions, have become a key source of power. The ICG says the greatest responsibility lies with national governments. They must stem rapid population growth and address radicalisation and poverty."

The summit of European leaders has ended in Brussels in the past few minutes. They've been discussing ways to tackle the number of migrants attempting to enter the EU illegally. The Greek debt crisis has also been on the agenda. No deal has been reached so far. Chris Morris reports.

"One EU official said there would be no further negotiations¹⁰ with the Greek government. The creditors¹¹ would examine Greek suggestions, the official said, to see if there is anything worth adding to their own proposals, and that would then amount to a final offer to be discussed at a meeting of Euro Zone finance ministers on Saturday. One EU diplomat¹² said Saturday's finance ministers meeting, just three days before Greece's current bailout expires, would be crucial. They have to decide, he said, yes or no. If it's no, then this is over. The EU leaders are due to resume talks in the morning."

World news from the BBC.

The United States Census¹³ Bureau says people under 33 now make up the biggest age group in the country. Known as millennials, they form more than 25% of the population and outnumber of the baby boomers, those who are over 65 years old.

The first funerals of the nine African-Americans shot dead at a Bible class have taken place in Charleston, South Carolina. Police officers stood guard as thousands of mourners celebrated¹⁴ the lives of two victims, killed by a white gunman last week. From Charleston, here's Nick Bryant.

"Thousands gathered for the funerals of two of the victims at the Charleston killings¹⁵. Ethel Lance, who was 17, Sharonda Singleton, the mother of three children. And both were celebrations of their lives. In the eulogy¹⁶ for Ethel Lance, the preacher said she was a victim of hatred¹⁷, who could be a symbol of love. Hatred is powerful, he said, but love is more powerful."

France's interior minister has said that the low-cost car-booking service UberPop must be shut down, and the vehicles cease if they continue to carry passengers. Bernard Cazeneuve made the announcement after a day of nationwide strikes by taxi drivers, some of which turned violent. UberPop has already been outlawed¹⁸ in France, but continues to operate while it challenges the ban.

Flash flooding has caused major damage and disruption in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, which hosted the Winter Olympic Games last year. Rail and road transport was severely¹⁹ affected²⁰ as torrential rains caused river to overflow²¹.

The English-born actor, Patrick Macnee, has died at his home in California, aged⁶ 93. He was best known for playing John Steed in the 1960s British television series, The Avengers. Steed was a quintessential Englishman. His weapons of choice in his battles with criminal masterminds were his wits and his umbrella, never a gun.

对三年前南非34名罢工矿工死亡案的调查严厉批评了开枪的警察，并建议进行刑事调查。南非总统雅各布·祖玛称调查发现警方在马里卡纳铂矿行动有问题，同时也将罪责归咎于相对立工会和矿主的律师们，但是宣布政府部长们无罪。马瑟科在约翰内斯堡报道。

“如果你看下这份600页的报告，这四个家伙包括警方高层、开枪当天在场的警察以及矿工们。但却没有提到政府领导人，包括属于执法者董事会成员的副总统，以及矿业部长们。所以南非人对此很愤怒，对不追究政治领导人责任的做法感到愤怒。”

尼日利亚北部有9人因亵渎罪被判死刑，该判决是卡诺州伊斯兰法庭秘密开庭后做出的。据悉被告人中有至少一名妇女。

国际危机组织警告称，西方国家在北非撒哈拉地区的反恐政策已经失败。这个总部在布鲁塞尔的活动组织称，将非暴力的穆斯林列为潜在的圣战分子的做法很容易成为自我验证的预言。托马斯·费西报道。

“国际危机组织称，该地区的年轻人因缺少就业机会和政治空间狭窄而不安，与设备糟糕的州学校相比，伊斯兰慈善机构更具吸引力。而且，州机构与犯罪网络相勾结，这些犯罪网络在一些地区已经成为关键的权力中心。国际危机组织称最大的责任在于国家政府，他们必须遏制人口的快速增加，并解决极端主义和贫困问题。”

就在几分钟前，欧洲领导人峰会在布鲁塞尔闭会。与会领导人商谈如何减少试图非法进入欧盟的移民数量，希腊债务危机也是议程之一，到目前为止没有达成任何协议。克里斯·莫里斯报道。

“一位欧盟官员称将不会再与希腊政府进行协商，借贷方将审查希腊的建议，来看在他们自己提议的基础上是否需要添加什么，这样就能制定最终的提议，来供周六会谈的欧元区财长们进行商谈。一位欧盟外交人员称周六的财长会议将非常关键，会议日期是在希腊目前的纾困计划到期三天前。他说，他们必须决定‘是’还是‘不’，如果是‘不’，那么一切都结束了。这些欧盟领导人将在早上继续开会。”

BBC世界新闻。

美国人口统计局称年龄在33岁以下的人口构成该国最大群体，这些人被称为千禧一代，他们构成了25%的人口，人数超过了目前已经65岁以上的婴儿潮时期出生的人口。

为圣经班上被枪杀的9名非裔美国人举行的首次葬礼在南卡罗来纳州查尔斯顿举行，数千名哀悼者前来追悼上周被白人歹徒杀死的两名遇难者，葬礼上有警察守卫。尼克·布莱恩特在查尔斯顿报道。

“数千人参加了为查尔斯顿枪杀案两名遇难者举行的葬礼，这两人是17岁的埃塞尔·兰斯和三个孩子的母亲莎朗达·辛格尔顿。在致埃塞尔·兰斯的悼词中，牧师称她是仇恨的受害者，而事实上她是可以成为爱的象征的。牧师说，仇恨是强大的，但爱更强大。”

法国内政部长称必须关闭低成本的打车服务UberPop，如果有车辆继续搭乘顾客，就会被要求停运。在卡泽纳夫做出该声明的一天前，出租车司机在法国各地举行罢工，其中一些罢工转为暴力活动。法国已经宣布UberPop非法，但仍有人不顾禁令继续运营。

在去年举行过冬季奥运会的俄罗斯黑海度假胜地索契，洪灾导致了重大破坏和损害。暴雨导致河流蔓延，严重影响了铁路和公路交通。

英国出生的演员帕特里克·迈克尼在加州家里去世，享年93岁。他因在20世纪60年代的英国电视剧《复仇者联盟》中扮演约翰·史提德而知名，史提德是一位典型的英国人，在与犯罪首脑做斗争中，他的武器是机智和雨伞，而不是枪支。

1 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

4 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

5 absolved   

宣告…无罪，赦免…的罪行，宽恕…的罪行( absolve的过去式和过去分词 )； 不受责难，免除责任 [义务] ,开脱（罪责）

参考例句：

• The court absolved him of all responsibility for the accident. 法院宣告他对该事故不负任何责任。
• The court absolved him of guilt in her death. 法庭赦免了他在她的死亡中所犯的罪。

6 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

7 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

8 blasphemy   

n.亵渎，渎神

参考例句：

• His writings were branded as obscene and a blasphemy against God.他的著作被定为淫秽作品，是对上帝的亵渎。
• You have just heard his blasphemy!你刚刚听到他那番亵渎上帝的话了！

9 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 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。

11 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

13 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

14 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

15 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。

16 eulogy   

n.颂词；颂扬

参考例句：

• He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. 他不需要我或者任何一个人来称颂。
• Mr.Garth gave a long eulogy about their achievements in the research.加思先生对他们的研究成果大大地颂扬了一番。

17 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

18 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

19 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

20 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

21 overflow   

v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出

参考例句：

• The overflow from the bath ran on to the floor.浴缸里的水溢到了地板上。
• After a long period of rain,the river may overflow its banks.长时间的下雨天后，河水可能溢出岸来。