英国新闻听力 意大利首都罗马或将迎来首位女市长

Italy’s capital city Rome could get its first female mayor today. Our correspondent in Rome is James Reynolds.

Rome is the eternal city. Its problems seem to last forever, as well. Italy’s capital is full of litter, graffiti and potholes¹. Its buses and trains are old and slow. In recent years, an organized crime network took control of some of the city’s public contracts. And in October last year, Rome’s most recent mayor was forced to resign in an expenses scandal. It’s somewhat inevitable² then that the two politicians who’ve made it to the election run-off promise this city a new start. The favorite, maybe 37-year old lawyer Virginia Raggi, she is from the populist “Five Star Movement”. If elected, she’d become this city’s first female mayor. She runs against１　55-year old Roberto Giachetti. He is backed by the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The winner will inherit a city in need of a gigantic cleanup. That was James Reynolds in Rome.

The French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron has warned that leaving the European Union would reduce Britain to２ being a trading post on the borders of Europe. Mr. Macron said Britain would be like a small country on the world stage. The referendum in Britain takes place on Thursday. And there’s been plenty of speculation³ about what could happen if Britain decides to leave the EU.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Islamic Republic of Iran is home to one of the world’s most prestigious⁴ collections of western modern art. Now finally they are on the move. And some art will be shown at an exhibition in Berlin this year.

We have wonderful really extraordinary works of that period. And there are also other wonderful impressionist works. Really the selectivity of the curators in purchasing these artworks was quite exceptional.

How did they survive the revolution?

Well, there was initially⁵ somebody in charge who was very devoted⁶ to keeping the collection intact３. And I think we were very lucky in that the museum directors, one after the other, were all conscious of the quality of the collection and therefore, they were quite keen that nothing should be sort of sold off４.

And all of the works in the museum have stayed there. Now that some of these works are gonna be shown abroad in Germany later this year, people will obviously get an idea of５ just how wonderful this is. Do you see then now that sanctions have been lift and there are much more of this sort of cultural exchanges, does Iran now seem open?

意大利首都罗马今天获将迎来它的第一位女市长。本台罗马记者詹姆斯?雷诺兹报道。

罗马是永恒之城，而它的问题也似乎是永恒的。意大利首都充满了垃圾、涂鸦和凹坑；巴士和火车又旧又慢。近年来，集团犯罪网络控制了该城市的一些公共契约。去年十月份，罗马最新的市长在支出丑闻中被迫辞职。那么坚持到决胜选举的两名政客多少难免要承诺给这个城市一个新开始。最受民众喜爱的或许就是37岁的律师拉吉（Virginia Raggi），她来自民粹主义的“五星运动”。如果当选，她将成为该城市的首位女市长。她的竞选对手是５５岁的贾凯蒂（Roberto Giachetti），他有总理伦齐（Matteo Renzi）的支持。获胜者将继承一座需要大扫除的城市。詹姆斯?雷诺兹罗马报道。

法国经济部长马克隆（Emmanuel Macron）警告说，离开欧盟会将英国减弱为欧洲边境上的一个交易站。马克隆称英国会像世界舞台上的一个小国。英国公投于周四举行，关于英国决定离开欧盟后会发生什么，外界一直存在诸多猜测。

伊朗伊斯兰共和国有着世界上最有名望的西方现代艺术收藏品，这或许有些出人意料。如今，这些收藏品终于动身了。有些艺术品会于今年在柏林的一次展会上展出。

我们有那个时期最特别的作品，还有绝妙的印象派作品。确实，馆长们在购买这些艺术品时的选择性上是十分卓越的。

它们是怎么在革命中幸存下来的？

最初的那个负责人非常投入地维持收藏品的原貌。我认为我们非常幸运，因为博物馆每任馆长都知悉收藏品的品质，因此他们特别热心地保证不廉价处理任何东西。

博物馆中的所有作品都保存了下来。由于今年一部分作品会在德国被展出，大家肯定就能了解这些作品究竟有多棒。那既然制裁已经被取消了，有越来越多类似的文化交流，现在伊朗看起来开放了吗？

1 potholes   

n.壶穴( pothole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Potholes are also home to tiny desert animals. 洞穴也是弱小动物的家。 来自互联网
• If you're going to enjoy the good times, you've certainly got to deal with some potholes. 如果要享受甜美的胜利果实，当然要应付这些战绩不佳的指责压力。 来自互联网

2 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。