英国新闻听力 蓝月亮钻石以创纪录拍卖

Hello, I am Stuart Mackintosh with the BBC news.

The Russian president Vladimir Putin said his country must do everything it can to eradicate¹ the problem of doping in sport. He was making his first comment since the World Anti-doping Agency released a report on Monday outlining what it called a state-supported program of cheating in Russian athletics². Richard Conway reports.

“In the immediate³ aftermath of the highly critical WADA report into doping, Russian authorities reacted by saying the allegation was fictional⁴. But a distinct change of tone is now evident, with the country’s president Vladimir Putin pledging full cooperation with anti-doping organizations and promising⁵ an internal inquiry⁶. Mr Putin argues that the responsibility for cheating in sport is not just a problem for his country, and that clean athletes shouldn’t be punished because of the crime of those who've doped.

African leaders attending a summit in Malta with their European counterparts have criticized what they called Europe’s fortress⁷ approach to the flow of African migrants reaching its shores. The European Commission has offered 2 billion dollars to enable African governments to make improvements that would discourage Africans from making the perilous⁸ journey across the Mediterranean⁹. But president Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger says that it is not nearly enough. “It is part of the solution. It is true that Europe is proposing the creation of our fund at the cost of 2 billion Euros. This is not sufficient to deal with such a big problem. Other donors¹⁰ can contribute to the fund. But all that does not seem to me to be enough. What’s necessary is a new marshal plan in order to confront the problem of immigration. ”

A Kenyan pressure group, Journalists for Justice has accused the Kenyan military of involvement in the illegal trades and human right abuses in Somalia. The Kenyan military has been operating in Somalia since 2011 when they try to drive Islamist militants¹¹ from the border areas. Mary Harper reports.

“The report says the Kenyan defense¹² force makes about 15 million dollars a year from taxing choc as it leaves Somalia and sugar as it comes in. They also enable al shabaab to keep making money, as it, too, taxes choc and sugar coming in and out in the areas at their controls. The Kenyan military has denied the allegations. ”

France has drafted a UN Security Council resolution on Burundi to be presented on Thursday calling for an increased international presence on the ground, possibly including a peace-keeping force. It follows talks by French, British and US diplomats¹³ on how to respond if the current wave of political violence in Burundi spirals into a full-scale ethnic¹⁴ conflict.

A Scottish nurse who recovered from catching¹⁵ Ebola while working in Sierra Leon only to suffer a relapse,has staged a recovery for the second time. Pauline Cafferkey has been released from an isolation¹⁶ unit at a London hospital.

You are listening to the latest world news coming to you from the BBC.

Amnesty International says police in China are continuing to use torture to extract confessions¹⁷ from suspects despite having promised reforms. It based its finding on interview of nearly 40 lawyers who said the methods, including beatings, sleep deprivation¹⁸ and torture chairs.

The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi arrived in Britain today for a two-day visit which is expected to secure trade deals worth billions of dollars. It is the first visit by Indian prime minister to Britain for nearly a decade.

A regional government of Catalonia has said it will push ahead with a resolution to break away from Spain despite a suspension of the secession process by the constitutional court. Early the court agreed to hear the Spanish government’s appeal against the motion. David Bamford reports.

“Supporting Catalonia for breaking away from Spain has been growing, and it reached a high point this week when the Catalonia parliament passed a motion to create a independent state within 18 months. That has prompted the Madrid government to appeal to the constitutional court to intervene. The court has now agreed to hear Madrid’s case, in effect suspending Catalonia’s plans and warning its officials of legal action if they disobey. But the Catalans are defiant¹⁹. Their regional government has said it’s going to press on regardless, setting the scene for future confrontation²⁰ with Madrid.”

Astronomers²¹ say they have identified the most distant object yet in the solar system, the icy rocky body of some 15 billion kilometers from the Sun, about three times further away than even distant Pluto²². Scientists will need to track it further to learn the shape and extent of its orbit. They say it could be a miniature planet.

And a rare blue-moon diamond, weighing over 12 carats was sold in an auction²³ in Geneva for 48.5 million dollars. The auction house Sotheby's said it was a world record price for a gemstone at auction.

大家好，我是Stuart Mackintosh，为您报道BBC新闻。

俄罗斯总统普京表示，俄国将尽最大努力根除体育比赛中存在的兴奋剂问题。这是自世界反兴奋剂机构周一发布报告概述俄罗斯运动员中存在国家支持的作弊现象之后普京首次发表评论。Richard Conway报道。

在世界反兴奋剂组织带有强烈谴责意味的报告后，俄罗斯当局立即做出反应，称这些指控是捏造的。但是很明显他们的论调现在发生了鲜明转变，俄罗斯总统普京保证全面配合反兴奋剂组织，并承诺进行内部调查。普京辩称，体育赛事中存在作弊现象不仅仅是俄罗斯的责任，而且无辜的运动员不应该因为注射兴奋剂的运动员的罪行而受到惩罚。

与欧洲同僚一起在马耳他参加峰会的非洲领导人们批评了他们所说的欧洲对抵达其海岸线的非洲移民采取的堡垒政策。欧洲委员会提供了20亿美元，使非洲政府能够做出改善，让非洲人不再跋山涉水穿过地中海前往欧洲国家。但是尼日尔总统马哈马杜·伊素福(Mahamadou Issoufou)表示，这并不够。“这只是解决方案的一部分。欧洲确实提议成立20亿欧元的基金。然而这对于解决如此大的问题来说是不够的。其他捐赠者也可以向该基金捐赠。但是对我来说，所有这些都是不够的。制定新的马歇尔计划来解决移民问题非常必要。”

肯尼亚一个压力组织，记者正义组织指控肯尼亚军队参与索马里的非法贸易，并践踏人权。自2011年试图将伊斯兰激进分子驱逐出边境地区以来，肯尼亚军队一直在索马里行动。Mary Harper报道。

该报告称，肯尼亚国防军离开索马里时运输巧克力，回到索马里时运输糖，一年可以赚取1500万美元。他们还让青年党也赚取不正当利益，也是在所控制地区运输巧克力和糖。肯尼亚军队否认了指控。

法国起草了一份关于布隆迪的联合国安理会决议，将于周四提交，呼吁国际社会增加在该地区的人员配备，可能包括一支维和部队。此前，法国，英国和美国外交官讨论了如果目前布隆迪的政治暴力升级为全面的种族冲突，应该如何做出反应。

在塞拉利昂工作时感染埃博拉病毒后康复，随后又复发的苏格兰护士第二次康复。Pauline Cafferkey已经从伦敦一家医院的隔离中心出院。

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（敏感内容）

印度总理莫迪今日抵达英国，进行为期两天的访问，预期将达成价值数十亿美元的贸易协议。这是近十年来印度总理首次访问英国。

加泰罗尼亚地方政府表示，他们将继续推行从西班牙独立的决议，尽管宪法法庭暂停了脱离过程。早些时候，法庭同意听取西班牙政府反对该行动的诉求。David Bamford报道。

支持加泰罗尼亚从西班牙独立出来的呼声不断增长，本周，加泰罗尼亚议会通过一项动议，18个月内成立独立的州时，呼声达到新的高潮。这迫使马德里政府呼吁宪法法庭干预。法庭现在同意审理马德里的案件，实际上是暂停了加泰罗尼亚的计划，警告其官员如果不遵守的话会提起诉讼。但是加泰罗尼亚则采取完全蔑视的态度。他们的地区政府表示，他们会继续努力，为将来对抗马德里政府埋下了祸根。

天文学家表示，他们发现了目前为止太阳系最遥远的物体，距离太阳大约150亿千米的冰冷的岩石，比已经非常遥远的冥王星还远三倍。科学家需要进一步追踪了解其形状及轨道。他们表示，这应该是一个微型行星。

一枚非常罕见的，重量超过12克拉的蓝月钻石在日内瓦以4850万美元的价格拍卖成功。苏富比拍卖行表示，这是宝石在拍卖会上拍下的创纪录的价格。

1 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。

2 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 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。

7 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

8 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

9 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

10 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

15 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

16 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

17 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

19 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

20 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。

21 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 Pluto   

n.冥王星

参考例句：

• Pluto is the furthest planet from the sun.冥王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Pluto has an elliptic orbit.冥王星的轨道是椭圆形的。

23 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。