CNN 2008-06-22_在线英语听力室_免费在线英语听力学习网站

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Hello, everyone, I'm Asieh Namdar at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Here's a look at what's happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

Fewer levee breaks are now expected along the rest of Mississippi River, but downstream communities are still bracing¹ for trouble. In Missouri, at least five levees have broken since Wednesday, sending water into as many as 300 homes in small towns. So far, two dozen people have been killed; over 35,000 were forced to leave their homes.

Firefighters in northern California hope to have a fast-moving grass fire under control sometime today. They say it's about 90% contained right now. Several homes have been destroyed by the 500-acre fire south of San Jose. The Red Cross has set up an evacuation center for some of the 2000 people forced out of their homes. Firefighters won't be getting any help weatherwise though; triple-digit temperatures are expected again today.

Some very tough comments today from the UN nuclear chief about the possibility of a military strike on Iran. Earlier this month, dozens of Israeli warplanes conducted military exercises over the Mediterranean². One US official says the maneuvers³ were a message to Iran and that Israel wanted to show the world it's capable of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities. IAEA Chief Mohammed ElBaradei says that would be a disaster.

"In my opinion, any military strike as I mentioned is the worst thing that can happen now. It will make the Middle East into a ball of fire. It is a lot worse than having sanctions⁴. A military strike will lead Iran, even if it plans today to manufacture a nuclear weapon, to establish a crash course to speed the process to have the weapon with the blessings⁵ of all Iranians, even those living in the West."

Now we should add, so far, Israel has refused to confirm or deny whether those maneuvers were a practice run for a strike on Iran.

No short term solution is expected, but oil producers and consumers are talking. Saudi Arabia's hosting an impromptu⁶ top-level forum⁷ on soaring⁸ fuel prices. The US energy secretary blames tight supplies for near-record costs and praises China for cutting subsidies⁹.

An orange wave has swarmed¹⁰ the Basel, Switzerland. The Dutch fans have overrun the town, ready to push for their side as they take on Russia in the Euro 2008 Soccer Quarter Finals. The winner will meet the victor of Sunday's matchup between Spain and Italy.

And those are the headlines this hour. For more on these stories and other news of the day, CNN is your source online, on TV, or when you are on the go.

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收听单词发音

1 bracing
adj.令人振奋的
参考例句：
The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。 The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

2 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。

3 maneuvers
n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 )
参考例句：
He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到，她已经侦察到他的行动。来自辞典例句 Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。来自辞典例句

4 sanctions
批准( sanction的名词复数 )；认可；制裁；约束力
参考例句：
There was general acquiescence in the UN sanctions. 普遍默认了联合国的制裁。 Trade sanctions were imposed against any country that refused to sign the agreement. 凡拒签该协议的国家均受到贸易制裁。

5 blessings
n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福
参考例句：
Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。来自《简明英汉词典》 We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 impromptu
adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地)
参考例句：
The announcement was made in an impromptu press conference at the airport.这一宣布是在机场举行的临时新闻发布会上作出的。 The children put on an impromptu concert for the visitors.孩子们为来访者即兴献上了一场音乐会。

7 forum
n.论坛，讨论会
参考例句：
They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。 The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

8 soaring
adj.往上爬升的；高耸的
参考例句：
The house prices in the city seemed soaring up without limit. 这个城市的房价好像在无限制地飞涨。 They were amazed at the soaring drive of our oil workers. 他们对我国石油工人的冲天干劲感到惊奇。

9 subsidies
n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )
参考例句：
European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。 Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。来自《简明英汉词典》

10 swarmed
密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )；云集；成群地移动；蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去
参考例句：
When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。 When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。