英国新闻听力 86

BBC News with David Austin.

As the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon tours Middle Eastern capitals to press for a ceasefire in Gaza, the number of Palestinians killed in the current fighting with Israel has passed 1, 000. The Palestinian Health Ministry¹ said the dead included more than 320 children. In Cairo, Egyptian officials held talks with representatives of the Palestinian militant² group Hamas as part of efforts to broker³ a truce⁴ in the Gaza fighting. A Hamas spokesman said there had been good progress. Israel is sending its chief negotiator Amos Gilad to Cairo on Thursday. Tim Franks reports from Jerusalem.

At the end of Wednesday’s talks, Hamas officials said that there had been good progress towards their goals of withdrawal⁵ of Israeli troops and an opening of the border crossing points. Senior Israeli officials are themselves making positive noises about the role the Egyptians are playing and the seriousness with which they are apparently⁶ taking a central Israeli demand that there be an end to arm smuggling⁷ across Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza can only be achieved if conditions set by both sides are met. President Assad said that for Palestinian militants⁸ to stop firing rockets into Israel, the Israelis must fully⁹ respect the ceasefire and also end their blockade of the Gaza Strip.

A former convening¹⁰ judge in the trial of prisoners held by the Americans at Guantanamo Bay has said that one of the defendants¹² was tortured. In an interview with the Washington Post Newspaper, the Judge, Susan Crawford, said she dismissed charges against the defendant¹¹ Mohammed al- Qahtani because the way he had been treated met the legal definition of torture. She said techniques used on him included isolation¹³, sleep deprivation¹⁴, and exposure to cold, all of which Ms Crawford said left the defendant in a life-threatening condition.

The New York-based organization Human Rights Watch has called on the incoming American President Barack Obama to place greater emphasis on human rights during his time in office. In its annual survey of human rights around the world, Human Rights Watch said abuses had been committed in the name of President Bush's war on terrorism. From Washington, Kim Ghattas reports.

The report says it was wrong and ineffectual to commit abuses in the name of fighting terrorism, and it says the Bush Administration also excused abuses by repressive governments because they were allies in the war on terror. Kenneth Roth, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, says Barack Obama and his team will have to radically¹⁵ rethink how to tackle violent militancy¹⁶ if they want to undo¹⁷ what he described as the enormous damage done by the Bush Administration.

The US State Department rejected the criticism, saying it was proud of its record on human rights.

The Canadian telecommunications company Nortel has filed for bankruptcy¹⁸ protection in the United States and Canada. The Toronto-based company is Northern America's biggest maker¹⁹ of telephone equipment, but it's been hit by a sharp drop in orders.

This is the World News from the BBC.

The Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has proposed a summit on Saturday of European countries that consume Russian gas or transport it across their territory. Ukraine has welcomed the idea but not Mr. Medvedev's proposed venue--Moscow. A row between Russia and Ukraine resulting in the shutdown of pipelines²⁰ carrying Russian gas to Europe has left hundreds of thousands of people without heating. Earlier, the President of the European Commission, Jos Manuel Barroso, advised European energy companies to sue the two countries for breach²¹ of contract if gas supplies are not restored quickly.

"If the agreement is not honored, it means that Russia and Ukraine can no longer be considered reliable partners for the European Union in matters of energy supply."

The BBC has launched a Persian language television service. BBC Persian TV will broadcast for eight hours a day, seven days a week, during peak viewing times in Iran and Afghanistan. It's already met strong opposition²² from the Iranian government. John Lion reports.

Just before 5:00 pm local time, BBC Persian TV launched straight into a major challenge. The lead story was the crisis in Gaza, the most sensitive possible subject in Iran. In theory, satellite dishes are banned in this country; in practice, just about everyone seems to have one. And with domestic TV owned and rigorously controlled by the government, many Iranians are curious to see what the BBC has to offer. As for the Iranian government, it's refused Persian TV permission to operate inside Iran, and some officials have even accused the BBC of training people to spy on Iran.

The Roman Catholic Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal²³ Jose Policarpo, has warned Portuguese²⁴ women against marrying Muslims. The Cardinal said those who did so would be getting into trouble and that not even Allan knew where it would end. Cardinal Policarpo is considered to be on the liberal wing of the Catholic Church. Correspondents say his message was a blunt reiteration²⁵ of Vatican policy.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

4 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 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。

8 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。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 convening   

召开( convene的现在分词 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without sounding an alarm. 民10:7但招聚会众的时候、们要吹号、不要吹出大声。
• We warmly welcome the convening of Asia-Europe meeting in London. 热烈欢迎亚欧会议在伦敦召开。

11 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

12 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

13 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。

14 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。

15 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

16 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

17 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

18 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

19 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

20 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

21 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

22 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

23 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

24 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

25 reiteration   

n. 重覆, 反覆, 重说

参考例句：

• The reiteration of this figure, more than anything else, wrecked the conservative chance of coming back. 重申这数字，比其它任何事情更能打消保守党重新上台的机会。
• The final statement is just a reiteration of U.S. policy on Taiwan. 艾瑞里？最后一个声明只是重复宣读美国对台政策。