英国新闻听力 英国首相布朗要求女王解散议会

The BBC has learned that the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has decided¹ that the British general election will take place on 6 May. Mr Brown will go to Buckingham Palace tomorrow Tuesday to ask Queen Elizabeth to dissolve parliament, and then make a formal announcement of the election date. That will start the official election campaign, which, a BBC correspondent says, will be dominated by issues of taxation² and spending in the wake of the global recession.

Pakistani militants³ have launched their first attack in five years on a United States facility in the country. The local Taliban say they carried out the assault on the US consulate⁴ in Peshawar. Seven people including all four attackers were killed. The White House has strongly condemned⁵ the attacks. The Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi rejected suggestions that Pakistan wasn't doing enough to prevent suicide bombings.

"If somebody is determined⁶ to kill and get killed in the process, it's very limited what you can do. We have deployed⁷ 150,000 troops on the western border. We are doing our utmost, but this is a challenge that Pakistan cannot face alone."

Earlier, at least 43 people were killed and dozens wounded when a suicide bomber⁸ blew himself up at a political rally in Lower Dir district in northwestern Pakistan. The event, which was attended by hundreds of people, was organized by the largely secular⁹ Awami National Party, which strongly opposes the Taliban and other Islamist militants and has been targeted before.

Forces from the United Nations and the Congolese army have secured an airport in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo after heavy fighting. On Sunday, at least 100 armed men attacked the capital of Equateur province Mbandaka, killing¹⁰ three UN staff. Thomas Fessy reports from Kinshasa.

The airport was retaken on Monday morning after a new joint¹¹ offensive between Congolese and UN troops. Both sides have now confirmed that operations are underway around the airport and the provincial¹² capital to find the insurgents¹³. A UN spokesman in Kinshasa says that a few fighters have been arrested by the Congolese police, but the number of insurgents detained is still unknown. The Congolese army is expected to send an assessment¹⁴ mission in the coming days to decide whether reinforcement is needed.

The United States government says it intends to impose the maximum penalty available on the Japanese carmaker Toyota over the way it handled the mass recall of its vehicles because of safety faults. The US Transportation Department said it would seek to fine Toyota more than 16 million dollars for failing to inform Washington about problems with the accelerators in a number of models. In some cases, the malfunction¹⁵ caused cars to accelerate uncontrollably.

World News from the BBC

Anti-government protesters have settled in for another night in the center of the Thai capital Bangkok despite a court ruling that the government has the right to evict¹⁶ them. The leaders of the red-shirts, as they are known, have also indicated they may be extending the protest. On Monday, the demonstrators briefly¹⁷ forced their way into the offices of the election commission.

The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has asked parliament to reconsider its rejection¹⁸ of his plans for heavy cuts in food and energy subsidies¹⁹. The legislature said it was concerned that implementing²⁰ the proposed 40-billion-dollar cuts in full would lead to a surge in inflation. Instead, parliament approved savings²¹ worth just 20 billion dollars.

A South Korean warship²² is pursuing a supertanker which was hijacked²⁵ by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The ship was on its way from Iraq to the US and is carrying up to 160 million dollars worth of crude oil. From Seoul, here is our correspondent John Sudworth.

The hijack²⁴ took place hundreds of kilometers from the coast of Somalia in the middle of the Indian Ocean, an area of sea normally thought to be relatively²⁶ safe from this kind of attack. The South Korean navy, which already has a warship based in the Gulf²⁷ of Aden to assist with the international efforts to protect shipping²⁸, has ordered it to reach the oil tanker²³ before it reaches the African coast. But any attempt to recapture the ship by force would be risky²⁹. The volatile³⁰ cargo³¹ makes a gun battle inconceivable.

The United States has criticized a string of planned defence contracts which could see Venezuela buying billions of dollars of additional weapons from Russia. Earlier, the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin revealed that Moscow had recently signed arms deals estimated to be worth up to five billion dollars. However, a US State Department spokesman said Washington failed to see why President Chavez needed to purchase more arms.

BBC获悉，英国首相戈登·布朗已经决定英国大选在5月6日举行。明天，也就是周二，布朗将前往白金汉宫，要求伊丽莎白女王解散议会，随后正式宣布选举日期。之后官方竞选活动将拉开帷幕，BBC记者称，竞选活动将主要集中在税收和全球金融危机后的支出问题。

巴基斯坦好战分子对美国驻该国设施发动五年来的首次袭击。当地塔利班分子声称，他们对美国驻白沙瓦领事馆发动了袭击。包括7名袭击者在内的7人死亡。白宫对这次袭击事件提出了强烈谴责，称巴基斯坦没有采取足够措施预防自杀是爆炸袭击的发生。巴基斯坦外长库雷希(Shah Mehmood Qureshi)否认了这种说法。

“如果某人执意要在这个过程中谋杀或自杀，你能采取的措施非常有限。我们已经在西部边境部署了150,000军队。我们已经尽了最大努力，但这是一个巨大的挑战，巴基斯坦难以独自面对。”

早些时候，巴基斯坦西北部下迪尔(Lower Dir)区的政治集会上，一名自杀式爆炸者引爆身上的炸弹，造成至少43人死亡，几十人受伤。这次集会由人民民族党(Awami National Party)组织，大约有数百人参加。人民民族党强烈反对塔利班和其他伊斯兰好战分子，此前也曾成为袭击目标。

联合国和刚果军队力量经过激战后夺回了刚果民主共和国西北部的机场。周日，至少100名武装分子袭击了赤道省首府姆班达卡(Mbandaka)，杀害了3名联合国工作人员。Thomas Fessy在金沙萨报道。

周一早上，刚果和联合国军队发动联合袭击之后重新夺回机场。双方均证实正在机场周围和该省首府实施行动，搜捕反叛分子。联合国驻金沙萨一名发言人表示，刚果警方已经逮捕了几名好战分子，但是被拘留反叛分子的人数不详。预期未来几天，刚果军队将向该地区派遣评估团，以决定是否需要增援。

美国政府表示，鉴于日本汽车制造商丰田公司对由于安全故障导致的大规模召回事件的处理方式，将对丰田进行最高额罚款。美国交通部门表示，由于丰田公司未向华盛顿通知几款车型加速器的问题，他们将对丰田进行超过1600万美元的罚款。在几个案例中，该故障导致汽车突然加速。

BBC世界新闻。

泰国反政府抗议者在首都曼谷中心再次度过一个夜晚，尽管法庭裁决政府有权驱逐他们。红衫军领袖也暗示他们可能扩大抗议的规模。周一，示威者强行进入选举委员会办公室。

伊朗总统艾哈迈迪-内贾德计划大幅削减粮食和能源补助遭到议会拒绝，内贾德要求他们重新考虑。该立法机构表示，他们担忧全面实施内贾德提议的削减400亿美元补助会导致通货膨胀的爆发。而议会仅仅同意减少200亿美元。

韩国军舰正在寻求解救在印度洋被索马里海盗劫持的一艘句型油轮。该油轮从伊拉克驶往美国，装载着价值1.6亿美元的原油。首尔，John Sudworth报道。

劫持事件发生在距离索马里海岸几百千米的索马里海岸，正常来说，该地区相对来说比较安全，不会遭遇这种袭击。韩国海军已经派遣一艘军舰驻守亚丁湾，协助联合国力量保护国王船只。现在，韩国韩军下令其军舰在到达非洲海岸之前追上油轮。但是，企图通过武力夺回油轮的任何努力都是危险的。船上的易爆货物使枪战难以进行。

委内瑞拉计划签署几份武器装备合同，将再次从俄罗斯购入价值数十亿美元的武器，美国提出了谴责。此前，俄罗斯总理普京披露，莫斯科最近签署了一系列武器合同，价值高达50亿美元。然而，美国国务院一名发言人表示，华盛顿方面不明白查韦斯总统为何需要购买更多武器。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

3 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。

4 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

9 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

12 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

13 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

14 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

15 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。

16 evict   

vt.驱逐，赶出，撵走

参考例句：

• The lessor can evict the lessee for failure to pay rent.出租人可驱逐不付租金的承租人。
• The government always says it's for the greater good when they evict farmers from their land.当政府把农民从他们的土地赶出去的时候，总是号称是为了更大众的利益。

17 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

18 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

19 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》

20 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

21 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

22 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

23 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

24 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

25 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

26 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

27 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

28 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

29 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

30 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

31 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。