BBC新闻听力100篇

BBC新闻听力100篇

News Item 1

The Japanese government has played down concern about a possible nuclear meltdown, following a big explosion at a nuclear power station in the north of the country. The blast occurred a day after the area was hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami. A top government offi cial, Yukio Edano, said a steel container encasing the nuclear reactor had not been ruptured by the blast.

News Item 2

Fifty thousand Japanese military personnel had been ordered to join the huge rescue and relief operation following the earthquake and tsunami. More than 1,000 people are feared dead. About 400 bodies were found in the town of Rikuzentakata, and Japanese media reports say 10,000 people are unaccounted for in Minamisanriku. Damian Grammaticas in the port of Sendai says the scenes of devastation there are astonishing.

News Item 3

International disaster relief teams have been sent to Japan. The United Nations said a nine strong UN team of experts would include several Japanese speakers. Britain said it was sending expert assistance after receiving a request from Japan. Singapore is also deploying an urban search and rescue team. American forces stationed in Japan have already been involved in rescue operations, and more than 50 territories and countries have offered assistance.

News Item 4

As offi cials in Japan struggle to assess the extent of the damage following the tsunami caused by a massive earthquake, it’s been announced that some 300 people are known to have been killed and more than 500 are unaccounted for in the area around the northern coastal city of Sendai. The 8.9-magnitude quake, the biggest ever recorded in Japan, sent a wave of water several meters high sweeping far inland. Its epicenter was about 130km off Japan’s east coast. In the capital Tokyo, several hundred kilometers away, buildings swayed violently during the quake, which was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks.

News Item 5

Slowly but relentlessly, Colonel Gaddafi’s forces seem to be winning the battle for Ras Lanuf. Opposition fi ghters are still in the town, but they are under intense pressure. The bombing from government warplanes continued today, and there’s a big plume of smoke from the oil installation which was hit a couple of days ago. There’s no sign of either the rebel fi ghters or the local population beginning to fl ee the area. If Ras Lanuf falls, it brings the frontline closer to the main opposition-held city of Benghazi.