VOA新闻听力100篇
News Item 1
This week, the chairman of America’s nuclear agency said there is little chance that harmful radiation from Japan could reach the United States. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko also said America has a strong program in place to deal with earthquake threats. No new nuclear power centers have been built in the United States since nineteen seventy-nine. That was when America’s worst nuclear accident happened at the Three Mile Island center in Pennsylvania. The accident began to turn public opinion against nuclear energy.
News Item 2
Most restaurants in the United States offer their customers a glass of tap water at no charge with their meal, but this week many restaurants are asking diners to pay a dollar, or more, for a glass of water. Placards on their tables explain that this small amount helps bring clean water to children around the world. It’s called the UNICEF Tap Project.
News Item 3
Japan has confirmed radiation contamination of some agricultural products near a nuclear power plant crippled by last week’s earthquake and tsunami that is still spewing radiation. Yukio Edano, the chief Cabinet secretary, says high levels of radiation have been detected in milk in Fukushima prefecture and spinach from Ibaraki prefecture have been found to be contaminated. He tells reporters there is no immediate
health risk and the government is considering regulating shipments of farm products from the affected area. At the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant efforts continue to try to cool overheating reactor cores and water in tanks containing spent fuel rods.
News Item 4
Some of America’s brightest students came to Washington for the 2011 Intel Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science competition. The awards ceremony was the culmination of an intense week during which the 40 finalists were queried by judges and the public. They met with scientists, politicians and even President Barack Obama, who welcomed them to the White House. These high achievers were whittled down from nearly 2,000 contestants’ nationwide, representing excellence across many disciplines.
News Item 5
The billionaires’ club is growing. Forbes magazine’s annual list shows there are now 1,210 billionaires around the world—that is 199 m ore than last year. Although the world’s top three earners are unchanged from last year, the newcomers in the list of the world’s richest did not come from the U.S. or Western Europe, but from Russia and the Asia Pacific region. Magazine chairman Steve Forbes says of the 200 new billionaires this year, the majority are from the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India and China.
News Item 6
Defense attorneys for former Liberian president Charles Taylor say testimony from prosecution witnesses is tainted by cash payments from a special fund provided by the United States. Mr. Taylor’s war crimes
trial is drawing to a close after more than three years. Defense
attorney Terry Munyard says money “lavished” on prosecution witnesses has pollute d “the pure waters of justice.” He told the court that
those payments went far beyond the simple reimbursement of expenses and were used in such a way “as to taint the testimony of some of the prosecution witnesses.”
News Item 7
Many world leaders are expressing shock and sympathy following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and are offering to assist the country as it struggles to recover from the disaster. U.S. President Barack Obama pledged assistance for what he called a potentially
ca tastrophic disaster in Japan. Mr. Obama called Japan one of America’s strongest allies and said the U.S. is offering whatever assistance is needed. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said a preliminary assessment indicates that American troops, ships and military facilities
1
were not seriously damaged by the quake or tsunami.
News Item 8
Women are joining together all over the world to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8. Women poured through London’s streets on Tuesday singing loudly for women’s rights.
The banners they carried trained a spotlight on the range of issues
still at hand: health, education, and politics to name a few.
News Item 9
Food prices continue to rise, threatening to push more and more people into poverty and hunger. A new report from the UN food agency says one of the best ways to boost agricultural productivity worldwide would be to remove the barriers women farmers face that their male counterparts do not. Studies show when women have financial resources, they are more likely than men to spend them on food, health and educating their children. Women farmers tend to be less productive than men, but there are good reasons for that, says Agnes Quisumbing, an economist with the International Food Policy Research Institute.
News Item 10
Ro nald Reagan’s Hometown Celebrates His 100th Birthday. Though he gained prominence as an actor in Hollywood and later as President of the United States, the people of Dixon, Illinois, remember Ronald Reagan as a hometown hero who saved the lives of 77 peopl e while working as a lifeguard. The town is honoring Reagan’s 100th birthday this year, with a year-long celebration. The 40th President’s hometown was never very far from his heart.
News Item 11
The National Football League wrapped up the 2010 season with the biggest football game of the year: Super Bowl XLV—played in a huge stadium in Arlington, Texas. But without the small, Midwestern town of
Ada, Ohio—population 5,400—the game would not have been the same. Ada is where the Wilson Sporting Goods company makes footballs. Wilson has been the official football maker of the National Football League since 1941, and many of the 130 employees at its factory in Ada have spent most of their lives there—many working for 25 to 45 years.
News Item 12
Scientists say a common headache medicine dramatically reduces the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a physically-disabling brain disorder that mostly strikes elderly adults. In a six-year study of just over 136,000 nurses and health professionals, researchers at Harvard University School of Public Health in Massachusetts found that people who take ibuprofen(布洛芬镇痛药)regularly for headache or other pain reduced their risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by near ly 40 percent. Taking one or two pills of ibuprofen two or more times per week was considered regular use. Other non-prescription pain relievers, including aspirin and acetaminophen, did not show a similar protective benefit.
News Item 13
Insurgents opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi continue to hold two strategic towns along the road to eastern Libya, after unsuccessful attempts by pro-Gadhafi forces to retake them. Libyan warplanes launched new air strikes Thursday against the key eastern oil port of Brega, but the son of embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi says the bombs were only intended to “frighten” rebels there.Libyan warplanes struck at the re bel-held oil port of Brega on Thursday, a day after
anti-government fighters turned back an assault by forces loyal to the country’s longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.
News Item 14
A new study of more than 1.1 million people in six Asian countries finds that, like Westerners, Asians are more likely to die if they are overweight or obese. However, some of the highest death rates were seen in people who were severely underweight. Many previous studies have found that the risk of death increases as body-mass
index increases. Body-mass index, or BMI, is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. The trouble is, those studies mostly analyzed Europeans and other Westerners. So scientists couldn’t be sure if the results applied to other groups.
News Item 15
Agriculture is one of the most important economic activities in Africa. In addition to providing employment, agriculture has the potential to transform African societies through the increased export of produce to Western markets. Many agree that transformation will not take place without increased investment in agriculture, including public or private loans to small farmers. Statistics show that Africa has about 12% of the world’s arable land but 80% of it is not in use.
News Item 16
In July 2012, the world’s largest AIDS conference comes to Washington, D.C. It’s the first time the gathering w ill be held in the
United States since 1990 and preparations are already underway. Despite the massive U.S. financial, medical and scientific contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS, a major issue blocked the conference from being held here. That was a law that prohibited HIV infected people from traveling to the United States. It was passed in 1987 in the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Efforts to lift the ban began during President George W. Bush’s second administration. It was finally repealed i n January 2010 under President Obama.
News Item 17
As Discovery begins its 39th and final mission into Earth’s orbit Thursday, America’s 30-year space shuttle program com es one step closer to its scheduled end this April. Discovery has been a regular visitor to Earth’s orbit since its maiden flight in 1984. It is the oldest and longest-serving vehicle in the U.S. space agency’s shuttle fleet. Discovery’s final flight follo ws several delays due to
technical problems and repairs to its external fuel tan k, but NASA’s mission launch director Mike Leinbach says the shuttle is still space-ready.
News Item 18
Not long ago, most professional musicians lived in a world far removed from the nitty-gritty of business management, distribution and promotion. But today, social media, laptop production techniques and fragmented musical tastes have largely replaced the old relationship between musicians, their audiences and the marketplace, making entrepreneurial savvy more important than ever. A leading U.S.
conservatory now teaches students how to create successful careers in this brave new world.
News Item 19
Egypt’s most famous tourism sites, including the great pyramids and the antiquiti es museum in Cairo, have reopened after being closed during the popular uprising and political tumult. Egypt’s key industry— tourism —returns after weeks of protests and celebrations, while other countries in the region deal with unrest. The sound of hoo ves as horses pull jostling carts of people within the Giza pyramids’ complex is the sound of money to the men who make their livings from tourism — a dominant industry in Egypt.
News Item 20
Demonstrations against long-serving governments continue to roil the Middle East and North Africa Friday from Libya eastward to Bahrain. In Libya, more protests as well as funerals for those killed in recent unrest were held after midday prayers, and witnesses said demonstrators gathered in the port city Benghazi, a bastion of resentment against the government. Human Rights Watch said Friday that 24 people have been killed in recent violence in Libya, many of them in Benghazi. Graphic videos posted on the Internet have shown shootings described as being inflicted by armed forces against protesters.
News Item 21
The National Park Service says the largest slave village in the Washington region is buried on the grounds. Archeologist Joy Beasley
walks across the land now known as Best Farm. But approximately 200
years ago, it
was a 300-hectare plantation called L’Hermitage, owned by th e Vincendieres, French farmers from Haiti. Their stone home and
outbuildings still stand. The National Park Service archeologist says
her team discovered evidence of six other homes on the property where slaves were kept. The Vincendieres owned 90 slaves.
News Item 22
Cameroon’s new mineral research center will begin operations this year. South Korean mining researchers are making trips to Cameroon to determine the overall cost of the facility, to be located in the capital, Yaounde. They say the center will cost several millions of dollars and will ultimately be offered to the Cameroon government as a gift. The Korean investors say the facility will also have geological engineers to help in the design and construction of mines—and economic geologists to determine the commercial feasibility of projects. They will decide whether there are enough minerals to justify the cost of a mining venture.
News Item 23
A major study by the World Health Organization shows that most people with high cholesterol levels around the world are not getting the treatment they need, to avoid such serious diseases as heart attacks and strokes. And the authors of the study—the largest ever undertaken—say the problem is especially serious in the developing world. The study was done on 147 million people, and found an increasing incidence of high
levels of cholesterol the world over. Even more worrying, the
researchers say, is that many of those patients are going untreated.
News Item 24
A huge crowd has gathered in central Cairo calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step down. The opposition has called for one million people to protest. Crowds headed on foot for Cairo’s Tahrir Square throughout the day Tuesday. They included women with babies in strollers. Their confidence is boosted after the army, in an official statement, described the demonstrations as legitimate and promised it would not
fire on demonstrators. Army helicopters dropped leaflets calling on demonstrators to keep the protests peaceful.
News Item 25
The popular revolts roiling Egypt and other Arab countries are
being driven by young people clamoring to oust autocratic governments they have known all their lives. The hardscrabble Tunis neighborhood of Ettadhamen provides a representative look at the hardships, and aspirations, of some of the young people behind Tunisia’s so-called Jasmine Revolution.
News Item 26
A new study has tracked how low self-control can predict poor health, money troubles and even a criminal record in their adult years. The study began with 1,000 children in New Zealand. Researchers followed them for decades. They observed the level of self-control the youngsters displayed. Parents, teachers, even the kids themselves, scored the
youngsters on measures like “acting before thinking” and “persistence in reaching goals.” The children of the study are now adults in their thirties. Terrie Moffitt of Duke University found that kids with self-control issues tended to grow up to become adults with a far more troubling set of issues to deal with.
News Item 27
President Barack Obama delivers his second State of the Union Address to the nation on Tuesday, before a joint session of the U.S. Congress. President Barack Obama will face a dramatically altered balance of power in the House of Representatives when he addresses Congress and the nation Tuesday in his State of the Union address. Republicans are now in the majority in the House, and they have already approved a repeal of Mr. Obama’s landmark reform of the U.S. health care system. The move was symbolic, since the bill will die in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats and Independents still hold a majority.
News Item 28
New research suggests a relatively simple blood test might make it possible to predict who is at a higher risk for developing dementia. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease, and currently, it can
only be definitively diagnosed in an autopsy, by examining the brain. Beta-amyloid is a protein that shows up the brains of Alzhe imer’s victims. It’s also prese nt in spinal fluid and, in very small quantities, in the blood.
News Item 29
Health Services in eastern and central Kenya are getting a big boost through a new $100 million dollar program. The U.S. development agency, USAID, has awarded the funds to an international non-profit organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University. For the past four years, Jhpiego has led a nearly $34 million program in eastern Kenya called APHIA II. APHIA stands for AIDS, Population and Health Integrated Assistance. The goal is to “empower front-line health workers” with effective, low cost solutions to delivering quality health care.
News Item 30
Over the past 20 years, the United Nations says the Asia-Pacific population has been growing, but at a slower rate compared to the rest of the world. Asian fertility fell by 39 percent in a 20-year period from the late 1960s while remaining above the population-replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. By 1990, nearly two-thirds of Asian countries had experienced declines of at least 25 percent.
News Item 31
President Barack Obama will go to Tucson, Arizona, Wednesday to speak at a memorial service for those killed in Saturday’s shootings. The president will try to help the nation deal with the rampa ge, which left six people dead and a U.S. congresswoman critically wounded. President Obama and his wife Michelle will cross the country to attend Wednesday night’s memorial service at the University of Arizona.The president will speak there, in an effort to help Americans cope with the tragedy.
News Item 32
New medical research into a possible cure for Parkinson’s disease is focusing on finding biomarkers in patients so that doctors can start treatment early before tremors and other symptoms start. Actor M ichael J. Fox’s recent commitment of $40 million toward finding a cure for Parkinson’s is helping to fund the new research. The current clinical diagnosis of Parkinson’s is based on visible tremors and stiffness of limbs. But researchers say a more comprehensive diagnosis is needed.
News Item 33
U.S. President Barack Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday to outline the benefits of a tax cut package he signed into law in December. He says the tax cut compromise reached with Republicans will help grow the U.S. economy. Mr. Obama encouraged business owners to take advantage of a new incentive included in the legislation that allows any business to write off the full cost of most of their capital investments for one year.
News Item 34
A U.S. congress woman is in critical condition and six people are dead after a gunman opened fire in an Arizona parking lot where Representative Gabrielle Giffords was meeting with constituents. The dead include a federal judge. More than a dozen people were wounded, including Giffords. A federal probe has been launched amid a national outpouring of sorrow and outrage.
News Item 35
Three-dimensional cell phones and batteries that last much longer are just two of the technologies that could become commonplace in the next few years. For the fifth year, IBM has looked at the horizons of research, picked five technologies and announced them as tomorrow’s innovations. “Individual technologies take different times to matriculate,” says John Cohn, IBM’s Chief Scientist. “B ut the thing that’s common about them is that we think in 2015, all these predictions will actually be something that we take for granted.”
News Item 36
The killing of the governor of Pakistan’s most populous province has highlighted the ongoing clash in
Pakistani society between secularism and religious radicalism. Some of that radicalism is fueled by resentment against privileged and often secular-minded elite who govern the country.
News Item 37
In India’s main tea-growing region, scientists say tea production is being impacted by climate change. India produces nearly one third of the world’s tea. The rolling Himalayan hills in India’s northeastern state, Assam, are carpeted with lush tea bushes whose leaves produce some of the world’s finest te as. But t here are concerns that rising temperatures may be affecting the tea plantations, resulting in declining productivity of the brew to which millions of people across the world wake up.
News Item 38
African leaders are in Abidjan for more talks with Ivory Coa st’s rival presidents. The country’s political crisis has sent thousands of refugees into Liberia. Leaders met with defiant Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo Monday, offering him an amnesty deal on condition he cedes power to rival Alassane Ouattara.
News Item 39
More signs that the U.S. economy is moving in the right direction: The U.S. Labor Department says new claims for unemployment benefits declined last week, dropping below 400,000 for the first time since July 2008. Other data also shows that businesses expanded in the month of December while home sales grew modestly in November. Despite the encouraging numbers, investors remain cautious as 2010 comes to a close. New estimates show the snowstorm that lashed parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic last week cost retailers about a billion dollars in lost sales.
News Item 40
The Holy Land enjoyed a flood of visitors last year, which
benefited Israelis and Palestinians alike. It was a record year for tourism in Israel thanks to a lull in violence. There were 3.45 million visitors in 2010, 14 percent more than the previous record two years ago. Mark Feldman, who heads the Israeli travel agency Zion Tours, says tourism is booming. Most of the visitors were Jews and Evangelical Christians. Some 625,000 Americans came, more than any other country.
News Item 41
Voters in Ivory Coast have official results from only a small number of polling stations outside the country. About 10,000 ballots in an election of more than four million registered voters shows former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara leading President Laurent Gbagbo by about 60 percent to 40 percent. As the wait for domestic results continues, President Gbagbo’s party is already calling on the electoral commission to annul returns from three northern districts. Both the Gbagbo and Ouattara campaigns say some of their supporters were prevented from entering polling stations Sunday.
News Item 42
Diplomatic cables released by the website Wikileaks indicate the U.S. is concerned about the security of Pakist ani nuclear material. They also indicate questions about Pakistan’s commitment to fighting insurgents along the country’s border with Afghanistan. The New York Times and the Guardian newspapers reported details of the cables today.
A French news agency quoted a Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman as saying the fears are misplaced. Meanwhile, Interpol has placed Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange on its most wanted list after Sweden issued an arrest warrant for him as part of a rape investigation.
News Item 43
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe needs to boost its role in Afghanistan and foster greater economic development throughout the
region Clinton spoke tod ay at the OSCE Summit in Kazakhstan. “Our goal here in Astana should be to move forward on democracy, human rights, economic growth and strengthening our security community. In other words, let’s embrace the vision of Helsinki and apply it faithfully in th is new century.” The OSCE is celebra ting the 35th anniversary of the
Helsinki Accords, which gave birth to the OSCE structure. Clinton said insecurity anywhere in Central Asia is a challenge for all members and that protracted conflicts remain dangerously unresolved.
News Item 44
Russia’s pr ime minister says his country will have to build up
its own nuclear weapons capability if the United States fails to ratify the new strategic arms reduction treaty signed earlier this year. Vladimir Putin told CN N’s Larry King program in an interview to be
aired later today that the new treaty is in the United States’ best interest and it would be, in his words, dumb for U.S. legislators to ignore that. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the new START in April. The agreement would cut nuclear stockpiles in the U.S. and Russia by about 30 percent.
News Item 45
Thai police say they arrested two Pakistani men and one Thai woman this week on forgery charges, as they attempted to flee to neighboring Laos. The three were arrested in cooperation with Spanish authorities, who on Thursday arrested six Pakistanis and one Nigerian in raids in Barcelona. Spanish authorities believe the group supplied fake passports used by Muslim militants who bombed Madrid commuter trains in 2004. They
also suspect the group supplied fake passports to al-Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistan-based group accused of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
News Item 46
The U.S. unemployment rate rose in November while the economy added far fewer jobs than expected. Today’s closely-watched report from the Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose 0.2% to 9.8%. The economy had a net gain of 39,000 jobs far fewer than the 150,000 most experts had predicted.
News Item 47
Iranian media reports say officials are calling for the removal of a Star of David painted on the roof of the headquarters of the
country’s national airline after the Jewish symbol was revealed in a satellite image. Reports say Internet media company Google took the image of the building which was reportedly built by Israeli engineers who worked in Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
News Item 48
President Obama is calling a new free-trade deal between the U.S. and South Korea a landmark agreement. Mr. Obama accepted the deal Friday after a three-year stalemate and said it will deepen the two nations’ alliance, and he urged the U.S. Congress to ratify it. President said the agreement will increase U.S. exports by up to $11 billion a year and support at least 70,000 jobs. As part of the deal, South Korea has
agreed to let the U.S. keep a 2.5% tariff on Korean-built cars for five more years rather than end it immediately.
News Item 49
The World Food Program is teaming up with the World Meteorological Organization and other agencies to help subsistence farmers increase their crop yields. The WFP says 2010 has been a year with many climate related emergencies which have created a havoc with the agricultural produce of many developing countries.
News Item 50
Some of the most dramatic, climate-related emergencies include flooding in Pakistan, Haiti, Burma and Burkina Faso. World Food Program spokeswoman Emilia Casella says the number of people affected is expected to reach about 375 million a year by 2015. “We are estimating that by 2020, some countries having their agricultural yields halved by weather&climate emergencies-drought or flood.” Casella says a detailed food insecurity analysis could pinpoint areas that are most at risk. She says WFP is working with the Food and Agriculture Organization to help small subsistence farmers increase their food yields.
News Item 51
International firefighting teams are battling day three of what officials are calling the wors t fire in Israel’s history. Police said Saturday the huge wildfires continued to burn out of control near the northern port of Haifa.
The firefighting aircraft are coming in from Russia and have been dropping water on the blaze with additional help from the U.S., France and Britain. Middle East neighbors Jordan and Egypt sent equipment. So far, 41 people, at least, have been killed and thousands have been forced to evacuate from the area.
News Item 52
A Russian rocket carrying three navigation satellites has crashed into the Pacific Ocean after failing to reach orbit. Russian news agencies said the rocket and the satellites went down about 1,500 kilometers northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii after veering off course.
News Item 53
British lawmakers plan to vote on a bill today that would increase university tuition charges. If approved, the college tuition in Britain would jump from just under 5,000 dollars to about 14,000 dollars per year. That proposal has sparked student protests. British authorities say the increase in tuition is necessary to bring a large deficit under control.
News Item 54
Delegates at the end of a two-week UN climate conference held in Cancun, Mexico have approved a modest plan to combat global warming. More than 190 nations approved the agreement Saturday, which includes a multi-billion-dollar fund to administer assistance to poor nations. Bolivia was the only country to object the deal, saying the agreement does not go far enough to curb climate change.
BBC环球慢速英语在线听力第1集: HIV/AIDS - The Family Voice 1 Hello, I’m Marina Santee. Voice 2 And I’m Elizabeth Lickiss. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live. Voice 1 A young child sits by the roadside. Her small hands rest in the dry dirt. She lifts the grains and watches them fall through her fingers. In her mind she can hear her mother’s voice calling her. In her mind she can see her father working in the fields. But she knows that these images are only in her mind now. The young girl’s mother and father are both dead. She is an orphan. For a minute, her brown eyes fill with tears. But her grandmother’s voice stops her thoughts. ‘Coming Grandma’, she says in her native language of Swahili. Voice 2 Each year the number of orphans caused by HIV/AIDS rises. Worldwide, over twenty million people have died from diseases connected to AIDS. HIV is the virus that causes the AIDS disease. AIDS destroys the body’s natural defence system. This means it cannot fight infections or diseases. There is no cure for AIDS. Voice 1 Adults suffer the most deaths from this disease. Many are mothers and fathers of young children. They are the workers of the land. They are the providers of food. They are the carers in the home. They are the carers and supporters of their parents. They are the ‘working generation.’When they die, they leave the weaker members of the family behind - the children and the grandmothers. Voice 2 Priscilla is seven years old. She is an AIDS orphan. She lives with her grandmother and two brothers in Maua, Kenya. In the beginning things were very difficult for her family. They had little food. Their grandmother did not work. There was not any money for the children to go to school. But then, things changed. Priscilla and her brothers became part of a programme at the Maua Methodist Hospital. Their AIDS Orphan programme began in 2001. The programme aims to help children get back into school. They provide clothing
Listen to the BBC news recording and complete the following exercises. Item 1. Listen to the news recording and decide whether the statements are True or False. 1.David Cameron said the United Kingdom takes this irresponsible action extremely seriously. 2.Iranian offices in Tehran were smashed and flags torn down in the attacks. 3.The Iranian foreign ministry described the incident as the unacceptable behaviour of a small group of protesters. Item 2. Listen to the news recording and fill in the blanks. The US doctor 1 ending the life of Michael Jackson has been given the 2 of four years in jail. The judge said Doctor Conrad Murray had 3 and was caught in a cycle of 4 that violated 5 as a doctor. He was found guilty earlier this month of 6 . Listen to the news recording and choose the right answer to each question. 41. Who read a statement to the court? a. a lawyer of the Jackson family b. a friend of the Jackson family c. the Jackson family d. a lawyer and friend of the Jackson family 42. Conrad Murray is NOT convicted of _____________. a. providing a dangerous drug to a vulnerable man b. not caring for him once he stopped breathing c. not caring for him after his death d. trying to cover up what he'd done Item 3. Listen to the news recording and choose the right answer to each question. 43. Laurent Gbagbo is on a plane heading for ____________. a. Ivory Coast b. Korhogo c. the Hague d. Abidjan 44. ____________ has been keen for Mr Gbagbo to be sent to the International Criminal Court. a. The former president b. The government of President Alassane Ouattara c. Pro-Gbagbo armed groups d. the International Criminal Court 45. presence on Ivorian soil caused tension. a. President Alassane Ouattara’s b. Pro-Gbagbo armed groups’ c. T he country's national prosecutor’s d. Laurent Gbagbo’s 46. Around 3,000 people died in . a. April b. National Assembly elections c. a post-election crisis d. the International Criminal Court Item 5. Listen to the news recording and fill in the blanks. The measure: Purpose of the measure: President’s demand: Item 6. Listen to the news recording and decide whether the statements are True or False. 47. Two psychiatrists spent 36 hours talking to Anders Breivik and checking his diaries and police
BBC news with Iain Purdon. Iain Purdon为你播报BBC新闻。 The US Anti-Doping Agency has accused the cyclist Lance Armstrong of cheating his way to the top through the most sophisticated and professional doping programme ever seen in sport. Its new report includes testimony from eleven named team-mates of Armstrong, who won the Tou r de France cycle race seven times. His lawyer has described the report as a one-sided hatchet job. More from our sports news reporter Alex Capstick. 美国反兴奋剂机构指责自行车选手兰斯·阿姆斯特朗在比赛中作弊，这是体育界目前出现的最高端最专业的兴奋剂丑闻。阿姆斯特朗曾七次赢得环法自行车赛，最近报告包括根据他的11名公开姓名队友的证词。他的律师说这是单方面的诽谤，体育记者亚历克斯·卡普斯蒂克报道。 In a statement it said there was conclusive and undeniable proof of a doping conspiracy at the team with whom he had most of his success. Twenty-six people, including 15 riders with the knowledge of the drug taking regime at the US Postal Service team, have testified against him; among them, some of his closest confidants. It said the material which also contains documentary evidence illustrated how the team was design to groom and pressure athletes to use dangerous performance-enhancing substances. Lance Armstrong refused to contest the charges against him, but has consistently denied any wrongdoing. 声明称这是一份阿姆斯特朗团队全面又无可否认的兴奋剂阴谋证据，他的大部分成功都是在这个队里取得的。包括了解兴奋剂内幕的美国邮政自行车队15名骑手在内的26人都指证他，其中一些人还是他的密友。报告称材料中还有书面证明，表明该队培训并迫使运动员使用危险的可提高成绩的药物。兰斯·阿姆斯特朗拒绝对指控进行上诉，但却一直否认犯罪。 Turkish fighter jets have forced a Syrian passenger plane to land. The plane was on its way to Damascus from Moscow. The incident comes as Syria and Turkey continue to exchange artillery fire. From southern Turkey, James Reynolds reports. 土耳其战斗机迫使一架叙利亚客机降落，这架飞机当时正从莫斯科飞往大马士革。事件发生时，叙利亚和土耳其仍在交火。詹姆斯·雷诺兹报道。 The Turkish media says that a Syrian Airbus jets was intercepted by Turkish warplanes as it entered this country's airspace. The jet was made to land at the airport in the capital Ankara. The 35 passengers on board were escorted off the plane, and Turkish authorities began to search the jets. The country's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu says that the plane may have been carrying non-civilian cargo, that's diplomatic language for weapons. This incident will further increase tensions between Turkey
VOA.BBC--------新闻常用词汇,强援我羸弱的听力................P到W P parachute - n. a device that permits a person or thing to fall slowly from an airplane or helicopter to the ground降落伞 parade - n. a group of people and vehicles moving together to celebrate a special event or anniversary游行 parliament - n. a government lawmaking group议会 passport - n. a document permitting a person to travel to another country护照 patient - n. a person being treated by a doctor for a health problem病人 peace - n. the condition of freedom from war, fighting or noise; rest; quiet和平 perｆｒｏｍ- v. to speak, dance or sing in front of others表演 permanent - ad. never changing; lasting for a very long time or for all time永久的 permit - v. to let; to make possible允许 physical - ad. of the body身体的 physics - n. the study of motion, matter and energy物理 pilot - n. one who guides or flies an airplane or helicopter飞行员 planet - n. a large object in space that orbits the sun ("Earth is a planet.")行星 plot - v. to make secret plans密谋; n. a secret plan to do something wrong or illegal阴谋poem - n. words and their sounds organized in a special way to express emotions诗 point - v. to aim one's finger toward; to aim指向; n. the sharp end of something尖端policy - n. an established set of plans or goals used to develop and make decisions in politics, economics or business制度 politics - n. the activities of government and of those who are in public office政治pollute - v. to release dangerous or unpleasant substances into the air, soil or water污染popular - ad. liked by many people; generally approved by the public流行的，受欢迎的port - n. a city where ships load or unload goods; a place on a coast where ships can be safe from a storm港口 position - n. a place; the way of holding the body; the way a thing is set or placed; a job (or level of a job) in an organization位置 possess - v. to have; to own; to control or be controlled by拥有 postpone - v. to delay action until a later time拖延 pour - v. to flow; to cause to flow倾泻 praise - v. to say good things about; to approve赞扬 pray - v. to make a request to a god or spirit; to praise a god or spirit祈祷 pregnant - ad. carrying a child within the body before it is born; expecting to give birth to a baby怀孕的 present - v. to offer for consideration表明("We will present our idea to the committee."); n. a gift礼物("I gave them a present for their anniversary."); now ("The present time is a good time."); ad. to be at a place出席的("I was present at school yesterday.") press - v. to urge strongly逼迫; n. newspapers, magazines and other publications出版pressure - n. the force produced when something is pushed down or against
BBC News with Iain Purdon. Iain Purdon为你播报BBC新闻 The US Secretary of State Chuck Hagel has said the US is rethinking its opposition to arming Syria's rebels. It's the first time a senior American official has openly acknowledged that the administration is considering providing weapons to the rebels, although no decisions have been made. Our state department correspondent Kim Ghattas reports. 美国国防部长哈格尔表示美国正重新考虑对武装叙利亚反对派的反对态度。这是美国高官首次公开承认美国政府正在考虑给反对派提供武器，尽管目前尚未做出决定。 The American Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel said the US administration was considering a range of options including arming the Syrian rebels, but he made clear no decisions had been made. Last year President Barack Obama rejected a proposal by his then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to arm the rebels. But as the fighting drags-on in Syria, the debate about what the US should do has intensified in Washington, and with no appetite here for direct military intervention, many US officials increasingly feel that arming the rebels is now the least worst option. American allies like Qatar and Saudi Arabia are already providing weapons to various groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad's forces. 美国国防部长哈格尔表示美国政府正在考虑一系列的选择包括给叙利亚反对派提供武装力量。但是他表明目前还未做出决定。去年奥巴马总统否决了当时国务卿希拉里给反对分子提供武装的建议。但是随着叙利亚局势的一再拖延，关于美国做法的讨论在叙利亚日益激烈。美国不愿意对叙利亚进行直接的军事介入，许多美国官员日益感到武装反对派是最不糟糕的选择。美国的盟友诸如卡塔尔和沙特都已给各种反抗政府军的组织提供武器。 President Obama has arrived in Mexico for talks that are expected to switch the focus of bilateral ties to job creation and trade rather than security issues and the war on drugs. Will Grant reports from Mexico City 奥巴马总统达到墨西哥进行访问，此次访问有望将两国关系的重心转到创造就业和贸易合作上来，而非安全问题和打击毒品。 As Mr. Obama touched down in Mexico City on his first visit since Enrique Pena Nieto took office. He was welcomed off Air Force One by the country's Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade and the US ambassador Antony Wayne as well as other members of the Mexican government military. President Pena Nieto was waiting for his guest at the National Palace for bilateral talks. In some way, Mr. Obama arrives with two separate agendas, one public, in which both sides have been keen to strengthen emphasis on the economy and trade; the other is private which is thought to include difficult questions about security and cross-border crime. 这是Enrique Pena Nieto 上台以来奥巴马总统首次出访墨西哥。走下空军一号专机后，奥巴马总统受到了墨西哥外长Jose Antonio Meade，美国驻墨西哥大使Antony Wayne 以及其他
Not a bunch of raging aids, egos and all kinds of transference, modified only by the soothing diffidence of a frog. The glorious mayhem of the Muppet Show as crazy bears, old codgers, chickens and, of course, Kermit the Frog first appeared together on the American television in the mid-70s with a distinctive opening theme, a situation, an unlikely vaudeville show and high-profile special guests. Now more than 30 years later, comes a film in which the Muppet gang get together once more with the help of rather 1950s couple played by Jason Segel and Amy Adams. There are plenty of jokes about the passage of time. Miss Piggy is channelling Meryl Streep in the Devil Wears Prada for example. Some new special guests like Jack Black and big Hollywood-style musical numbers. The director James Bobin certainly knows about prestige. He made the Ali G series and Flight of the Conchords. But the Muppets, had they been part of his formative years? 译文： 一只青蛙的镇静与卑谦只能感染为数不多的一些心情而已，如情不自禁地助人之心，自尊心和移情别恋的情绪。 70年代中期，提线木偶秀节目的热闹欢快的场景和疯狂的熊，怪人, 鸡以及布偶青蛙卡米特共同出现在美国电视屏幕上。这个节目的片头曲独具特色，有不是想象中的歌舞杂耍秀以及高调的特别嘉宾。现在30年过去了，在一对十九世纪五十年代的夫妇的帮助下，一帮布偶们重聚在电影上，电影中的夫妇由杰森·斯格勒和艾米·亚当斯饰演。电影有很多关于时间可以任意穿越的笑话。例如猪小姐皮会穿越到电影《穿普拉达的女王》代替了吉梅丽尔·斯特里普的角色。一些新的特别的嘉宾像杰克·布莱克和大好莱坞风格的音乐。导演詹姆斯·波宾肯定深知名声的重要性。他制作了Ali G个人秀和弦乐航班真人秀。但是那些布偶们已经是他性格形成期的一部份了吗？ But first, the story of a man who fought to bring freedom and democracy to his country, the Maldives. Mohamed Nasheed remained resolute throughout repeated arrests and more than six years in prison. Then in 2008, in the Indian Ocean's first ever free fair elections of these islands, he became president. The real work, he tells us, was just beginning then, including freeing the justice system from debilitating vested interests. But when President Nasheed ordered the arrest of a top judge for corruption, he found himself forced to step down instead. He says it was a coup. His critics say that President Nasheed had become like the dictators he despised and had to go. Mohamed Nasheed told us why his story still isn't over yet. "I wake up very early in the morning and go to bed very late at night now. I try to meet as many people as possible because there's a number of people who seems to want to meet and there's a fair amount of meetings and fair amount of discussion groups. So basically I'm spending quite time having conversations, I suppose."
BBC news with Marion Marshall. 马里恩·马歇尔为你播报BBC新闻。 The Syrian Foreign Minister has accused the United States and four other governments of inciting and supporting terrorism in his country. The minister, Walid al Muallem, was addre ssing the UN General Assembly in New York from where Barbara Plett reports. 叙利亚外长指责美国和另外四国政府煽动并支持本国的恐怖主义。外长瓦利德·穆阿利姆在纽约联合国大会上发表讲话，Barbara Plett报道。 Mr. Muallem said the Syrian government had implemented political reforms and cooperated with initiatives put forward by UN envoys to end the crisis. He called for all parties inside and outside Syria to engage in constructive dialogue. But he said peace efforts had been undermined by external support for what he called the terrorist campaign in his country. He accused the United States, France and regional countries of supplying rebel groups with arms and money. And he condemned calls for the President Bashar al-Assad to step down as a blat ant interference in Syria's domestic affairs. 穆阿利姆说，叙利亚政府已经实施了政治改革，并对联合国使者提出的意在结束危机的提议表示合作。他呼吁叙利亚内外各方开展建设性的对话。但他说，和平努力受到本国被他称之为恐怖主义运动的外在作用的削弱，他指责美国、法国和地区国家向叛军提供武器和金钱，他谴责要求阿萨德总统下台的呼声是对叙利亚内政的公然干涉。 Residents in the Somali city of Kismayo say government and African Union troo ps have entered the center for the first time since it was abandoned on Satur day by Islamist fighters of al-Shabab. The city of the militants' last urban stronghold and one of its main sources of funding. Gabriel Gatehouse is in Nairobi. 索马里城市基斯马尤的居民说，自从伊斯兰阿尔沙巴布武装分子弃掉该市后，政府和非盟部队首次进入市中心。这是武装分子的最后一个城市据点，也是主要的资金来源。Gabriel Gatehouse在内罗毕报道。 An eyewitness told the BBC he saw around a dozen Somali government soldiers enter Kismayo from the west. A spokesman for the Somali national army was quoted as say ing he had sent 450 men into the town though residents said they couldn't see evidence of large numbers of troops. The Kenyan military cannot immediately confirm whether or not its soldiers had also gone in. Al-Shabab fighters had abandoned Kismayo without warning in the early hours of Saturday morning. Residents have spoken of increasing tension inside the poor town that made the power vacuum that is ensued. 一名目击者告诉BBC，他看到十几个索马里政府士兵从西边进入基斯马尤。用索马里国家军队
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 of? 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 of? 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 ? 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 ? ghters or the local population beginning to ? ee the area. If Ras Lanuf falls, it brings the frontline closer to the main opposition-held city of Benghazi.