英国新闻听力 26

BBC News with Marian Marshal.

As reports emerged of increasing human rights violations¹ by government and rebel forces in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a regional summit is to take place shortly to try to resolve the crisis. The Congolese President Joseph Kabila is to meet his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame under the auspices² of the United Nations and the African Union. Congo’s chargés d'affaires at the United Nations ZanAmu Congo blamed Rwanda for backing the rebel forces of General Laurent Nkunda.

"Rwanda did not want peace in Congo because they think peace in Congo will not allow them to have the mineral resources they are having now. The rebel leader Nkunda is getting support from Rwanda. Nkunda by himself can not do what he is doing now. He is getting support from Rwanda and Rwanda is getting support from some other countries in term of arm supplies and the material."

International aid organizations say they are struggling to get help to the fleeing populations in eastern Congo because of the fighting. The head of the U.N. Refugee Agency, Antonio Guterres, said there was widespread rape³ and violence against civilians⁴. Imogen Foulkes reports from Geneva.

U.N. aid agencies described a situation of confusion and chaos⁵ in North Kivu. The U.N. Refugee Agency says it has received what it calls credible⁶ and highly disturbing reports that several camps for long-term displaced people have been emptied, looted and burned. But with no access to the region which has been the scene of fierce fighting, it's impossible to confirm what really happened and no one knows where the camp's 50,000 occupants are now.

The United States government says it's received the entire 1.5 billion dollars required under a compensation deal for the victims of terrorist attacks linked to Libya. The two governments agreed to create the fund earlier this year as part of wider moves to restore full diplomatic ties. The U.S. will pay 300 million dollars into the fund to compensate⁷ Libyan victims of American air attacks. Here is our State Department correspondent, Kim Ghattas.

The amount covers all claims from relatives by the victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing including non-Americans and those from the 1986 La Belle⁸ disco bombing in Berlin. President George W. Bush has already issued an executive order to carry out the agreement and distribute the money to the families. This now also restores sovereign immunity⁹ to Libya in U.S. courts. It's unclear why it took so long for the money to be paid out. The fund was also open for anyone to make a deposit in it so the origin of the money is not clear.

The Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has begun his first visit to Russia in more than 20 years. During the three-day trip, he is expected to hold talks with President Medvedev about possible arms purchases and move to improve energy cooperation.

This is the latest World News from the BBC.

The United Nations says the number of people affected¹⁰ by Wednesday's earthquake in southwestern Pakistan is much higher than previously¹¹ thought. The U.N. Children’s Fund says up to 70,000 people have been made homeless and that many are suffering from potentially life-threatening illnesses. People are facing a third night sleeping out in the open in freezing conditions.

Two Austrian hostages who were kidnapped by al-Qaeda in February have been freed. They were abducted¹² while on a tour of the Tunisian Sahara and were believed to have been held in a remote part of Mali. The BBC Security correspondent Frank Gardener reports.

It's almost unheard of the kidnappers¹³ so closely linked to al-Qaeda to release western hostages unharmed, but last night, in a remote corner of northern Mali, the two Austrian hostages Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber were handed over to the Malian army after an ordeal¹⁴ lasting¹⁵ 252 days. So the big question now is what did the kidnappers get in return? The Austrian Foreign Ministry¹⁶ in Vienna has declined to comment. But in a similar kidnapping five years ago, of European tourists in Algeria, a ransom¹⁷ of several million dollars is believed to have been paid.

The rival candidates in the American Presidential Election are into their last weekend of campaigning. The Republican John McCain is in Ohio while his Democratic rival Barack Obama is in Iowa. Correspondents say Mr. McCain who is behind in the polls by between five to eight points is trying to play on his position as the underdog.

Archaeologists say they found traces of the camp built by a maroon¹⁸ sailor Alexander Selkirk who was the inspiration for the fictional¹⁹ castaway Robinson Crusoe. The 18th-century classic written by Daniel Defoe is widely thought to have been based on Selkirk's experiences. In 1704, he was stranded²⁰ on a Pacific island, 800 kilometers west of Chile for more than four years. Excavations²¹ also unearthed²² a fragment from a navigational instrument thought to belong to Selkirk.

BBC News.

1 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

2 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

7 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

8 belle   

n.靓女

参考例句：

• She was the belle of her Sunday School class.在主日学校她是她们班的班花。
• She was the belle of the ball.她是那个舞会中的美女。

9 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

13 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

15 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

16 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。

17 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

18 maroon   

v.困住，使（人）处于孤独无助之境；n.逃亡黑奴；孤立的人；酱紫色，褐红色；adj.酱紫色的，褐红色的

参考例句：

• Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks.埃文河决堤的时候，有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。
• Robinson Crusoe has been marooned on a desert island for 26 years.鲁滨逊在荒岛上被困了26年。

19 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

20 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

21 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

22 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。