英国新闻听力 31

BBC News with Jonathan Weekley.

The Head of the United Nations peacekeeping operations, Alain Le Roy, says more troops are urgently needed to protect civilians¹ in the east of Congo. Mr. Le Roy has asked the UN Security Council for 3,000 reinforcements in the region where recent fighting between government forces and rebels has displaced a quarter of a million people. From the United Nations, here's Laura Trevelyan.

Alain Le Roy said that even though the existing UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been reassigned, so that nearly 6,000 are now in North Kivu, scene of the recent violence, that's still not enough. The UN wants an extra 3,000 troops and equipment like helicopters to cope with the instability in the eastern Congo. Mr. Le Roy said although the mood of the Council was shifting towards supporting sending more troops, no decision had yet been made and the diplomats² wanted more details.

Staying in Africa, and Rwanda has expelled the German ambassador to Kigali as the row intensifies³ over the arrest in Frankfurt of a senior aide to the Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Mr. Kagame, who is himself visiting Germany, has condemned⁴ the detention⁵ of the aide Rose Kabuye. He said she held diplomatic immunity⁶ but a German official, Hildegard Becker-Toussaint, said her government's information was that Mrs. Kabuye was traveling privately⁷, she said Mrs. Kabuye faced extremely serious charges.

The arrest warrant is for murder and for participation⁸ in a terrorist organization. She is also accused of involvement in the 1994 assassination⁹, namely the crash of the then-president's plane. Many French citizens were also killed in the crash. The victims' families are joint¹⁰ plaintiffs and that's why there is a strong interest in the prosecution¹¹ of this woman.

The former President of Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian has been taken into custody¹² after a court approved a request by prosecutors¹³ to detain him. He is facing charges of corruption¹⁴. Mr. Chen had early spent several hours answering questions in the prosecutor's office. From Taipei, Cindy Sui reports.

Prosecutors accused Mr. Chen and his wife of misusing¹⁵ several hundred thousand dollars of a special presidential fund, and accused the former first family of transferring millions of dollars into overseas bank accounts. Mr. Chen has denied any wrongdoing. On Tuesday, he blamed the current President Ma Ying-jeou and the ruling Party Kuomintang for his arrest, accusing them of bowing to pressure from Beijing.

Partial results from the election for mayor of Jerusalem suggest the right-wing secular¹⁶ candidate Nir Barkat is heading for victory. Israeli media said that with a third of the votes counted, Mr. Barkat was well ahead of his main rival, an ultra-orthodox Rabbi Meir Porush. A fiercely contested election campaign raised tensions between religious and secular Jews, but Mr. Barkat has pledged to represent all the people of Jerusalem.

You are listening to World News from the BBC.

A reporter in Italy says the world financial crisis is helping¹⁷ the Mafia to strengthen its hold on the country's economy. The Italian small-business organization, the Confesercenti, estimates that Mafia gangs now earn more than 160 billion dollars a year, equivalent to six percent of Italy's economic output. The report says criminal syndicates are using their huge financial resources to buy up property in businesses at a time when legitimate¹⁸ organizations are finding it hard to borrow money.

Controversial regulations which mean the fruit and vegetables are often banned from sale in Europe because they are the wrong size or shape are due to be abolished by the European Union. Dominic Hughes reports from Brussels.

For years they had been held up as the epitome¹⁹ of Euro madness. Regulations that mean shops are being unable to sell oddly shaped vegetables that don't comply to a uniform size and shape. But all that is set to change, as the Commission prepares to scrap²⁰ specific marketing²¹ standards for 26 types of produce. The regulations were originally introduced as a common standard, so that buyers knew what they would be getting, but over the years, they grew and became more restrictive until stories about straight bananas became part of European folklore²².

A new report released here in Britain by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has called for urgent research into the safety of nanomaterials, tiny particles commonly used in hundreds of consumer products worldwide. The report rejected an outright²³ ban on nanomaterials, saying that some, such as those used in sun creams to prevent skin cancer provided huge benefits. However, it raised concerns that knowledge about the potential impact of nanomaterials both on human health and the environment lag behind the pace of innovation. The commission's Chairman, Professor Sir John Lawton, said there was no evidence that nanomaterials were harmful, but added that there was no way of knowing if they were dangerous.

BBC News.

1 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。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

6 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。

7 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

8 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

9 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

10 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。

11 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

12 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

13 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 misusing   

v.使用…不当( misuse的现在分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• This means we must stop misusing them. 也就是说，我们已必须停止滥用抗菌素不可了。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器
• Misusing organic fertilizer may cause a decrease in the soil's quality. 滥用有机肥料可能会导致土地的土质下降。 来自互联网

16 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。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

19 epitome   

n.典型，梗概

参考例句：

• He is the epitome of goodness.他是善良的典范。
• This handbook is a neat epitome of everyday hygiene.这本手册概括了日常卫生的要点。

20 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

21 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

22 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

23 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。