英国新闻听力 41

BBC News with Roy Lamar.

The Indian navy has apprehended¹ two Pakistani merchant ships suspected of possible involvement in the devastating² attacks on the city of Mumbai. They were stopped in waters just north of the city. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the Mumbai attacks. The Foreign Minister, Shad Mehmood Qureshi, said he was horrified³ by what had happened, and that it was wrong to jump to conclusions. The gunmen who attacked Mumbai, killing⁴ more than 120 people, are said to have reached it in speedboats after being dropped off by a larger ship. More details from Peter // of our new staff.

It’s been established that Mumbai attackers came ashore⁵ in a series of small boats. So it’s not surprising that all the merchant ships that passed through Mumbai in the past few days have come under particular scrutiny⁶. According to Indian news agencies, intelligent sources pinpointed⁷ one particular cargo⁸ vessel⁹ that had stopped there briefly¹⁰ before leaving for Karachi in Pakistan. By luck, Indian navy and coastguard vessels¹¹ were engaged in routine exercises off the coast of Gujarat, and were immediately dispatched to intercept¹² the vessel. Both it and another Pakistani freighter have now been boarded by Indian forces. But it’s not yet clear if they found anything suspicious on board.

The Indian Prime Minster Manmohan Singh said the multiple attacks were carried out by a group based outside the country. Mr. Singh said India’s neighbors would be told in strong terms that the use of their territory for launching attacks would not be tolerated. Meanwhile Indian Commando Units have been searching through the rooms of the two luxury hotels in Mumbai at the center of the attacks. The police officer in charge of the operations said the search of the Taj Mahal hotel was almost over with just one wounded gunman believed to be still inside. He said that two gunmen remained at large of the Oberoi hotel, but they had been isolated¹³ and commandos were close in. // is outside the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

There are still hostages inside the Oberoi hotel in south Mumbai. Throughout the day, there have been sporadic¹⁴ explosions and gunfire. Here at the Taj Marhal Palace hotel, it appears that the authorities are close to bringing the situation under control. There are many questions remain unanswered. Who were these men who brought Indian’s commercial capital to a standstill? And for many families, the painful task of identifying the bodies of their loved ones continues.

The United Nations says there has been a sharp drop in poppy cultivation¹⁵ in Afghanistan. It’s estimated to be done by almost a fifth from last year. The UN also says the price of the opium¹⁶ has plummeted¹⁷ and that drugs are now less important to Afghanistan’s economy. But it addresses that Taliban and other insurgents¹⁸ are still making huge amounts of money from the drugs trade and to some extent, the problem has merely become concentrated in the south.

World news from the BBC in London.

Anti-government protestors in Thailand have taken control of the two main airports serving the capital Bangkok are bracing¹⁹ themselves for a possible intervention²⁰ by police and military units to clear them out. The Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said he had authorized²¹ the use of force to end the blockade. Because the disruption was damaging Thailand’s economy. Jonathan Head is at the main Bangkok international airport.

It was an anxious night for the protestors here at the huge international airport terminal, waiting for a police attack that by sunrise still have not started. Television pictures showed dozens of police trucks gathered at the cargo terminal, and more than 20 ambulances were lined up outside the airport hotel. There were no sort of // come across the // through the back of the terminal although they have approached the front, roamed access road. There is a tough-looking man in ballot²² clubs armed with // and possibly firearm on all of these approaches. They spend the night, peering out for any sign of an imminent²³ attack.

The Iraqi parliament has approved the security pact²⁴ with the United States under which all American troops are due to leave the country by the end of 2011. The agreement which follows a year of negotiations²⁵ was backed by the governing coalition²⁶ Shia and Kurdish blocks, as well reluctantly and eventually by Sunni politicians. President Bush has welcomed the vote, saying it firmed the growth of Iraq’s democracy.

The Human Rights Organization Amnesty International says the rape²⁷ of young girls and teenagers in Haiti is widespread and the government is doing little to protect them. Amnesty said almost 350 rapes²⁸ have been reported in 18 months, more than half of them involving girls under the age of 18. Amnesty says a lack of confidence in the Haitian justice system stops many victims from coming forward.

BBC News.

1 apprehended   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
• The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

4 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。

5 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

6 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

7 pinpointed   

准确地找出或描述( pinpoint的过去式和过去分词 )； 为…准确定位

参考例句：

• His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice. 他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。
• Computers pinpointed where the shells were coming from. 计算机确定了炮弹发射的位置。

8 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。

9 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

10 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。

11 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 intercept   

vt.拦截，截住，截击

参考例句：

• His letter was intercepted by the Secret Service.他的信被特工处截获了。
• Gunmen intercepted him on his way to the airport.持枪歹徒在他去机场的路上截击了他。

13 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

14 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

15 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

16 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

17 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 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

19 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

20 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

21 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

22 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

23 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

24 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

25 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

26 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

27 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。

28 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网