英国新闻听力 48

BBC News with Nick Kelly.

One of Pakistan's most senior diplomats¹ says his government believed India was very close to launching a military attack on Pakistan at the height of the tension of the bloodshed in Mumbai last week. Pakistan's High Commissioner² to London, Wajid Shamsul Hassan, said high level American and British officials had to intervene to calm the situation. Mr. Hassan told the BBC he’d been tipped off by friends in the British government that India was likely to make a quick strike as he put it to teach Pakistan a lesson. Mr. Hassan said the president of Pakistan confirmed that there'd been a threat of an Indian attack.

I got a call from some friend here in the government, and he said the situation is pretty serious. Indians are threatening to go to war. I said how come the Indians just jump to the guns on this sort of situation. I again talked to the president, and the president also confirmed that he had received a call, threatening call from India.

The Indians denied making any such call to Islamabad.

United Nations officials in Zimbabwe say they are making preparations to cope with the possible 60, 000 cases of cholera³ over the next few weeks, four times the present official figure. Our Africa editor Martin Plaut reports.

Aid agencies are struggling to deal with a deepening crisis in Zimbabwe. Mr. Monasch told the BBC they were doing all they could to bring down mortality rates. But he warned that if as many as 60, 000 people became infected, then the cholera epidemic⁴ could kill another 2, 700 people. Officially nearly 600 people have already died of the disease, but the UN says the actual figure is probably far higher.

The government of the Republic of Ireland has recalled from sale all pork produced in the past three months after a toxic⁵ chemical was found in slaughtered⁶ pigs. The substance PCB was banned in 1979. It's not yet clear how it got into the production chain. Alan Reilly from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced the test results.

The levels in the feed were very high, they were, you know, extremely high. The levels in the pork itself were in the region of about 80 to 200 times above the safe limits.

The recall affects all pork products put on sale since September the 1st. And people in the Irish Republic have been advised to destroy any remaining stocks they hold.

The World Bank has called on Israel to allow the transfer of bank notes into the Gaza Strip. Banks across the Hamas-run territory shut down on Thursday because of what they said was a shortage of cash caused by the Israeli-led blockade. The World Bank said the crisis could bring down the banking⁷ system in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people there depend on the salaries of public employees. And the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has said there is a need for some 60 million dollars.

World News from the BBC.

Thailand's main opposition⁸ Democrat⁹ Party says it has the support of enough MPs to form a new government, freezing out allies of the ousted¹⁰ former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. If confirmed, it would almost certainly end the protest by anti-government campaigners who have occupied the prime minister's office since August and closed down Bangkok's two main airports last week.

Opposition parties in Venezuela have issued a formal rejection¹¹ of the plan by President Hugo Chavez to stay in office as long as he keeps winning elections. Mr. Chavez, who is celebrating the tenth anniversary of his first presidential election victory, has urged Congress to consider a constitutional amendment¹² which would allow him to stand for re-election when his current seven-year-term ends in 2012.

More than two million people from more than 100 countries are taking part in the annual Muslim pilgrimage the Hajj. The worshipers spent the first day in Mecca itself, circling the sacred Kaaba Stone inside the Grand Mosque¹³. On Sunday, they will gather at Mount Arafat, east of Mecca. Imtiaz Tyab reports from Mecca.

Without standing¹⁴ in the hot and dusty plain known as Arafat, a Muslim pilgrim's Hajj will not be complete. The ritual is to remind devotees that one day this world will end and that all of humanity will be called before God and have their souls reckoned. Standing in the baking hot Arabian sun for hours on end is meant to give pilgrims a small taste of what the fires of hell may be like. After sunset, they will move to an area known as Muzdalifah where they’ll spend the night sleeping rough under the stars, a lesson in extreme poverty.

And finally, more than 200 American workers are continuing to occupy a factory in Chicago after it abruptly¹⁵ shut down on Friday, the day the United States announced its worst rise in unemployment for more than 30 years. Union officials said the company which makes plastic windows has failed to give the workers their legal entitlement of severance¹⁶ and holiday pay.

1 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》

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

4 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

5 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

6 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

10 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

11 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

12 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

13 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

16 severance   

n.离职金；切断

参考例句：

• Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。