英国新闻听力 优步推出无人驾驶汽车载客

Russia says it's prepared to back a 48-hour ceasefire in the city of Aleppo following an impassioned appeal by the UN envoy¹ to Syria,Staffan De Mistura who welcomed the Russian move but warned the challenge now was for Moscow to deliver the agreement to the Syrian government.

Police sources in Brazil say that the US Olympics swimmers in Rio de Janeiro invented the story about a robbery in an effort to disguise an altercation² with a petrol station security guard. But the spokesman for the Rio Games urged people to as he put it, give the kids a break, saying they had made a mistake but life went on.

The United Nations has finally acknowledged it contributed to an outbreak of cholera³ six years ago that killed 10,000 people in Haiti. Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that Nepalese UN troops were the source of the disease. But until now the UN has always denied responsibility.

The United Nations says South Sudan's former vice⁴ president Riek Machar who has not been seen in public for weeks, is in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN mission in Congo helped to transport him.

The US Justice Department has announced plans to phase out the use of private prisons and officials said they did not provide the same level of safety or security as jails run by the federal authorities or substantially save on the costs. A report earlier this month included that privately⁵ run prisons were almost also more violent.

The online taxi service Uber has confirmed that they will start carrying passengers in self-driving cars within the next two weeks. Starting this month, customers in the US city of Pittsburgh will be able to summon a self-driving car using the Uber app on their smartphone.

The social network Twitter says it has suspended nearly a quarter of a million more accounts for promoting terrorism. The company announced more than a hundred thousands such suspensions in February.

And two British brothers won gold and silver in the man's triathlon in Rio. Alistair Brownlee crossed the finish line just 6 seconds ahead of his younger brother, Jonathan.

俄罗斯表示准备支持阿勒颇市实施为期48小时的停火。此前，联合国驻叙利亚特使德米斯图拉(Staffan de Mistura)发表了慷慨激昂的诉求，他对俄罗斯的举动表示欢迎，但是警告称，现在的挑战是莫斯科如何让叙利亚政府履行该协议。

巴西警方知情人士称，参加里约奥运会的美国游泳选手为了掩饰与加油站保安的争吵而捏造了抢劫案。但是里约奥运会发言人敦促大家给他们一个改错的机会。他说，他们是犯了错误，但是生活还要继续。

联合国最终承认造成六年前海地霍乱疫情爆发，致使1万人死亡。科学研究多次表明，疫情源头是尼泊尔联合国维和部队。但是目前为止联合国一直否认对疫情承担责任。

联合国表示，连续几周未出现在公众视线中的南苏丹前副总统马查尔(Riek Machar)目前正在刚果民主共和国。联合国驻刚果任务部队帮助了运送工作。

美国司法部宣布了逐步取缔私营监狱的计划。官员们表示，私营监狱提供的安保措施达不到联邦政府监狱的水平，也未能充分节约费用。本月早些时候的一份报告得出结论，私营监狱通常更加暴力。

在线出租车服务优步证实，未来两周他们将开始用无人驾驶汽车搭载乘客。从本月开始，美国城市匹兹堡的顾客能够使用智能手机上的优步软件召唤无人驾驶的汽车。

社交网络推特表示，又有近25万帐号由于宣传恐怖主义内容被停用。该公司2月份曾宣布停用超过10万个帐号。

在里约奥运会上，一对英国兄弟在男子三项全能比赛中分获金牌和银牌。阿里斯泰尔·布朗利(Alistair Brownlee)比他的弟弟乔纳森早六秒钟穿过终点线。

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

2 altercation   

n.争吵，争论

参考例句：

• Throughout the entire altercation,not one sensible word was uttered.争了半天，没有一句话是切合实际的。
• The boys had an altercation over the umpire's decision.男孩子们对裁判的判决颇有争议。

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 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 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。