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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is preparing for a day of frantic1 diplomacy2 in Brussels, as he tries to win support from the twenty-seven other European leaders to achieve the reforms he wants. The deal would pave the way for a referendum in the U.K. on Britain's membership of the E.U. One potential sticking point is the concern that changes to welfare payments designed specifically for Britain could be adopted later by other member states. Alex Russell has this report.
“For the next two days, lawyers will be on hand to hammer out legal and technical changes to the proposed U.K. deal. But it will be for E.U. leaders to resolve the remaining political differences. There is no final agreement on the precise language, governing equality between countries inside and outside the Euro Zone, or on how changes to welfare payments for E.U. migrants in the U.K. would work and for how long they could be enforced.”
Government officials in the United States say that President Obama will make a historic visit to Cuba in the coming weeks, marking a turning point in the relations between the two countries after more than half a century of hostility3. John Sophia reports.
“The speed with which this relationship has thawed4 has been nothing short of breathtaking. It was just over a year ago when Presidents Obama and Raul Castro said they wanted to put the hostility of the Cold War behind them. Last summer, their respective embassies reopened in Washington and Havana. And earlier this week, it was announced that instead of there being the occasional charter flying into Cuba from the U.S., commercial aviation would resume, with 110 flights a day from across America to the Caribbean island.”
Pope Francis has highlighted the plight5 of people who are forced to migrate. He was celebrating mass with thousands of worshippers, who had gathered in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez. More from Kitty Watson.
“Tens of thousands of people came to watch the border mass, the Pope's final event and the culmination6 of the trip that was all about meeting people on the margins7. Just a few moments before, the Pope had prayed in silence for the thousands of people who'd lost their lives trying to cross into the United States. This was a hugely symbolic8 mass, a gesture to unite two sides. As a Latin American and a child of immigrants, this is a subject close to his heart.” Kitty Watson.
The State Department in the United States says it is aware that radioactive material is missing from a storage facility near the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Iraq reported the theft of up to 10 grams of iridium isotope9 used to treat cancer to the International Atomic Energy Agency, late last year. Iraqi officials say the material, which poses a risk of bodily and environmental harm, could also be used as a weapon if acquired by the Islamic State militant10 group.
World news from the BBC.
In Egypt, the last remaining centre for the treatment of torture victims has been ordered to close by the authorities. The Aida Seif Centre has documented human rights abuses and provided counselling to victims of torture since 1993. But it has been given until next week to shut down. The authorities said it had breached11 Health Ministry12 regulations.
Polls have opened in Uganda's presidential and parliamentary elections. President Yoweri Museveni is widely expected to win again, extending his tenure13 into a fourth decade. He faces seven challengers. Several polls indicate that he will win the fifty percent of the vote needed to avoid a runoff. The main opposition14 candidate, Kizza Besigye, has already said that he does not expect the vote to be free and fair.
Venezuela has increased the price of petrol, which is practically free in the oil-producing country, for the first time in almost twenty years. Announcing several measures aimed at fighting Venezuela's economic crisis, President Nicholas Maduro said a litre of premium15 petrol would go up from the equivalent of one U.S. cent to ninety-five cents.
Scientists studying a tiny sea snail16 have discovered that it swims using the same movements as flying insects. The so-called sea butterfly has two wing-like appendages17, where most snails18 have a single foot. The BBC's Johnason Webb now reports.
The sea butterfly looks like a transparent19, gelatinous snail, with slimy wings sprouting20 from the opening of its shell. But instead of using those appendages as paddles, like the most types of swimming plankton21, this tiny animal genuinely appears to fly under water. Tracking its movement in minute detail, researchers found that the snail's wingtips trace out a figure of eight to generate lift, just like of those of an insect. It may not float, but the sea butterfly does apparently22 swim like a bee.
英国首相戴维·卡梅隆正在布鲁塞尔为一天繁忙的外交活动做准备，他希望能赢得其他欧洲27国的支持来实现他所希望的改革。该协议将为公投决定英国是否留在欧洲做好铺垫，其中一个关键点是，专为英国设定的福利提供修改可能会被其他成员国所采用。阿历克斯·罗素报道。
“未来两天内律师们将敲定拟议的英国协议的法律和技术细节，但要靠欧洲各国领导人来解决仍存在的政治分歧。目前，至于采取哪种具体语言、欧元区内外国家之间的治理平等，以及英国的欧盟移民福利支付变动将如何生效和实施多久尚未达成最终协议，”
美国政府官员称奥巴马总统将在未来几周对古巴进行历史性访问，这将是半个多世纪敌对后两国关系的转折点。约翰·索菲报道。
“两国关系解冻的速度非常激动人心，就在一年前，奥巴马总统和劳尔·卡斯特罗总统表示希望将冷战的敌对情绪抛在脑后。去年夏天，两国分别在华盛顿和哈瓦那重开使馆。本周早些时候，美国民航将飞往古巴，取代以前的偶尔包机飞行，每天有110个航班从美国各地飞往这个加勒比岛屿。”
方济各教皇关注了被迫移民者的困境，他对聚集在墨西哥边境处华雷斯市的数千名信徒做弥撒。凯蒂·沃森报道。
“成千上万人来到边境做弥撒，教皇此行的最后安排和此行的重点就是与这些生活在社会边缘的人们会面。就在不久前，教皇刚对为抵达美国而丧生的数千人做了静默祈祷。这是一场盛大的象征性弥撒，是对美国和墨西哥两边的表示。对于作为拉美人、儿童时代也移民过的教皇来说，这个话题是很熟悉的。”凯蒂·沃森。
美国国务院称现在得知伊拉克南部城市巴士拉附近一个仓库丢失了放射性材料，伊拉克报道称去年年底报道称国际原子能机构用来治疗癌症的铱同位素丢失了10克。伊拉克官方称这种能造成身体和环境损害的材料一旦落入伊斯兰国武装组织手中，可能被用作武器。
BBC世界新闻。
埃及政府下令关闭该国最后一个仅存的酷刑受害者治疗中心，埃尔纳迪姆中心自1993年以来就记录人权侵犯事件并向酷刑受害者提供咨询服务，该中心要在下周关闭。当局称该中心违反了卫生部规定。
乌干达开始进行总统选举和议会选举，普遍认为总统约韦里·穆塞韦尼将再度当选，这样他的任期就进入了第四个10年。他面临7项挑战，几次民调显示他将赢得避免决选所需的50%的支持率。主要的在野党候选人贝西耶已表示他不期待这次选举会是公平自由的。
委内瑞拉近20年来首次涨油价，事实上在这个产油国家，汽油几乎是免费的。总统尼古拉斯·马杜罗宣布几项措施，希望能解决本国的经济危机，他说每升汽油的价格将从一美分涨到95美分。
研究一种小海螺的科学家发现这种海螺游泳时的动作很像飞行的昆虫，这种名为海蝴蝶的海螺有两个像翅膀一样的附属肢体，而大多数的海螺只有单足。BBC记者乔纳森·韦伯报道。
海蝴蝶看起来像是一种透明凝胶状蜗牛，从外壳的开口处长出黏滑的翅膀。但它们不像大多数游泳的浮游生物那样用这种附属肢体来涉水，而是在水下看起来像飞翔那样。研究者仔细追踪这种海螺的运动，发现它的翅膀末端能伸出数字8那样的形状来产生支撑力，就像其他昆虫那样。它可能不会漂浮，但这种海蝴蝶确实像蜜蜂那样游泳。
收听单词发音 |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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culmination
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| n.顶点；最高潮 | |
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margins
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| 边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数 | |
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symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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isotope
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| n.同位素 | |
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militant
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| adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士 | |
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breached
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| 攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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premium
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| n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的 | |
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snail
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| n.蜗牛 | |
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appendages
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| n.附属物( appendage的名词复数 )；依附的人；附属器官；附属肢体（如臂、腿、尾等） | |
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snails
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| n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 ) | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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sprouting
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| v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出 | |
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plankton
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| n.浮游生物 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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