英语听力精选进阶版 7611

The Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held captive in Gaza for more than five years, is now back at home after being reunited with his family in Israel. Crowds of people in his hometown Mitzpe Hila gathered along the road leading to his house. Outside the building is the BBC's Richard Galpin.

They've been dancing; they've been singing. At the moment, I can see them waving the Israeli flags. And after the helicopter landed just outside the village, they brought Gilad Shalit in through the streets of this village, which were lined by the people who live here. They were showering the vehicles with flowers; they had champagne¹ bottles which they were opening and spraying the vehicles with champagne.

Sergeant² Shalit has been released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the deal reached with Hamas as a very difficult decision. On the Palestinian side, more than 100,000 people gathered in the main square in Gaza City to celebrate the release of almost 500 prisoners freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit. The BBC's Jon Donnison is there.

You've got a mass Hamas rally. Well over 100,000 people packed into Katiba Square in the centre of Gaza City, waving the Hamas green Palestinian flags, and on the stage behind them, you do have some of those Palestinian prisoners who are being given really a huge welcoming rally.

Speaking in Cairo, the Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said the group had scored a strategic victory over Israel. Our Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reflects on the day's events.

Mr Netanyahu needed to close a running sore for Israelis; Hamas needed a victory for its people and to score points over its rival, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who's often asked Israel to release prisoners without success. The prisoner deal does not touch the big issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians. This was a transaction between Israel and Hamas. It doesn't bring a wider peace deal closer.

An official investigation³ into the conduct of the former British Defence Minister Liam Fox, who resigned at the weekend, has concluded that he broke the ministerial code. The report by the head of the civil service said there was a clear conflict of interest in his relationship with his close friend Adam Werritty. Doctor Fox stepped down after days of controversy⁴ over his ties to Mr Werritty, who has no official role but attended defence ministry⁵ meetings.

Police in the US city of Philadelphia say they have arrested three people who imprisoned⁶ three men and a woman with mental disabilities in a small and squalid basement room, and collected their social security cheques. The four victims were found malnourished and suffering from bedsores. At least one man was chained to a radiator⁷.

World News from the BBC

The BBC has learnt that the president of Fifa, Sepp Blatter, is to call for the release of court documents which could reveal that senior officials at football's world governing body were paid bribes⁸ in return for granting television and sponsorship rights during the 1990s. The documents relate to a criminal investigation into the collapse⁹ of Fifa's former marketing¹⁰ partner, International Sport and Leisure.

Trials of a new malaria¹¹ vaccine¹² in Africa have raised hope of finding the world's first successful immunisation against the disease. Infants given the vaccine were half as likely to get the disease. More than 15,000 children under 18 months took part in the study, which has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Here's our health correspondent Fergus Walsh.

An effective vaccine would transform the life chances of millions. Nine-month-old Pamela from Kenya is one of those to receive the experimental jab being trialled in several African countries. Bed nets and insecticide will remain vital in the fight against malaria. The vaccine is no magic bullet, but even the jab that was 50% effective could save huge numbers of lives in the years to come.

The US investment bank Goldman Sachs has posted a quarterly loss for the first time since the start of the world economic crisis in 2008. The bank said it lost more than $400m in the third quarter of this year. Its biggest hit was a $1bn loss in its investment in a leading Chinese bank.

Russia is considering building a Moon colony in what satellite images suggest are lunar caves. Sergei Krikalyov, head of Russia's cosmonaut training centre, said a Japanese spacecraft in 2008 photographed a hole in the Moon's surface, which could lead to tunnels forged by lava¹³ from ancient volcanoes.

1 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

2 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

7 radiator   

n.暖气片，散热器

参考例句：

• The two ends of the pipeline are connected with the radiator.管道的两端与暖气片相连接。
• Top up the radiator before making a long journey.在长途旅行前加满散热器。

8 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

10 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。

11 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

12 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

13 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。