英语听力精选进阶版 9434

Reports from Syria say at least 12 people have been killed in the latest protests calling for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country. Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.

来自叙利亚的报道称，至少12人在要求阿萨德总统下台的最新的抗议活动中遇难。全国各地数万人走向街头抗议。Jim Muir在邻国黎巴嫩报道。

The kind of sounds that have now become all too familiar, along with video footage posted on the Internet which, while it can't be verified, would be hard to fake. A young man lies mortally wounded on the ground, his head and upper body soaked in blood. This was in the town of Kiswah, just to the south of Damascus. Activists 1 said that several protesters were shot dead here, others closer to the centre of the capital and more in Homs, Syria's third biggest city, where demonstrations 2 were reported in virtually every quarter.

我们现在听到的声音已经非常熟悉，上传到互联网上的视频录像难以证实，但是几乎不会是伪造的。一名男子身受重伤，生命垂危地躺在地上，头部和上身浸泡在血泊中。这是大马士革南部的奇斯瓦赫镇(Kiswah)。活动积极分子表示，这里有几人被枪杀，还有一些在距离首都中心更近的地方，叙利亚第三大城市霍姆斯更多人遇难。霍姆斯几乎每一个角落都在发生示威活动。

The US House of Representatives has dealt a symbolic 3 blow to the American military intervention 4 in Libya by rejecting a resolution to authorise operations for one year, but a second resolution which aimed to limit funding for military action in Libya was also rejected. From Washington, Kim Ghattas reports.

众议院为美国对利比亚的军事干预带来了具有象征意义的打击。他们否决了授权一年的行动的方案，同时还否决了旨在限制驻利比亚军事行动资金的决案。华盛顿，Kim Ghattas报道。

Members of Congress are angry with President Barack Obama for failing to consult with them before getting involved in Libya. First, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly against a resolution authorising American military action with time limits. Then came the vote to cut funding for some aspects of the military mission. That, too, was rejected overwhelmingly. Lawmakers are often wary 5 of looking like they don't support American troops abroad. But some of the 89 Republicans who voted No also thought the resolution wasn't tough enough.

国会成员对奥巴马总统决定参与利比亚问题之前未与他们商议感到愤怒。首先，众议院以压倒性趋势否决了授权有时间限制的军事行动的决案。然后就是削减这次军事任务某些方面的资金的投票。该决案也遭到大多数人的否决。立法者通常非常谨慎，不要表现出不支持国外美国军队的样子。但是89名共和党人中投反对票的一些人也认为该决案还不够严厉。

The leader of the Lebanese militant 6 group Hezbollah says two of its members have confessed to spying for the American CIA. Hassan Nasrallah said a third member was also under investigation 7. He said none of the alleged 8 spies was a senior Hezbollah leader or had access to sensitive military information. There's so far been no response from Washington.

黎巴嫩真主党头目表示，两名成员供认他们是美国中央情报局的间谍。Hassan Nasrallah表示，另外一人也在接受调查。他说，这些间谍全都不是真主党高级领袖，也接触不到机密军事信息。目前，华盛顿方面没有做出任何回应。

A four-day international meeting of nuclear experts has called for a tightening 9 of safety standards at nuclear plants across the world following the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in March. The meeting organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency proposed better checks on plants and random 10 reviews by the agency.

核专家召开的为期四天的国际会议呼吁，在三月份日本福岛核电站危机之后加强世界各地核工厂的安全标准。国际原子能机构组织的这次会议提议对核工厂进行更好的审查，并要求国际原子能机构进行随机复查。

The American actor Peter Falk has died at the age of 84. He was best known for his role as the dishevelled and eccentric television detective Columbo, which he played for more than 30 years. Natasha Gruneberg looks back on his life.

美国传奇演员彼得·法尔克(Peter Falk)去世，享年84岁。他最广为人知的就是在电视剧《警探科伦坡》中扮演了30多年的角色。Natasha Gruneberg带我们回顾一下他的一生。

The rumpled 11, crumpled 12 Columbo was one of the small-screen's most distinctive 13 policemen. Playing him made Peter Falk famous the world over, and he was always grateful for the role he performed in his own battered 14 mackintosh. Half Polish, half Russian, Falk had lost his right eye to a tumor 15 at the age of three. Despite this, he was Oscar-nominated twice in the 1960s. But to many, Peter Falk will always be a dishevelled detective with a raincoat and a cigar.

衣冠不整，看似蠢笨的科伦坡是荧幕上最杰出的警探之一。扮演该角色使法尔克闻名全世界。他也为身穿破旧的雨衣扮演的角色而感动。法尔克是波兰和俄罗斯混血儿，三岁的时候因为肿瘤失去了右眼。尽管如此，他在60年代曾经两次获得奥斯卡提名。但是对许多人来说，法尔克就是身穿雨衣，叼着雪茄的衣冠不整的神探。

World News from the BBC

An American court has sent the former newspaper baron 16 Conrad Black back to prison for a further 13 months after ruling that he had not served enough time for defrauding 17 investors 18. The Canadian-born businessman was released from prison last year after two of his four convictions were struck down on appeal.

美国一家法庭再次将前报业大亨布拉克(Conrad Black)投入监狱。法庭裁决，他没有服刑足够长的时间，因此再次因为欺骗投资者被判处13个月的监禁。去年，这位加拿大出生的商人的四项罪名中的两项在上诉中被推翻之后他从监狱获释。

Police in Zimbabwe have arrested a government minister on suspicion of undermining the authority of President Robert Mugabe. The minister, Jameson Timba, is an ally of the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe's power-sharing government. Mr Mugabe's supporters have accused him of coordinating 19 a media campaign against the president.

津巴布韦警方逮捕了政府一名部长。此人涉嫌危害总统穆加贝的权威。Jameson Timba是津巴布韦权力分享政府总理茨万吉拉伊的盟友。穆加贝的支持者指控他策划了反对总统的媒体活动。

Archaeologists in Mexico have used a tiny video camera to explore a Mayan tomb under a pyramid that had been sealed for 1,500 years. The remote-controlled camera revealed brightly painted murals of human figures in a largely intact chamber 20. The researchers say the images will shed new light on the Mayan civilisation 21. Warren Bull reports.

墨西哥考古学家使用微型摄像头探索了一座金字塔下被封闭了1,500年的玛雅墓穴。摄像机拍下的镜头显示保存完好的墓穴的墙壁上画着惟妙惟肖的人像。研究人员表示，这些图像将为玛雅文明展开新的曙光。Warren Bull报道。

Archaeologists first discovered this Mayan tomb in the jungle covered mountains of southern Mexico in 1999, but they have not been able to excavate 22 it for fear of undermining the pyramid which lies on top. By lowering a camera the size of a matchbox five metres down into the chamber, they discovered nine black figures painted on blood-red walls, along with jade 23 and shell fragments, which appear to be part of a funerary costume. Experts say the tomb could belong to the first ruler of the Mayan city state of Palenque - K'uk Bahlam I.

考古学家首次于1999年在墨西哥南部丛林密布的大山中发现了玛雅墓穴，但是由于担心破坏顶部的金字塔而不敢进行发掘。通过向墓穴下面五米处降落火柴盒大小的摄像头，他们发现血红色的墙壁上画着9个黑色的人像，还有翡翠和贝壳碎片，这似乎是葬礼的一部分。专家表示，这个墓穴可能属于玛雅帕伦克第一个统治者K'uk Bahlam I。

And the government of Spain has removed a controversial temporary speed limit on motorways 24 introduced in March to cut fuel consumption because of rising oil prices. The speed limit was cut to 110km/h, drawing protests from motorists including the Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso. But the Spanish government says the petrol price has now fallen and from next Friday motorists can again drive at 120km/h.

三月份，由于石油价格上涨，为了降低燃料消耗，西班牙政府引入了临时限制高速公路上行车速度的政策。现在，政府将这个有争议的政策取消。速度限制降低为110千米没小时，引发包括F1车手费尔南多·阿隆索在内的驾驶者的抗议。但是西班牙政府表示，现在石油价格已经下跌，从下周五开始，驾车者可以以120千米每小时的车速行驶。