听力音频点击下载.mp3

　　Iranians have taken to the streets of Tehran tocelebrate a landmark nuclear deal with worldpowers which should lead to the lifting of cripplingeconomic sanctions. In return, strict limits will be imposed on Iran’s nuclear activities. Thecountry’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, praised the hard work of Iraniannegotiators. President Hassan Rouhani said that the agreement proved that constructiveengagement worked. Both Iran and the United States say the deal is a historical opportunity.Bethany Bell reports.

　　The deal which has aimed at pushing an end to the roar of Iran’s nuclear programme representsthe biggest step towards easing hostility between Iran and the West since the IranianRevolution in 1979. Iran has agreed to scale back its sensitive nuclear activities. It will reduceits capacity to enrich uranium, and has signed up to intensive inspections by UN inspectors.

　　President Obama said the deal ensured that Iran would not be able to produce nuclearweapons. The agreement has been strongly criticized by President Obama’s Republican rivals inthe US. Congress has 60 days to approve the accord. It could stop it hereby refusing to liftsanctions. The Republican Congressman Mike Turner says Mr. Obama will struggle to get thedeal approved. I think he will find he has very minimal support in Congress. If he has to go tothe issue of vetoing it, and then looking to whether or not there is two-thirds of objection,it’sgonna be very very close. Certainly there are a very strong majority of Congress whose seatsthrew what the President’s dice that this is not good for the US national security. It’s surelynot good for Middle East. It can result in an arms race there, and I surely doubt it’s for ourallies.

　　Iran’s Middle Eastern neighbors have greeted the deal with a mixture of anger and caution.Saudi Arabia said it hoped to build better relations with Tehran. The Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu denounced it as the stunning mistake.

　　The Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he takes responsibility for a tough bailout deal withthe euro zone despite not believing in the draconian reforms it demands. Mark Lowen reportsfrom the capital, Athens.

　　After the bruising bailout talks, the Greek government will face its first test in parliament and onthe streets. Legislation must be passed by Wednesday night including VAT and pensionreforms. Alexis Tsipras told Greek TV he signed a deal he didn’t believe in but which wouldavoid disaster. Candid for sure, but that won’t stop a sizable rebellion within his own partywith perhaps dozens of his MPs set to vote against the measures. They’re though likely to passbecause of opposition’s support. Meanwhile, protests and a 24-hour strike have been called inthe public sector.

　　The European Commission says an EU-wide fund can be used to offer immediate short-termfinancial support to Greece. Officials say the Commission will propose the move to memberstates.

　　World News from the BBC.

　　An American financing arm of Honda has agreed to pay 24 million dollars in compensation tocustomers after it was accused of discriminating against ethnic minority car buyers. The USJustice Department said since 2011 Honda had allowed car dealers to charge higher interestrates on loans requested by African-American, Hispanic and other minority borrowers. In astatement Honda said it was strongly opposed to discrimination.

　　NASA scientists are eagerly waiting to know if a 9-year flyby space machine to the dwarfplanet Pluto has been a success. In the coming hours, scientists hope to see detailed picturesand data of Pluto’s tiny icy world in the outer reaches of the solar system beamed back toearth. The New Horizons spacecraft will speed past at 50,000 kilometers an hour after ajourney of 5 billion kilometers across the solar system. A first image sent on Tuesday showedcraters, possibly mountains and nitrogen snow on Pluto’s surface.

　　Shares in Twitter briefly soared by more than 8% in value after a fake report referred to a multi-billion dollar takeover of the social network. The report appeared on what pretended to be aweb page of the financial news agency Bloomberg. Daniela Relph reports.

　　The fake news report appeared on a web page that mimicked the style and layout of Bloomberg.It claimed that Twitter was working closely with bankers after receiving a takeover offer of 20billion pounds. It’s not yet clear who was behind the fake story. The website that carried thefalse report was registered last Friday in Panama. But records don’t show the identity of itsowner.

　　Dozens of songs praising one of the Mexico’s most powerful drug lords Joaquin Guzman whoescaped from jail on Saturday have begun appearing on the internet. They are written andperformed by bands who sing Narco-corridos, songs that commemorate and often praise thefeats of the country’s powerful drug cartels.

　　1.landmark adj.有重大意义或影响的

　　The Ambassador Hotel is a Los Angeles landmark.

　　国宾大饭店是洛杉矶的地标性建筑之一。

　　2.sensitive adj.敏感的;感觉的

　　The issue of foreign troops on Turkish soil is a sensitive one.

　　在土耳其领土上驻扎外国军队这个问题非常敏感。

　　3.capacity n.容量;才能;性能

　　Our capacity for giving care, love and attention is limited...

　　我们能够给予的关怀、关爱和关注是有限的。

　　4.minimal adj. <正式>最小的，极少的;极小的<正式>

　　Their ambitions are to bash out good grub with minimal fuss.

　　他们的目标就是尽可能省劲地大量供应可口饭菜。

　　5.denounce vt.公开指责;正式指控

　　Ministers took the floor to denounce the decision to suspend constitutional rule.

　　几位部长发言谴责暂停宪制的决定。

　　6.draconian adj.严厉的;苛刻的

　　The government has introduced a draconian regulation intended to gag the press.

　　政府推出了一条旨在箝制新闻界言论的苛刻法例。

　　7.bruising adj. 殊死的;十分激烈的

　　The administration hopes to avoid another bruising battle over civil rights.

　　政府希望避免因民权问题再次发生激烈冲突。

　　8.sizable adj.相当大的，颇大的

　　It is evident that they suffered a sizable economic loss as a result of the war.

　　显然,他们由于战争遭受到相当大的经济损失。

　　9.discriminate vt.& vi. 歧视;区别

　　It is unjust and unlawful to discriminate against people of other races.

　　歧视外族人是不公正的,也是违法的。

　　10.soar vi.高飞;飞腾;猛增

　　The temperature in the south will soar into the hundreds.

　　南方的温度会上升到一百多度。

编辑推荐