【BBC】美国弗格森市警察局长辞职

　　BBC News with Jerry Smit.

　　The police chief of the US city of Ferguson is to resign. ThomasJackson has been criticized by many activists following theshooting of an unarmed black teenager by one of his officers inAugust. Kim Ghattas reports from Washington.

　　"Police Chief Thomas Jackson was one of the two officials whose behavior was highlighted IN ascaling report by the department of justice last week. The report was prompted by the fatalshooting of 18-year old Michael Brown by a white policeman last summer. It alleged racial bias inthe city police department and court system and outlined ways in which the police and courtsfunctioned as a money-making enterprise, mostly targeting the city’s African American population.Mr. Jackson has so far resisted calls to step down over his handling of the shooting of theunarmed black teenager and weeks of protests that followed."

　　America’s top General says there is no doubt that Iraqi forces will drive Islamic state militants out ofTikrit. But General Martin Dempsey expresses concern over how Sunni inhabitants of the citywould then be treated. Shia militias make up a large part of the government forces attacking Tikrit.As Paul Adams reports.

　　"This is not the government’s first attempt to retake Tikrit, but this operation now 10 days olddoes seem to be the most concerted efforts so far and it’s entering a critical phase 3,000government troops backed by around 20,000 Shia militiamen and much smaller forces of Sunnitribesmen are now reported to have entered one of Tikrit’s northern neighborhoods Qadisiya. Thecity is more or less sealed off, but it is not clear if street fighting has really begun in earnest. An Iraqimajor who declined to give his name for security reasons said his forces started advancing earlythis morning, moving towards the center of Tikrit from four locations."

　　Defense officials in the United States say Washington is to send more non-lethal military aid toUkraine. The package will include drones and unarmed military jeeps. The US has also imposedsanctions on eight separatist leaders on a Russian Bank following claims by the secretary general ofNATO Jens Stoltenberg that Moscow is continuing to equip and train rebels in eastern Ukraine, apoint echoed by the White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

　　"There continues to be evidence that Russia is continuing to transfer weapons and material acrossthe border into Ukraine in support of separatists in eastern Ukraine. And there are continuedreports that Russia backed separatists are preventing OSCE monitors from getting access to thoseareas of the country that are necessary to verify compliant with Minsk Implementation plan."

　　A British military healthcare worker has tested positive for Ebola while working in Sierra Leone. It isbelieved the patient is a woman and her condition is being assessed before any decision is madeabout flying her back to Britain for treatment.

　　World News from the BBC.

　　A leading conservative opponent of the Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has questionedthe decision to suspend for one month aerial bombing attacks on Farc guerrillas. The move isintended to help peace talks underway in Havana, but the Colombian Procurator General AlhandorDones said it would paralyze the arm forces while Farc continued to attack civilians.

　　Cuba has re-established direct telephone links with the United States for the first time in 15 years.It is the first agreement signed between Cuban and American companies since the announcementlast December that both states will renew diplomatic ties after more than 50 years of hostility. WillGrant reports from Havana.

　　"A key part of the decision by the Obama administration to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba wasto help boost telecommunications on the island. In the long term it is hopped in Washington thatwould mean greater internet access. But for now it has at least brought a direct telephoneconnection between the two countries. Previously calls were rated by a third countries driving outof the cost of a call to the US from Cuba and making it prohibitively expensive for ordinaryCubans."

　　The American space agency NASA has made the first testifying of the world's most powerful solarfuel rocket that it hopes will propel a man mission to Mars in the 2030s. NASA said a lowtemperature firing of the 54 meter-long booster known as the space launch system performedflawlessly. It was anchored horizontally for the test carried out in Utah.

　　France has formally objected to a Belgian proposal for the design of a coin commemorating the200th anniversary of the battle of waterloo on the grounds that it risks undermining the unity ofthe euro zone. Officials say the two euro coin is a negative symbol, they could cause hostilereactions in France at a time when governments across Europe are trying to increase cooperation.BBC News.

　　Key Phrases/Words

　　1. resign v. 辞职，放弃

　　2. highlight v. 强调，突出

　　3. bias n. 偏见，偏爱

　　4. inhabitant n. 居民，住户

　　5. concerted adj. 协调的，协定的，协商好的

　　6. seal off 封锁

　　7. non-lethal adj. <美>(外援)非武器性的

　　8. drones n. 无人驾驶飞机

　　9. separatist n. 分离主义者，独立派

　　10. compliant adj. 遵从的，依从的

　　11. healthcare 卫生保健，医疗

　　12. conservative adj. 保守的，(英国)保守党的

　　13. suspend v. 暂停，延缓

　　14. paralyze v. 使瘫痪，使麻痹

　　15. re-establish v. 重建，重新建立，恢复

　　16. hostility n. 敌意，敌对状态

　　17. prohibitively expensive 价格高昂(使人却步)

　　18. 1. testifying v. 作证，声明，证明

　　19. propel v. 推进，推动，驱动

　　20. flawlessly adv. 无瑕地，完美地

　　21. commemorating v. 纪念， 庆祝，成为…的纪念

　　22. undermining v. 逐渐削弱，使逐步减少效力

　　23. hostile reaction 敌对情绪，有敌意的反应

　　2015年6月英语四级考试即将拉开帷幕，最后阶段掌握听力技巧必不可少。有时听力失分问题却并不出在听力本身，在听力之外也有很多细节会影响听力部分的得分，比如以下三点。

　　第一，注意单词的正确拼写。

　　改革前的复合式听写题目要求听写的三个句子虽长，但句中会出现很多考生较为熟悉、拼写非常简单的词。而且，即使考生不能将句子中的所有单词拼写正确，阅卷老师也可能会酌情给分。但改革后的单词及短语听写则对单词的正确拼写提出了更高的要求，考生必须将每个单词都拼写正确才能得分。不仅如此，考生还必须用所听到的录音原文中的单词或短语填空，而不可以替换成与之意思相同或相近的单词或短语。所以，改革后的试题要求考生平时更加注意单词和短语的拼写，尤其是一些容易拼写错的单词，如environment、government (两个词中的“n”常被考生遗漏)、embarrass (考生常漏写其中的一个“r”和“s”)等。为了掌握更多的词汇，考生在平时练习时每次做完听力题之后，要好好地阅读录音原文。除了确保所填的单词及短语都拼写正确外，考生还应该看看原文中是否还有自己不会拼写的单词，有的话可以摘抄下来并加以记忆，以防下次考试会考到。

　　第二，注重语法知识的积累。

　　考生在考试时因心情紧张或耳机接收效果不好等原因，很可能会听不到单词的尾音(如词尾的“-s”“-ed”“-ly”或“-ing”等)，结果在填写答案时少写一两个字母。为避免这样的失误，考生在听写结束后一定要将全文通读一遍，根据语法知识判断所填的单词或短语的词性及形式是否正确。如果空格处填入的是名词，考生要判断应填入名词的单数形式还是复数形式;如果空格处可填入形容词和副词，考生要根据语法知识判断最终哪个词性合适;如果填入的是动词，考生要根据时态、语态、人称、数以及前后搭配来确定动词的形式。以样题第32题为例，根据语法知识，考生可以确定此空格处应填入一个副词，用于修饰空格前面的动词use.由此，考生即使没有听清录音中说的是appropriate还是appropriately，也能根据语法知识判断出此处应填入appropriately.又如，样题中的第27、29、33和34题需填入的动词或动词性短语直接出现在介词后，或出现在介词后用“and”连接的两个动名词短语中，此时考生应判断出空格处填入的动词要使用“-ing”形式。短语部分考查动词性短语的概率比较高，因此考生需加强动词短语方面的学习和记忆。

　　第三，掌握单词的标准发音。

　　考生在平时背单词时一定要注意学习单词的标准发音。有些考生英语基础还算不错，但每次听力部分的得分总是不高，原因就是他们的发音不标准。试想，如果考生的发音不标准，又怎么能听懂听力材料中播放的标准发音呢?所以，要想在听力部分得高分，考生必须要掌握单词的标准发音。考生平时在完成听力练习后，可对照着原文再多听几遍录音并进行跟读。这样不仅可以帮助考生纠正发音，还可以培养考生的语感。

　　综上所述，要考好听力，拼写、语法和发音样样都要注意，听力不只是考验你的耳朵，祝大家考试顺利!