【VOA】肯尼亚大学遇袭

　　From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.

　　This week, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta marked two yearsin office. The anniversary was observed as Kenyans mournedthe victims of a terror attack in the town of Garissa. Gunmenkilled more than 140 people at Garissa University College.Medical workers have still not identified the bodies of all of those who were killed.

　　There are reports that more than 160 students are still missing.

　　The Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. In September 2013,al-Shabab gunmen attacked the Westgate shopping center in Nairobi. At least 67 people werekilled.

　　There has been a lot of talk about Kenya’s security, and corruption cases linked to governmentofficials. President Kenyatta has taken a strong position against corruption. He has urged allgovernment officials and individuals suspected in possible wrongdoing to step aside whileinvestigations take place. At least four ministers have already done so.

　　Barrack Muluka is a political. He believes Mr. Kenyatta and his deputy president, William Ruto, willhave trouble celebrating their time in office after what happened at the university.

　　“Anniversaries are meant to be celebratory occasions when you come out with what we may wantto call your brag sheet, your score card, and you don’t just talk about it -- you also mark it a bitof ‘oomph’ and ‘razzmatazz,’ which unfortunately they can’t do because of this season ofmourning. And it’s a season of mourning which also exposes their soft underbelly with regard toinsecurity.”

　　Some Kenyans say the criticism is unfair. Manoah Espisu is a spokesman for the government. Hewants people to change their way of thinking when it comes to terror attacks.

　　“Our nation is at war. It’s a fact that we have to live with. This country is at war. When you are atwar, the same rules don’t apply and if we are at war, we need our mentality to be slightly differentthan it is. It’s not always about us -- you’ve got to factor in your enemy.”

　　Investigators are working to learn more about the four gunmen involved in the Garissa Universityattack. One of them was the son of a chief in Kenya’s Mandera County. The attacker hadgraduated from law school.

　　Grace Mageka is a member of Peace Ambassador Kenya. She says she cannot understand whysuch a well-educated young man could take part in such an attack.

　　“This is something the government needs to look out to find out what was happening. But thewhole thing, it made us to be alert. We have to walk with our heads up.”

　　Kenyan officials say they are doing everything possible to protect citizens from al-Shabab. OnWednesday, officials announced action against financial businesses, rights activists and individualssuspected of having supported the activities of the militant group. The government said it wasblocking their use of money held in bank accounts. The action affected 13 Somali money transfercompanies. Their operating permits were cancelled and bank accounts suspended.

　　In a statement, an American-based rights group said the government’s list raises more questionsthan it answers. Human Rights Watch said those named have a right to openness and dueprocess of law. The group noted steps taken against two rights groups: Muslims for Human Rightsand Haki Africa. It said the measures raise concerns that the government is fighting critical voicesand those who question the methods used to fight terrorism in Kenya.

　　I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise.

　　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!