2016年6月英语四级听力改革短篇新闻练习(7)

　　听力材料：

　　BBC News with Jerry Smit

　　South African police have opened fire on a crowd ofseveral thousand striking workers at a platinummine, leaving an unconfirmed number of peopledead or injured. An eyewitness told the BBC hecounted 18 bodies lying on the ground outside the mine. Gordon Corera reports.

　　After first using water cannon, then stun grenades and tear gas, TV footage shows SouthAfrican police firing volleys of live rounds into the striking miners, some of whom the police saywere armed with machetes and clubs. Bodies can then be seen lying on the ground in pools ofblood. The unrest began nearly a week ago when 3,000 workers walked out in whatmanagement described as an illegal strike. The men were demanding a wage increase fromthe company that operates the mine. It is the third largest producer of platinum in the world –almost all of which comes from this one mine.

　　Britain and Sweden have criticized Ecuador's decision to grant political asylum to theWikileaks founder Julian Assange. Mr Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy inLondon two months ago to avoid extradition to Sweden where he's wanted for questioningover sex assault allegations. The British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Mr Assangewould not be allowed safe passage to Ecuador.

　　"Under our law, with Mr Assange having exhausted all options of appeal, the British authoritiesare under a binding obligation to extradite him to Sweden. We must carry out thatobligation, and of course we fully intend to do so. The Ecuadorian government's decisiondoes not change that, and nor does it change the current circumstances in any way."

　　Police in Chile have detained 139 people – most of them teenage students – who are occupyingthree schools in the capital Santiago in continuing protest against the government's educationpolicies. There were violent clashes as police moved into the buildings. Student leader, CamilaVallejo, criticized the action.

　　"It's a direct assault on public education, and on the chance to advance towards endinginequality in Chile."

　　Chilean students have held months of mass protests in the past year to demand free, highquality public education for all.

　　Eleven people have died after a military helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan. Nato-ledforces in the country said seven of the dead were American military personnel, three weremembers of the Afghan security forces, and one was an Afghan civilian interpreter. The BlackHawk helicopter crashed in Kandahar province.

　　The number of people killed in bomb and shooting attacks in Iraq on Thursday has climbed to atleast forty-five. Most of the victims died in and around Baghdad and in the northern city ofKirkuk. Security forces and police appeared to be the targets of several of the bombings.

　　World News from the BBC

　　A British man paralyzed from the neck down has lost a High Court case in which he argued thatdoctors should be allowed to end his life without fear of prosecution. Judges ruled againstTony Nicklinson, saying the law was clear, and that voluntary euthanasia was murder. Fifty-eight-year-old Mr Nicklinson had described his life as a 'living nightmare' since a stroke in 2005which left him with locked-in syndrome. He has said he will appeal against the decision.

　　A British judge has ruled that an arranged marriage involving a British woman of Bangladeshiorigin who has severe learning difficulties should be annulled. Her parents, who organized themarriage in Bangladesh nine years ago, had argued that it was in her best interests, and anannulment would shame their family.

　　Shares in the social networking site Facebook fell to a new low today as some of therestrictions on selling stock were lifted after the initial public offer in May. When the companyfloated, shares went on sale for $38 each. Today, the price dipped below $20, wiping $4bn ofthe company's market value. Here's our business reporter Karen Hoggan.

　　Until now, the investors who've been with Facebook since the company's early days have beenprevented from selling their shares. This restriction is imposed to protect newly floated sharesfrom extreme volatility if too many people sell at once. Often, when the ban is lifted, acompany's share price drops sharply. However, some think many investors, who have seen theshare price drop so much since May, may have hung onto their shares to avoid selling them ata loss.

　　The death has been announced of the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos,at the age of 76. The Ethiopian foreign ministry said the patriarch had been receivingtreatment for an undisclosed illness in recent weeks. Abune Paulos led Ethiopia's 40 millionOrthodox Christians – half of the population for 20 years.

　　BBC News