听力原文:

Britainin Iraq

英国出兵伊拉克
The beginning of the end

善后刚刚开始
The interminable Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war is on its last lap

齐尔考特爵士主持的伊拉克战争调查报告将公布

ALMOST seven years after the announcement of the Iraq Inquiry by Gordon Brown, then prime minister, the completed report of the committee led by Sir John Chilcot was delivered into the hands of a team of Whitehall officials and spooks this week for national-security vetting. Mr Brown’s successor, David Cameron, hopes they will complete their checks on a document the size of 15 chunky novels within two weeks.

重点词汇：

1 interminable冗长的；没完没了的
2 Chilcot inquiry 齐尔考特调查
3 last lap（行程和时间的）最后阶段
4 Whitehall白厅（指英国政府）
5 spook吓；惊吓；受惊
6 vet仔细检查，审查（内容、质量等）
7 chunky粗重的；厚实的；结实的
注释：由英国伊拉克战争调查委员会主席约翰齐尔考特爵士主持的伊拉克战争调查已经进行了超过6年的时间。齐尔考特将在下个月告诉英国现任首相卡梅伦公布这份报告的日期。

听力原文:

John Penrose, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of shepherding the report through to publication, reassured MPs on April 14th that nothing would be censored to save ministers or officials from embarrassment. Its long-awaited release is likely to be soon after, rather than before, the EU referendum on June 23rd. Sir John and his committee have been the butt of much criticism, including from Mr Cameron himself, for the time they have taken to complete their work. They are accused of failing to respect the desire of families who lost loved ones to learn what happened and put it all behind them. That was never the purpose of the report. It was intended to provide a complete record of Britain’s involvement in Iraq frommid-2001 to 2009, two years after British forces ignominiously pulled out of Basra. It is hoped that future governments will be able to draw lessons from it.

重点词汇：

1 shepherd带领；引；护送
2 MPs (英国)下院议员 Member of Parliament
3 censor删剪
4 long-awaited 等待（或期待）已久的
5 butt屁股 bethe butt of sth 受到嘲讽（或批评）；是笑柄（或话柄等）
6 ignominious耻辱的；可耻的；不光彩的
7 Basra巴士拉

听力原文:

One reason why the report has taken so long is the amount of material that had to be gathered and examined. To draw defensible conclusions and make recommendations that will be heeded, an inquiry has to show that it has left no stone unturned and has weighed the evidence objectively.

重点词汇：

1 defensible可辩解的；合乎情理的；有正当理由的
2 recommendation正式建议；提议
3 heed 留心，注意，听从（劝告或警告）
4 leave no stone unturned 千方百计；想尽办法

听力原文:

Another is the need for fairness. Inquiries of this kind are set up on the assumption that some people made mistakes or behaved badly. Those whose reputations may be damaged by its conclusions must be allowed to see and respond to the case against them. Some accuse individuals including Tony Blair, the prime minister who took Britain into Iraq, of using the process both as a delaying tactic and as a way to deflect or dilute criticism. Mr Blair strongly denies such charges. The responses of some others were worth the wait as they made a positive contribution to the report.

重点词汇：

1 tactic策略；手段；招数
2 deflect转移；引开
3 dilute削弱；降低；使降低效果

欢迎关注荔枝主播凤梨君 FM1098550

欢迎关注主播凤梨君 微信号fenglisama