BBC在线收听下载:奥巴马提名新一任国防部长

BBC News with Iain Purdon
President Obama has named the former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as his choice for America’s new defense secretary. But he may face a battle with Congress to get the nomination confirmed. President Obama also said he was choosing his counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan to lead the CIA. Paul Adams reports from Washington.
总统奥巴马提名前共和国参议员查克•哈格尔作为美国新一任国防部长。但是要使这一提名通过国会，却并非易事。总统奥巴马表示他选择反恐顾问约翰•布伦南来领导CIA. Paul Adams从华盛顿报道。

Mr. Brennan has worked closely with the president during Mr. Obama’s first term. He’s been a leading figure behind the administration’s use of drone strikes against al-Qaeda and its allies--a policy more controversial abroad than it is here. He doesn’t appear to face any serious opposition in Congress. Mr. Hagel is more controversial. He is a decorated Vietnam veteran, but many of his fellow Republicans don’t like him. They believe he’s hostile towards Israel and not strong enough on Iran. If appointed, he'd be responsible for implementing deep cuts in the military’s budget, another reason many Republicans mistrust him.
布伦南先生在奥巴马总统第一届任期中与总统先生紧密合作。他是本届政府的重要人物之一，参与了反基地组织的无人机袭击以及在国外比在国内更具争议的盟友政策。他可能不会在国会遭遇任何重大反对。但是，对于哈格尔先生，却颇具争议。他是一名虔诚的参加过越战的老兵，但是他的许多共和党同僚并不喜欢他。觉得他对以色列过于敌视，而对伊朗又不够强硬。如果得到任命，他可能还要负责实施军费预算的大幅消减，这是许多共和党不信任他的另一个原因。

A senior Iranian MP says the country’s oil and gas revenues have suffered sharp falls. This report by James Reynolds.
一位高级伊朗国会议员称，伊朗的石油和天燃气收入惨遭骤减。James Reynolds报道。

Western oil sanctions are clearly hurting Iran and now a leading Iranian politician has revealed an important statistic. Gholam Reza Kateb, who’s a member of the planning and budget commission of Iran’s parliament, says that oil exports have fallen by around 45% in the last nine months and the country’s economy as a whole is in trouble. In 2012, Iran’s currency, the rial, collapsed and provoked unrest in Tehran. The export of oil has been vital to the Islamic republic. Oil exports have accounted for around half of state revenue.
很清楚，西方石油制裁伤害了伊朗。现在一名伊朗重要政治人物已透露了一份重要统计数据。Gholam Reza Kateb是伊朗国会计划和预算委员会的一名委员，称在过去的九个月里，石油出口已经下降了近45%，国家整体经济陷入重重危机。2012年，伊朗货币里亚尔崩溃，曾在德黑兰引发了骚乱。石油出口本来是伊朗共和国的经济命脉，约占该国国民收入的一半。

Most flights by Iranian airlines were cancelled during the day as the oil ministry refused to supply them with fuel because of unpaid debts. The government says private Iranian airlines owe the state nearly 150 million dollars. The price of fuel in Iran has soared mainly because of international sanctions.
因为债务拖欠，石油部不再向伊朗航空公司提供石油，该公司的大多数航班已经取消。政府说，私人伊朗航空公司拖欠政府近1.5亿美元欠款。伊朗石油价格飙升主要源自于国际制裁。

In one of his strongest public appeals, Pope Benedict has urged the international community to end what he called the endless slaughter in Syria. His comments come a day after the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad laid out terms for a peace plan but dismissed any prospect of dialogue with the rebels. The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called President Assad’s speech disappointing. As our UN correspondent Barbara Plett reports.
本尼迪克特教皇在他一次最为强烈的公开呼吁中，敦促国际社会结束他所称的在叙利亚发生的无止境大屠杀。他的评论适逢前一日叙利亚总统阿萨德制定了和平计划，但拒不接受与反叛军进行对话。联合国秘书长潘基文称阿萨德总统的发言让人感到失望。英国通讯员记者Barbara Plett报道。

The secretary general said Mr. Assad’s recent speech rejected the political transition spelled out in what’s known as the Geneva communique, an internationally agreed blueprint for change in Syria. It calls for a transitional governing body that includes members of both the government and the opposition and forms the basis of mediation efforts conducted by Mr. Ban’s Syrian envoy Lakhdar Brahimi . But the Syrian president refused peace talks with the armed opposition in a defiant speech just days after Mr. Brahimi visited Damascus.
秘书长认为阿萨德先生最近反对日内瓦公报要求的政权过渡的讲话，日内瓦公报是国际对叙利亚变革蓝图的一致见解。它要求成立一个包括政府方和反对派双方在内的过渡性治理机构，从而形成由潘基文的叙利亚特使拉赫达尔•普拉希米所付出调解努力的一个基础平台。但是叙利亚总统在普拉希米访问大马士革仅仅几天之后，在一次挑战性的讲话中，表示拒绝与反对方进行任何和平谈判。

World News from the BBC
The Venezuelan Catholic Church has said it would be morally unacceptable to override the constitution to allow President Hugo Chavez to remain in power if he cannot be inaugurated owing to ill health. The head of the Venezuelan Conference of Bishops, Diego Pardron, said the constitution was clear. Mr. Chavez must attend his inauguration on Jan. 10. The Venezuelan attorney-general has said the inauguration could take place at a later date. The opposition says a new election should be called in 30 days if Mr. Chavez is unable to attend the ceremony.
委内瑞拉天主教堂表示无视宪法而让总统查维斯继续执政（如果他由于糟糕的身体状况，无法宣誓就职）在道义上是不可接受的。委内瑞拉主教大会的首领Diego Pardron称宪法的规定非常清楚，查维斯先生必须于1月举行他的就职大典。委内瑞拉司法部长已经表示，就职日期可以后推。反对方认为如果查维斯先生无法参加仪式，那么应该在30天内进行新的选举。

Scientists say the first full chemical analysis of medicine tablets found in an ancient shipwreck suggests that health care in the Roman world was surprisingly sophisticated. Our science reporter Rebecca Morelle has more.
科学家称对在一艘失事船舶上发现的药片的首次全面化学分析表明，当时罗马世界的医疗水平已达到了令人吃惊的高度。科学记者Rebecca Morelle更多详细报道。

For more than 2,000 years, six grey tablets lay locked away inside a small tin box kept safe from the corrosive seawater all around. The Roman shipwreck they were found on called the Pozzino was first discovered in the 1970s off the west coast of Italy. But it’s only now that the medicine has been fully analyzed. An Italian team of scientists carefully took samples from the fragile material and discovered it was packed full of different ingredients. They found pine resin which has anti-bacterial properties, animal fats and possibly olive oil, known for its use in ancient perfumes and medicinal preparations. They also found zinc compounds. The scientists said the composition of the tablets suggested that they could have been used to treat eye infections.
2000多年以来，这6颗灰色的药片安全地存放在一个小锡罐中，安安静静得躺在具腐蚀性的海水中。这艘被发现的罗马沉船名叫Pozzino，是于上世纪70年代首次在意大利西海岸被发现的。但是直到今天，这种药才得以全面分析。一组意大利科学家小心谨慎地从这些易碎的药片中提取检验样品，发现药片囊括了各种不同的成份，其中有抗菌特性的松树树脂、动物脂肪、可能还有常用在古代香水和制药中的橄榄油。科学家们还发现了锌化物，科学家们称药片的组成表明这种药可能是用于治疗眼部感染的。

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