聽力原文:

Britainin Iraq

英國出兵伊拉克
The beginning of the end

善后剛剛開始
The interminable Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war is on its last lap

齊爾考特爵士主持的伊拉克戰爭調查報告將公布

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.

重點詞匯：

1 interminable冗長的；沒完沒了的
2 Chilcot inquiry 齊爾考特調查
3 last lap（行程和時間的）最后階段
4 Whitehall白廳（指英國政府）
5 spook嚇；驚嚇；受驚
6 vet仔細檢查，審查（內容、質量等）
7 chunky粗重的；厚實的；結實的
注釋：由英國伊拉克戰爭調查委員會主席約翰齊爾考特爵士主持的伊拉克戰爭調查已經進行了超過6年的時間。齊爾考特將在下個月告訴英國現任首相卡梅倫公布這份報告的日期。

聽力原文:

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.

重點詞匯：

1 shepherd帶領；引；護送
2 MPs (英國)下院議員 Member of Parliament
3 censor刪剪
4 long-awaited 等待（或期待）已久的
5 butt屁股 bethe butt of sth 受到嘲諷（或批評）；是笑柄（或話柄等）
6 ignominious恥辱的；可恥的；不光彩的
7 Basra巴士拉

聽力原文:

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.

重點詞匯：

1 defensible可辯解的；合乎情理的；有正當理由的
2 recommendation正式建議；提議
3 heed 留心，注意，聽從（勸告或警告）
4 leave no stone unturned 千方百計；想盡辦法

聽力原文:

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.

重點詞匯：

1 tactic策略；手段；招數
2 deflect轉移；引開
3 dilute削弱；降低；使降低效果

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