2011年英语专八听力原文

　　SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST

　　News 1:

　　The 95-year-old iconic American brand Greyhound is taking to theBritish roads. FirstGroup,Britain's largest bus and train operator, and ownerof the Greyhound coach brand in the U.S.,said the buses would start runningfrom London, Victoria, to Portsmouth and Southampton onSeptember 14. Ticketswill cost as little as a ￡1, with the average journey costing ￡7. It planstoroll out more routes next year. The hourly bus service will take just under twohours non-stopand will offer free Wi-Fi, power sockets for each passenger, airconditioning, complimentarynewspapers and leather seats.

　　News 2:

　　Greek firefighters planned to continue to work through the night tocontain dozens of wildfires,including a massive blaze outside Athens,authority said. Greek Prime Minister KostasKaramanlis called for calm onSaturday and said ground forces "will continue theirsuperhumanefforts" until dawn, when air operations and water drops will resume.Authoritiesreported 75 fires across the country. The fires began late Friday inGrammatiko, 40kilometers (25 miles) northeast of the capital. Wind whipped asingle blaze into three fires,which joined again Saturday. No injuries werereported. Authorities mobilized units from thenavy, air force and marines toassist the firefighters in Grammatiko, the state fire departmentsaid."The fire is particularly complex given the weather, the large quantity offuel, the terrainand the proximity of residential areas," a statementfrom the fire department said. The cause ofthe original fire, which belchedclouds of heavy dark smoke, was unknown, and officials wereinvestigating.Forest and brush fires are common during Greece's hot, dry summers.Sixfirefighting aircraft were helping firefighters, according to the Athens NewsAgency.

　　News 3:

　　The Mexican economy went off a cliff in the second three months of2009, with the grossdomestic product dropping 10.3 percent from the sameperiod last year, according togovernment figures. Analysts say the main causeof Mexico's nosedive is that the nation'seconomy is tied strongly to that ofthe United States, which is mired in the deepest economicdownturn since the1930s. Other factors dragging the Mexican economy down include atourismdecline caused by the H1N1 flu outbreak, declining oil and tax revenues, andfewerMexicans abroad sending money back home. Oil revenues, long Mexico's mainsource of money,are being hurt by lower global prices and decliningproduction. Remittances from Mexicansworking abroad, most of them in theUnited States, also have fallen victim to the economicdownturn. Fewer jobs inthe United States means fewer opportunities for Mexicans to find workand sendmoney home. Remittances rank after oil in terms of revenue for the country.Thatrevenue fell from $26 billion in 2007 to $25 billion in 2008, Mexico's CentralBank said, andis expected to decrease even more this year. Tourism, Mexico's third-largestsource of revenue,has declined steadily since an outbreak of the H1N1 flu wasfirst discovered in Mexico in April.

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