英语四级新闻听力20210808

一、听力练习

1.

A. Cuba.

B. Mexico.

C. Argentina.

D. Chile.

2.

A. 5.

B. 11.

C. 20.

D. 70.

二、听力文本

Cuba largely kept coronavirus infections low last year. But now, the Caribbean nation has the highest infection rate per person in Latin America. That is threatening the country's health care system and has led to protests of the communist government. The country of 11 million people reported nearly 4,000 cases per million people over the last week. That is nine times higher than the world average and more than any other country in the Americas for its size. The sharp rise in cases is being fueled by the highly infectious Delta variant. The spread of the virus and the resulting restrictions are also hurting Cuba's already struggling economy. There are fewer numbers of flights. Many Cubans work in the tourism industry and depend on travelers to bring in money and goods -- including medicine. Cuba's government has blamed the demonstrations on U.S.-financed "counter-revolutionaries." The government is largely blaming Cuba's struggling economy on American sanctions that were made stricter during the pandemic. Several countries and non-government organizations called on the U.S. to lift sanctions this week. Cuba has had some pandemic successes. The country has produced five possible vaccines. Two of them are more than 90 percent effective, based on Cuban data. Many Cuban doctors went to help other countries deal with the pandemic. The country has one of the highest number of doctors per person in the world. And generally, cases per person are still under the worldwide average. Deaths per person, while rising, are still just one-third of the worldwide average. The Cuban government says those successes are because of its free, universal healthcare and its experimental medicine. But with cases now rising fast, Cuba's economic crisis is worsening. Many officials do not want to require strict lockdowns. Many people already have to stand in lines for hours to get goods like food. So far only about two million people - less than 20 percent of the population - are fully vaccinated. The country aims to have 70 percent of the population fully vaccinated by September. But experts warned that in the next few weeks, COVID-19 deaths would likely continue to rise.

Question 1: According to the news report, which country has the highest COVID-19 infection rate per person in Latin America?

Question 2: According to the news report, how many possible vaccines has Cuba produced?

三、重点词汇

1. restriction: an official limit on something 受（尤指官方）限制的，受约束的

四、背景知识

据古巴公共卫生部7月22日公布的最新数据，古巴新增新冠肺炎确诊病例7745例，累计确诊308599例，单日新增确诊病例数创下疫情暴发以来新高，首都哈瓦那和马坦萨斯省单日新增确诊病例数均超过千例。从7月29日起，古巴将面向全国19岁及以上孕妇和哺乳期女性接种新冠疫苗。（背景知识来自于https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1706038046840402250&wfr=spider&for=pc）

五、参考答案

Question 1: A

Question 2: A