英语四级听力练习题

英语四级听力练习题

　　Iraqi President Fouad Massoum has asked a deputy speaker of parliament to form a new government. If he is successful, Haider al-Abadi would take the place of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

　　Kurds, Sunnis and his fellow Shiites have asked Mr. Maliki to leave office. But he says he will seek a third term as Prime Minister.

　　Separately, the United States continued airstrikes against Islamic State militants in northern Iraq. U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said the three days of airstrikes have been, in his words, very effective in stopping the militants from moving toward the city of Irbil.

　　New Cease-Fire Between Israel and Hamas

　　Israel and Hamas have begun a new 72-hour cease-fire. The two sides will now have another chance to negotiate an end to a month of fighting that has caused the deaths of 2,000 people.

　　Egypt helped the two sides reach the cease-fire agreement. It took effect early Monday. Both sides are now meeting in Cairo to try to reach a long-term agreement to end the fighting.

　　An earlier 72-hour cease-fire ended Friday with no progress toward a longer-term truce. It ended with Hamas restarting its rocket attacks on Israel and the Israeli military carrying out new airstrikes in Gaza.

　　President Obama, Ukraines President Talk

　　President Barack Obama spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko by telephone on Monday. He said any Russian involvement in Ukraine without permission from the Ukrainian government would be a violation of international law.