New research suggests it may have been only relatively mild drought conditions that led to the
demise
of the highly developed Mayan civilisation, which flourished until about 1,100 years ago in parts of what's now Mexico and Guatemala. Scientists have long thought that repeated severe drought produced the decline. But Mexican and British researchers now think that a sustained drop in rainfall of no more than 40% was enough to ensure that evaporation of water from the reservoirs outstripped
replenishment
.
BBC News
第二页:中英双语听力稿
The British Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed the London one-day international conference on Somalia as a "turning point" towards greater stability and prosperity. He said agreements had been reached on major issues, such as security, piracy, humanitarian assistance and Somalia's political process. Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said he'd like to see air strikes against the Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which recently joined forces with al-Qaeda.
伦敦召开索马里问题国际会议,英国首相戴维德·卡梅隆称赞这是朝着更加稳定与繁荣方向的“转折点”。他说已就主要问题达成协议,包括安全、海盗、人道主义援助和索马里的政治进程。索马里总理穆罕默德·阿里说,他乐意看到对伊斯兰阿尔沙巴布军事组织进行空袭,该组织最近与基地组织开始联合行动。