CNN 2011-12-26

It was the year of people power,of revolution.Something you have never seen before,a_of men on horseback and on camel.And the bloodshed of the doomed¹ dictators.no one is going home,no one is gonna home,we are in this sort of end even it means we're gonna die.It started with one man in one country,Tunisia who set himself on fire after the police confiscated² his fruit cart leaving him with no way to make money.That set off a movement that kicked out long-time President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.A region was ripped with freedom_.Fueled by social media,protests erupted in Nigeria,then Yemen.Its leader Ali Abdullah Saleh,seriously injured when his Palace was shelled,left the country for treatment,returned and later gave up power.Protests in Bahrain,Morocco,Jordan.Egyptians filled Tahrir Square in the centre of Cairo,protesting_.This protest has gone on all day long.It's now almost 5 o'clock in the afternoon.It's 2 hours after curfew's begun.But still,the square is packed with people and this protest will likely go well into the night.Their demandlong-time ruler Hosni Mubarak has to go.By Feburary,he was gone.Did you ever imagine that this would be happening in Egypt? Never,one month ago,I would never imagine it.For me,I'm a young man and I always believe that_in history.The Arab Spring,hen it's Libya.The opposition's galvanized to get rid of Omar Gaddafi.NATO launches air support.The country becomes a war zone._eventually falls.This is an important day,especially for the rebels,who Gaddafi said would never be able to break his spirit,would never be able to take the city.8 bloody³ months later,the tyrant⁴ was dead.The world's attention now focused on Syria.Will it be even the next dominant⁵ to fall? Even with the brutal⁶ crack-down of the regime,demonstrators are on the streets.According to the UN,at least 5000 have killed since March.Some fight for their freedom,others protest for bread and butter.In Europe,thousands demonstrate,angry at tough economic conditions.Furious protestors in Greece battle with riot police for weeks against pay cuts and laid-offs.It's called suicide vote earlier run by the Greece government.He said if we won't pass this,the country is gone.In Britain,peaceful protests turned ugly.Discontented youth fought with police and looters then destoryed parts of the city.In September,the Occupy Wall Street Movement started in New York and soon gripped major capitals around the world,condemning the wealthy is 1 percent for leaving the other 99 percent out in the cold.And by December,a glimpse of people power in Russia,thousands marched rejecting elections'results favoring Vladimir Putin's party,frustrated too,with corruption⁷ and economic stagnation⁸.2011 shattered and rattled⁹ the political orders of the world.This will send shockwaves throughout the regions.Setting in motion,a wave of discontent,the promises to wash into the years to come.CNN London.

1 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

2 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

3 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

4 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

5 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

6 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

9 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。