美国有线新闻 CNN 2015-04-09

 It's great to see you. Thanks for taking 10 minutes for current events sans commercials. I'm Carl Azuz in Atlanta.

 

In Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, international workers, civilians¹, women and children pack the airport, exhausted² from conflict and relieved to be going home. Thousands are being evacuated³ from the shelling, the bombing and the gunshots. But their flights have to be coordinated⁴ with the military of neighboring Saudi Arabia, because it's leading the airstrikes against the Houthi rebels that have taken over Yemen's government. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting. The Houthis are allied⁵ with Iran. Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region want to kick out the rebels and reinstate Yemen's deposed⁶ president. The Saudis' firepower is immense.

 

Saudi Arabia is the best funded armed force in the Gulf⁷ region, with training and operational ties to the U.S., U.K. and France. According to The Institute of Strategic Studies, in 2014, the country's defense⁸ expenditure⁹ was 80.8 billion. That's ten percent of the country's GDP and the third largest defense budget in the world. Its military force is made up of 227,000 active members. The army has 75,000 troops, but its biggest ground force is the 100,000 strong national guard, made up largely of tribal-based militia¹⁰. The primary mission of this force is to protect the royal family from internal conflicts. But their involvement in the liberation of Kuwait in the 1990s showed that it can also be deployed¹¹ as an external force when the security of the country is threatened.Saudi Arabia also boasts a 13,500 person navy and an air force of 20,000 people. The fleet comprises U.S.-produced F-15 fighter planes, European-developed Tornadoes¹² and Eurofighter Typhoons.

 

The Saudi forces are also equipped with American-made AH-64 Apache helicopters, 315 M1A2 Abrams tanks and it has recently invested heavily in anti-tank missiles. The Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force has also seen heavy investment in recent years, equipped with Chinese-made DF-21s and DF-3 delivery systems, built to launch long distance, high explosive warheads.

 

Of all the main players in the Gulf region, the Saudi military is considered to be the best armed, benefiting greatly from funds gained through the country's vast oil wealth.      

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

3 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

4 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

6 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

10 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

12 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网