美国有线新闻 CNN 美军3名突击队员在尼日尔联合巡逻时遇袭身亡

美军3名突击队员在尼日尔联合巡逻时遇袭身亡

According to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the nation of Niger is one of the hottest and poorest countries on the planet. It's landlocked, most of it is desert. Niger's government has seen multiple coups¹ since the 1990s. It doesn't have much funding and doesn't offer many services and it's further challenged by instability in several of the countries that border Niger.

That's part of the reason why U.S. troops are there, to support the Nigerien armed forces in their ongoing² fights against terrorist groups.

French, German and Malian troops are also helping³ in those efforts.

A U.S. official says on Wednesday, as many as 50 fighters affiliated⁴ with the ISIS terrorist group ambushed⁶ a patrol of Nigerien troops and U.S. Green Berets. Those are elite⁷ members of the Army Special Forces. Three Green Berets were killed, two others were wounded and evacuated⁸ from the area in stable condition. American officials say operations are being conducted to locate the attackers.

This ambush⁵ happened in southwest Niger, near the nation's border with Mali. Terrorist groups remain in this region, despite efforts led by France to get rid of them.

Next stop on today's show is India, where cash accounts for 90 percent of shopping transactions. In fact, many retail⁹ stores in the world's second most populated country don't have credit card machines. Even for expensive jewelry¹⁰, many of those who can afford it pay cash.

There are a couple of related problems. Some people are hiding the money they earn and to avoid paying income taxes on it. And there's a lot of counterfeit¹¹ money floating around India. So, last year, the government announced it would suddenly replace its two largest bank notes. People with the old ones would have to exchange them at banks for the new ones.

It's created some ripple¹² effects that experts say had contributed to an economic slowdown.

1 coups   

n.意外而成功的行动( coup的名词复数 )；政变；努力办到难办的事

参考例句：

• China has seen many political coups within the ruling class. 中国统治阶级内部发生过很多政变。 来自互联网
• Thailand has had eighteen coups or coup attendance since nineteen thirty-two. 泰国1932年以来有18次政变或参加政变。 来自互联网

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

5 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。

6 ambushed   

v.埋伏( ambush的过去式和过去分词 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The military vehicles were ambushed. 军车遭到伏击。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

8 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。

9 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

10 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

11 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

12 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。