VOA慢速英语20061217c

UNSV would like say thanks to the member Vanguard for writing down an excellent dication!

It is twenty-two hours thirty Universal Time. I'm Jim Tedder¹ in Washington.

[1] Officials in the Gaza Strip say Palestinian groups have reached an agreement to stop fighting after days of violence. The details of agreement between the ruling Hamas and the opposing Fatah groups haven't yet to be announced. The fighting increased in Gaza following a call for new elections by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Gunmen kidnapped and killed security officials loyal to the Fatah Party of the President. Earlier suspected Hamas' militants² fired at pro-Fatah demonstrators in the northern Gaza Strip. They also fired mortars³ at the President's office in Gaza City. He was not there. Fatah gunmen also seized control of two ministries⁴ controlled by Hamas. The Prime Minister called this an attempt to overthrow⁵ the government. One civilian⁶ was killed. Many others were wounded.

[2] Gunmen in Iraqi army-close have kidnapped at least twenty-four people from the Red Crescent aid group office in Baghdad. Officials say at least six hostages have been released. The attack took place as British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a surprise visit to the Iraqi capital. He spoke⁷ at news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The British leader said the Britain will make sure Iraq's democracy is not destroyed by terrorists. He also said he discussed preparations for British troops in the city of Basra to return security to Iraqi forces in next year.

[3] Also in Iraq representatives of the nation's opposing ethnic⁸ and religious groups held a second-day of talks. Delegates tried to find ways to stop violence among their groups. Iraq's Sunni Vice⁹ President says more American troops are needed for security in his country. Tariq al-Hashemi spoke to CNN television. He said Iraqi forces do not have the equipment to secure Iraq. He also said that suspected resistance fighters are operating with the force. Mr. al-Hashemi blamed the Bush Administration for dismissing the Iraqi army. The incoming American Senate majority leader spoke on ABC television. Senator Harry¹⁰ Reed said the conflict should be settled politically but that he would support more American troops for a short time.

[4] France says it will withdraw about 200 members of its military special forces from Afghanistan in the next few weeks. The French Defense¹¹ Minister says troops will leave their positions in eastern Afghanistan. They have been involved in the fight against Taliban and Al-Queda forces there and in the search for Al-Queda's Osama Bin¹² Laden¹³. More than 1,500 other French soldiers are expected to remain in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters have increased their attacks on NATO and Afghan soldiers this year.

[5] The top American diplomat¹⁴ on North Korea's nuclear program is urging that country to get serious about ending the program. Christopher Hill spokes¹⁵ in Beijing where he will talk part in six-nation talks on the subject. The talks are to begin Monday. Mr. Hill says these serious talks represent a major decision time for North Korea. He says it must choose between a diplomatic method for settlement or one that involves restrictions¹⁶. The six nations - North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States have not met in more than a year.

You are listening to the news in VOA Special English.

[6] Police in Central Pakistan say a fire at a wedding has led to the death of at least twenty-seven people, including the woman who was to be married. Crowds running to escape the fire crushed some people. Others were killed under a wall that fell. Most of victims are women and children who were seeing for the ceremony near the town of Jhok Utra. Officials suspected electrical problem calls the fire.

[7] Nigeria ruling party has chosen Katsina's State Governor Umaru Yar鈥?Adua to be its presidential candidate in elections next year. And an official of ruling People's Democratic Party says the Muslims from northern Nigeria won the support of more than 3,000 of 4,000 party delegates. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is barred by the constitution from seeking a third term.

[8] Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has failed to influence his ruling party to officially extend his presidency¹⁷ until 2010. Presidential elections are to be held in 2008. Mr. Mugabe had argued the election should instead be held in 2010 at the same time as parliamentary elections. Delegates at ZANU-PF yearly conference agreed but they said such a move should not purposely extend Mr. Mugabe's presidency without an election. Mr. Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980.

[9] The new king of Bhutan has promised democratic reforms for the small Himalayan mountain country. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck spoke to thousands of supporters in the capital. He talked about plans to surrender total power and change Bhutan into a parliamentary democracy. The 26-year-old king took power earlier this month. He replaced his father who resigned earlier than expected.

[10] United States space officials have extended the visit of the Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. Officials say astronauts will use the extra time to repair a device that gathers sonar energy. Discovery astronauts are expected to complete the work outside the station Monday. It will be their fourth space walk this visit. During the first three, the astronauts rewired the space station to connect two new solar panels brought on earlier visits. Discovery now is expected to return to the Earth on Friday one day later than planned.

Briefly¹⁸ here again is the major news.

Officials in the Gaza Strip say Palestinian groups have reached an agreement to stop fighting after days of violence. Gunmen in Iraqi army-close have kidnapped at least twenty-four people from the Red Crescent aid group office in Baghdad. And the top American negotiator to North Korea's nuclear program is urging that country to get serious about ending the program.

That's the news in VOA Special English. This is Jim Tedder reporting.

Next in VOA Special English, the Development Report, then learn all about the state of Vermont.

Visit us at voaspecialenglish.com for MP3 files, program transcripts¹⁹, podcast and more call our email address is [email protected].

1 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

4 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

5 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

11 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。

12 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

13 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

14 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

15 spokes   

n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动

参考例句：

• Her baby caught his fingers in the spokes of the pram wheel. 她宝宝的手指被婴儿车轮的辐条卡住了。 来自辞典例句
• The new edges are called the spokes of the wheel. 新的边称为轮的辐。 来自辞典例句

16 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

17 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

18 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

19 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句