VOA慢速英语20061230a

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Each year, the editors and news directors of the Associated Press choose what they believe are the top ten news stories of the year.


AP voted the Iraq War the top news story of the year

They chose the war in Iraq as the number one news story this year. Two thousand six was a difficult year in Iraq with increasing violence, clashes between religious groups, and many civilian¹ deaths. Thousands of Iraqis have been killed. Almost three thousand members of the American military have been killed since the war began in two thousand three. Iraq's elected officials struggled to keep control of the country.

The midterm elections in the United States November seventh was next on the list of the AP's top news stories for this year. Many Americans voted to express their unhappiness with the situation in Iraq.

The Democratic Party gained a majority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. As a result, Nancy Pelosi of California will become the first woman to serve as speaker of the House.

These were the other top stories of the year. The United States and its allies worked unsuccessfully to halt nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran. North Korea tested a nuclear weapon in October. And Iran moved forward with plans to bring its first nuclear center into operation by the end of next year.

In Washington, the United States Congress tried to deal with the problem of illegal immigration from Latin America. But deep divisions prevented Congress from approving legislation. Supporters of rights for immigrants held several demonstrations².

Also in Washington, several congressmen from the Republican Party were involved in cases of wrongdoing. One was former House majority leader Tom DeLay who resigned after being charged with campaign finance crimes. Another was former representative Mark Foley. He resigned after he was found to have sent sexual messages to male students working for Congress.

Another top story was former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein being found guilty of ordering the killing³ of one hundred forty eight Shi'ite Muslims. He was sentenced to death by hanging.

In the Middle East, Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia⁴ fought a month-long war during the summer. More than nine hundred people were killed. Much of southern Lebanon was severely⁵ damaged.

American Defense⁶ Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned one day after the nation's midterm elections. Robert Gates was approved as the new defense secretary.

In August, officials in Britain said they prevented a terrorist plot to bomb several passenger airplanes over the Atlantic Ocean. This led to new restrictions⁷ on what passengers can carry on planes.

And in Sudan, violence worsened in the country's Darfur area. Fighting between rebels and government forces has killed more than two hundred thousand people.

IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, was written by Brianna Blake. Our reports can be found on our Web site, www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 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。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 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。

7 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