VOA慢速英语20060430a

WORLD NEWS - 00:30 UTC, April 30, 2006By Voice of America

Broadcast: Sunday, April 30, 2006

鎰熻阿Spag Bolo鎻愪緵鐨勭簿鍑嗗箍鎾?惉鍐欑?!

And we come now to zero hours thirty Universal Time. In the news in this hour:

Major Iraqi parliamentary groups are to meet on Sunday for talks about forming a new government. Party leaders in Baghdad said no decision has been made about who will hold the cabinet positions of Interior and Defense¹ Ministers. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is to offer his choices for cabinet positions to the parliament by May 21st. The Bush Administration wants Iraqi leaders to form a national unity² government soon. American officials believe a government would help stop violence led by Sunni Arabs. They also say a government would help prepare for the withdrawal³ of United States troops from Iraq.

Thousands of anti-war protesters have marched in New York City to call for an end to American military involvement in Iraq. The demonstrators gathered in Manhattan on Saturday. Speakers included civil rights activist⁴ Jesse Jackson, actress Susan Sarandon, and anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. The Sheehan's son Kathy was killed in Iraq in 2004.

Iran has rejected an appeal by Russia to stop enriching uranium. Russia's top diplomat⁵ telephoned the top Iranian diplomat on Saturday to urge Iran to take steps to rebuild international trust. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also urged Iran to fully⁶ answer questions about its nuclear program. In Tehran, an Iranian energy official offered to permit unexpected inspections⁷ if the UN Security Council eases its position on Iran. On Friday, the United States and several other nations said they would seek a Security Council resolution next week. The resolution would give legal force to Security Council demands that Iran stop enriching uranium.

The Pakistani military has dismissed a called from al-Qaeda's second highest official to disobey President Pervez Musharraf. Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said the Pakistan military fully supports the president. In a video recorded massage⁹ on Saturday, al-Qaeda official Ayman al-Zawahri called on the Pakistani military to help fight the government of President Pervez Musharraf. He said every soldier should disobey orders to kill Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Jordan and Egypt say they hope to get the new Israeli government to restart peace talks and negotiations¹⁰ with the Palestinians. The Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers commented to reporters in the Jordanian town of Aquaba on Saturday. They spoke⁸ after a meeting between Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The ministers said their leaders hope to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

You are listening to the news in VOA Special English.

Maoist rebels in Nepal have freed 8 soldiers kidnapped on Thursday. The 8 were released on Saturday about 500km east of Katmandu. It is not known what has happed¹¹ to 3 other soldiers taken hostage. The Maoist rebels declared a 3-month truce¹² on Thursday. Officials said some of the rebels might not have known about the ceasefire. The officials said the rebels have limited communications. The ceasefire declaration came after Nepal's Prime Minister said a new constitution would be written. The prime minister also said he would call elections for a constitutional legislature.

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he will resign next week. The announcement ends an election dispute that has lasted for 3 weeks. The prime minister said he will hold his last cabinet meeting on Tuesday then resign. A coalition¹³ led by Romano Prodi won an extremely close national election earlier this month. Mr. Berlusconi said he would resign after Mr. Prodi's coalition won leadership positions in both houses of the Italian parliament.

In Kyrgyzstan, thousands of opposition¹⁴ demonstrators marched in the capital Bishkek on Saturday, the crowd demanded reforms from president Kurmanbek Bakiev. They criticized him for failing to do enough to fight wrongdoing in the government. Mr. Bakia told the demonstrators that changes take time. Mr. Bakiev was elected president last July; he campaigned on guarantees to reform the government and to limit presidential power.

Somali officials say the country is moving toward establishing local governing bodies. The plan is an effort to begin restoring governmental control to the nation. The officials say the plan calls for local leaders to elect area representatives called Commissioners¹⁵. Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Ghedi said in Baidoa that this would create a way for the government to communicate with citizens at the local level.

And the yearly Jazz and Heritage festival has started in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the first major series of musical events in the city since Hurricane Katrina struck last August. Thousands of people are listening to both local and national performers. The artists include Bruce Springsteen, the Dave Matthews Band, and Bob Dylan. The festival continues until May 7th.

And so briefly¹⁶ now here again is the major news of this hour. Major Iraqi parliamentary groups are to meet on Sunday for talks about forming a new government. Iran has rejected an appeal by Russia to stop enriching uranium. And Maoist revels¹⁷ in Nepal have freed 8 soldiers they kidnapped on Thursday. So ends the news in VOA Special English.

1 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。

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 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。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 massage   

n.按摩，揉；vt.按摩，揉，美化，奉承，篡改数据

参考例句：

• He is really quite skilled in doing massage.他的按摩技术确实不错。
• Massage helps relieve the tension in one's muscles.按摩可使僵硬的肌肉松弛。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 happed   

v.偶然发生( hap的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I remember quite clearly nom when the story happed. 我仍清楚地记得故事发生的时候。 来自互联网
• Dont cry berause it over, smile because it happed. 不要因为完结而哭泣，要为曾经发生面微笑。 来自互联网

12 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

13 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

14 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

15 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

16 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。

17 revels   

n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉

参考例句：

• Christmas revels with feasting and dancing were common in England. 圣诞节的狂欢歌舞在英国是很常见的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dickens openly revels in the book's rich physical detail and high-hearted conflict. 狄更斯对该书中丰富多彩的具体细节描写和勇敢的争斗公开表示欣赏。 来自辞典例句