VOA慢速英语20060610a

IN THE NEWS - Iraqis Get Full Cabinet; Forces Hunting Zarqawi Get Their ManBy Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: 2006骞?鏈?0鏃?

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.


Photo of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is shown at a news conference in Iraq

On Thursday, Iraqi and American officials announced the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq is blamed for hundreds of deaths in bombings there and his native Jordan. And officials say he personally cut off the heads of some Western hostages in Iraq.

American planes dropped two bombs on a house in northern Iraq on Wednesday evening. Each bomb weighed two hundred twenty-five kilograms. Officials say the airstrike also killed his spiritual adviser¹, Sheikh Abdul-Rahman, and four other people.

On Friday a top military official, Major General William Caldwell, provided more details about the operation:

When American troops joined Iraqi security forces at the house, Abu al-Zarqawi was badly wounded but still alive for a short time. He tried to move off a medical-aid stretcher and, just before he died, spoke² something that could not be understood.

The United States offered twenty-five million dollars to find him.

President Bush says special operation forces acted on information and intelligence from Iraqis. He called Abu al-Zarqawi the operational commander of the terrorist movement in Iraq. He described the death as a severe blow to al-Qaida and a victory in the global war on terror.

The president said it also represents a chance for Iraq's new government to, in his words, turn the tide of this struggle.

Hours after the killing³, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the final appointments to his cabinet. Parliament approved the nominations⁴ and the three new members immediately took office.

The appointments ended a long dispute among Iraq's religious groups about who should hold the positions. The new defense⁵ minister is a Sunni Arab. The interior minister and the minister of state for national security are Shiites.

These three men are seen as highly important to the government as it seeks to take control of security in Iraq within eighteen months.

President Bush meets with his top advisers⁶ on Monday to discuss, as he put it, the way forward in Iraq. They will meet at the presidential home at Camp David, Maryland. American diplomats⁷ and military commanders in Iraq will provide reports about recent political, economic and security changes.

On Tuesday, Iraq's new ambassador to the United States will join them. They will hold a teleconference with Iraq's prime minister and members of his cabinet.

Mister Maliki says anyone who looks to take Abu al-Zarqawi's place in trying to incite⁸ violence between Sunnis and Shiites will be killed. Still, no one expects his death to end the violence in Iraq. British Prime Minster Tony Blair warned of even more attacks by insurgents⁹, in answer to the killing.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach. Read and listen to our reports at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 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。

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 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

5 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。

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

9 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网