VOA慢速英语 2008 0503

IN THE NEWS - Terrorism Deaths Rose in 2007, Including a Big Jump in Pakistan
The U.S. State Department says the number of attacks worldwide was roughly unchanged from 2006. Also, the latest findings about press freedoms around the world. Transcript¹ of radio broadcast:
02 May 2008

 

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

Saturday is World Press Freedom Day, a good time to talk about two new reports on press freedoms around the world. But first we look at another report that was in the news this week.

The American State Department released its yearly Country Reports on Terrorism. The National Counterterrorism Center reported more than fourteen thousand attacks around the world last year.

The number was about the same as the year before. But deaths increased almost nine percent, to more than twenty-two thousand last year.

The report said well over fifty percent of those killed or injured were Muslims, and most were victims of attacks in Iraq.

In Iraq, the number of attacks fell but the number of people killed, injured or kidnapped increased. In Afghanistan, both numbers were higher.
　

A wounded man is helped after a suicide bombing last year in Mingora, in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. Police said 19 people were killed.

The report says attacks in Pakistan more than doubled last year as militancy³ and extremism spread. More than one thousand three hundred people were killed -- an increase of almost three hundred percent.

Internationally, there was a twenty-two percent increase in attacks on schools.

The report says al-Qaida and its allies remain the greatest terrorist threat to the United States and its partners. Many al-Qaida members have been captured or killed. But the report says the group has rebuilt some of its capabilities⁴ while operating in Pakistani tribal⁵ areas.

And it says al-Qaida leaders continued to plot attacks and build stronger connections with groups in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Osama bin² Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is described now as the "strategic and operational planner" for the group.

The State Department said Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism. It says Iran provides aid to Palestinian terrorist groups, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraq-based militants⁶ and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

The American list of countries declared state sponsors of terrorism remained at five: Iran, Syria, North Korea, Sudan and Cuba. But the report says Sudan continued to take steps to cooperate in the war on terrorism. And North Korea might soon leave the list. Officials say the country is not known to have supported any terrorist acts since nineteen eighty-seven.

But a separate report this week said North Korea has the world's most repressive media environment. The Freedom House organization says forty-two percent of all people in the world live without basic freedom of the media. It says freedoms decreased for the sixth straight year.

Another report, from the Committee to Protect Journalists, rated countries on efforts to find the killers⁷ of journalists. Over a nine-year period, governments in South Asia had the worst records in solving cases. The report says the countries included Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

4 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 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。

7 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。