VOA慢速英语2014 奥巴马会见昂山素季

 

Obama Meets with Aung San Suu Kyi 奥巴马会见昂山素季

President Barack Obama met Friday with Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, also known as Burma. After the meeting, the Nobel Peace Prize winner told reporters her country’s democracy process has slowed. And she said its constitution is “unfair, unjust, and undemocratic.” The constitution bars anyone with strong ties to a citizen of another country from being a candidate for president. Aung San Suu Kyi’s sons are British citizens, as was her husband.

President Obama met on Thursday with Myanmar’s President, Thein Sein. Mr. Obama went to Myanmar for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He is also attending the East Asia Summit. That group includes the 10 nations of ASEAN plus the United States, China, Russia and India.

Iraqi forces re-capture Beiji from Islamic State militants²

Iraqi officials say government troops have forced Islamic State militants from the town of Beiji, north of Baghdad. The militants had captured Beiji and its oil processing center during their offensive across northern and western Iraq earlier this year.

Israel opens Temple Mount for Muslims

Israel is permitting Muslims of all ages to attend religious services Friday at the Temple Mount. That is the holy place in Jerusalem that Muslims call the al-Aqsa mosque³.

Israel had recently restricted attendance at the mosque to women and men 35 years of age and older. Israeli officials were worried that younger Muslims would incite⁴ violence.

The decision to lift the age restrictions⁵ was announced after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met separately with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders.

Afghan president visits Pakistan

Afghanistan’s new president is in Pakistan for his first visit to the country since taking office. Pakistan state television reported that Ashraf Ghani went to Pakistani army headquarters in Rawalpindi on Friday.

VOA’s correspondent in Islamabad says Mr. Ghani will meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Saturday. The two men are expected to talk about reports that Pakistan’s military supports the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Words in The News

constitution – n. a document that describes the system of beliefs and laws by which a country, state, or organization is governed

unjust – adj. not fair or deserved; not just

militant¹ – n. someone active in trying to cause political change, often by the use of force or violence

offensive – n. a large military attack

holy – adj. connected to a god or a religion

incite – v. to cause (someone) to act in an angry, harmful, or violent way

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

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 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

4 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。

5 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