VOA慢速英语2015 伊斯兰国家处死约旦飞行员后,约旦处死两名武装分子

 

Jordan Executes Two Militants² After IS Kills Jordanian Pilot 伊斯兰国家处死约旦飞行员后,约旦处死两名武装分子

Jordan executed two Iraqi prisoners Wednesday, in answer to the Islamic State group’s killing³ of a Jordanian hostage in Syria.

Jordanian officials hanged an Iraqi woman sentenced to death for her role in a 2005 suicide bombing in Amman. It also executed another Iraqi who had ties to al-Qaida.

Jordan’s King Abdullah has promised a “relentless⁴” war against Islamic State on the group’s own territory. 

The Islamic State group had demanded the Iraqi woman’s release as part of a prisoner exchange. Jordan said it had to first have proof that the Jordanian pilot was still alive.

A video appeared online Tuesday reportedly showing the pilot trapped inside a cage. A militant¹ lit gasoline on fire and burned him to death.

Jordanian officials said the execution took place a month ago.

Militants captured the pilot in Syria after his plane went down. He was serving in the U.S.-led coalition⁵ airstrikes against Islamic State targets. 

25 killed in plane crash near Taipei

A TransAsia passenger airplane crashed into the Keelung River near Taipei Wednesday. At least 25 people were killed. Others are missing.

Rescue workers in boats surrounded the plane and pulled out at least 15 passengers to safety, including a young child.

Video recordings⁶ of the crash showed the plane narrowly missing several tall buildings where people live. The plane did hit a taxi on a road. The driver received minor⁷ injuries.

A similar airplane crashed on the Taiwanese island of Penghu last July. Forty-eight people were killed.

Somalia says al-Shabab leader killed in drone strike      

Somalia says a U.S. drone strike on Saturday killed its target, al-Shabab commander Yusuf Dheeg.

The government said in a statement Wednesday that he died with other al-Shabab commanders in the southern town of Dinsor.

A source in the militant group confirmed Yusuf Dheeg's death to the VOA Somali Service. The Somali government says he was responsible for planning attacks inside and outside Somalia.

WHO reports a rise in Ebola cases in West Africa      

The number of reported Ebola cases has increased for the first time this year.

The World Health Organization says 124 new cases were reported in the week ending February 1. There were 80 new cases in Sierra Leone, 39 in Guinea and five in Liberia.

On Wednesday the WHO said there is an urgent need to end the outbreak before the rainy season begins. Rural areas are harder to reach during that period.

Since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak there have been almost 22,500 reported cases in the three countries, and nearly 9,000 deaths.

The number of new cases had gone down for several weeks, raising hopes the outbreak was ending.

Words in the News

execute – v. to kill (someone) especially as punishment for a crime

relentless – adj. remaining strict or determined⁸

cage – n. a box made of wire or metal bars

remote – adj. far away from other people, houses, cities, etc

transmission – n. the act or process by which something is spread or passed from one person or thing to another

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 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 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

5 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。

6 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

7 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。