VOA慢速英语2015 也门寻求外界帮助对抗南下胡塞叛军

Yemen Asks for Help As Rebels Head South 也门寻求外界帮助对抗南下胡塞叛军

Soldiers loyal to Yemen’s president fought off Houthi rebels early Monday. Militia¹ and security officials said the rebels had been sent toward the southern city of Aden where President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi had taken refuge.

The majority of Yemenis are Sunni Muslims. The Houthis are Shi’ites, and get support from Iran. The rebels had agreed to share power with President Hadi after they seized the capital, Sana’a, last September.

Speaking from Aden, Yemen’s Foreign Minister Riyadh Yasin asked the Gulf² Cooperation Council for help with troops to control the Houthi’s expansion.

Meanwhile, the British government withdrew the last of its special forces from Yemen, according to Reuters. This came after the U.S. pulled out all remaining personnel over the weekend.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that the relocation was due to “the deteriorating³ security situation in Yemen.”

Afghan leaders want slower withdrawal⁴ of US forces

Afghanistan’s leaders are in the United States this week. Observers say they expect President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah to ask American officials to slow the withdrawal of U.S. forces from their country.

The Afghan leaders are to meet Tuesday with President Barack Obama and Vice⁶ President Joe Biden. The Obama administration has said extremists in Afghanistan are a threat to American interests.

On Wednesday, Mr. Ghani will speak to a joint⁷ meeting of the U.S. Congress.

Republican Senator Ted⁵ Cruz to run for president

Also in the United States, Texas Senator Ted Cruz has announced he is a candidate for president. Senator Cruz launched his campaign for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination⁸ early Monday. He made it official in a message and video on Twitter.

Mr. Cruz is 44 years old. He joined the Senate in 2013. Several other Republicans are expected to announce their candidacies in the next few weeks.

Okinawa governor stops work on new US military base

The governor of the Japanese island of Okinawa has ordered work suspended at the planned home of a new United States military base. Governor Takeshi Onaga said a concrete block thrown into the sea for testing had damaged a coral reef.

In Tokyo, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary told reporters that the work on the base cannot be suspended because officials in Okinawa already agreed to it.

Japan and the United States want to move the Futenma air base from a heavily populated area to the coast because of problems with noise, pollution and high crime.

Lee Kuan Yew⁹, former Prime Minister of Singapore, has died

Lee Kuan Yew, the founder¹⁰ of modern Singapore, died on Monday. He was 91 years old.

Mr. Lee led the country from 1959 to 1990. He was admitted to Singapore General Hospital in early February with severe pneumonia¹¹. He was later placed on life support equipment.

The government has declared a state of mourning until his funeral next Sunday.

Words in This Story

militia – n. an army of citizens instead of professional soldiers; an armed force or private army

control – v. to direct; to have power over

interest(s) – n. what is important to someone; a share in owning a business

campaign – n. competition by opposing political candidates seeking support from voters; a connected series of military actions during a war

1 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

4 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。

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 yew   

n.紫杉属树木

参考例句：

• The leaves of yew trees are poisonous to cattle.紫杉树叶会令牛中毒。
• All parts of the yew tree are poisonous,including the berries.紫杉的各个部分都有毒，包括浆果。

10 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

11 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。