VOA慢速英语2015 布哈里称尼日利亚“拥护民主”

Buhari: Nigeria Has ‘Embraced Democracy’ 布哈里称尼日利亚“拥护民主”

Nigeria’s newly elected President Muhammadu Buhari said his country has “embraced democracy” with the first peaceful handover of power since the end of military rule in 1999.

Mr. Buhari spoke¹ Wednesday in Abuja, just hours after the electoral commission declared him the winner of Saturday’s election. He defeated President Goodluck Jonathan by more than two million votes.

President Jonathan called for peace, saying “the unity², stability and progress of our dear country is more important than anything else.”

Mr. Buhari added that his new government will “spare no effort” to defeat the insurgent³ Boko Haram.

Official: Iraq within hours of reclaiming⁴ Tikrit

Iraqi forces battling Islamic State militants⁶ for control of Tikrit are close to retaking the city. The militant⁵ group has controlled the city since last June.

A government official in Tikrit told VOA that he expects Iraqi forces to completely retake the city "within hours." He said the U.S.-led coalition⁷ airstrikes are still occurring in Tikrit.

The battle for Tikrit is an important step for Iraqi troops to move on the city of Mosul. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is in Tikrit, congratulated Iraqi forces on what he called a "historic milestone⁸."

CEOs of Germanwings and Lufthansa visit crash site

The chief executive of German airline Lufthansa says it will take a "long, long time" to find out exactly what led a co-pilot to crash a jetliner into the French Alps. The crash killed all 150 people aboard the flight.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr paid his respects to the victims Wednesday at the site of the Germanwings crash in southeastern France. Thomas Winkelmann, the chief executive of Germanwings, the budget airline owned by Lufthansa, joined him. The two men laid flowers at the crash site to honor the victims.

Mr. Spohr ignored many questions from reporters about why the airline allowed 27-year-old Andreas Lubitz to fly. The co-pilot reportedly told the airline in 2009 that he had had a “serious depressive episode.”

World’s ooldest person dies

The world's oldest person, a Japanese woman, died Wednesday. Misao Okawa was 117 years old. She died of heart failure at a nursing home in Osaka, Japan.

A 116-year-old American woman, Gertrude Weaver⁹ of Arkansas, is now the world's oldest person, according to the Gerontology Research Group. The Los Angeles-based group keeps records of the world’s oldest people. Ms. Weaver was born on July 4, 1898.

Words in the News

embrace – v. to accept (something or someone) readily or gladly

milestone – n. an important point in the progress or development of something

ignore – v. to refuse to show that you hear or see (something or someone)

episode – n. an occurrence of an illness

1 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。

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

4 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 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。

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 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。

8 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

9 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。