VOA慢速英语2015 Suspect Arrested in South Carolina Church Killings

Suspect Arrested in South Carolina Church Killings²

Police in the U.S. arrested a man Thursday in connection with a mass shooting in South Carolina Wednesday. Twenty-one year old Dylann Storm Roof is suspected of killing¹ nine people at an African-American church in the city of Charleston. Federal investigators³ say they will pursue hate crimes charges against the suspect.

Investigators say the suspect walked into the church during a weekly prayer meeting. He sat with the churchgoers for about an hour before he started shooting.

In a televised speech on Thursday, President Barack Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, personally know several members of the church, including the pastor⁴ who was murdered.

U.S. House of Representatives revive Obama trade deal

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to give President Barack Obama fast-track power to complete a trade agreement with 11 Pacific Ocean countries.

The vote means Congress can accept or reject the final agreement but cannot make changes to it.

Democratic lawmakers had widely opposed the bill. They argued it would give U.S. businesses more power to move jobs overseas to cut labor⁵ costs.

South Korea reports three more MERS deaths; Thailand confirms first MERS patient

The number of deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome⁶ in South Korea has risen to 23, officials said Thursday. South Korea's health ministry⁷ said it has also confirmed three more cases of MERS. The total number of known infections is now 165.

Thailand reported its first case of MERS. Thailand’s public health minister spoke⁸ to reporters in Bangkok. He said a heart patient from Oman is infected.

Words in the News

pursue – v. to try to get or do (something) over a period of time

pastor – n. a minister or priest in charge of a church or parish

fast-track – adj. producing a desired result quickly

1 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。

2 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 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。