VOA慢速英语 塔利班武装分子袭击阿富汗议会

Taliban Gunmen Attack Afghan Parliament 塔利班武装分子袭击阿富汗议会

Heavily armed Taliban militants¹ attacked Afghanistan’s parliament building Monday as lawmakers met inside. The attack began with a powerful explosion at the main entrance. Other explosions sent smoke rising from the building in Kabul.

An Afghan Interior Ministry² official says seven Taliban gunmen took part in the attack. The gunmen reportedly wore explosives around their bodies. The official said security forces killed all of the attackers. He said no lawmakers were hurt. However, Afghan officials said at least 30 people were hurt.

A Taliban statement claimed responsibility for what it called a suicide mission.

The United States embassy in Kabul strongly condemned³ the attack. An embassy statement said, “The attack on Parliament shows blatant⁴ disrespect for democracy and the rule of law.”

European Union extends economic actions against Russia

European Union foreign ministers officially agreed Monday to extend economic sanctions against Russia for an additional six months. The sanctions are meant to punish Russia for its involvement in the conflict with Ukraine.

The agreement came during a meeting of the EU’s foreign ministers in Luxembourg. EU representatives had expressed support for the measure last week.

The economic sanctions target Russia’s energy, defense⁵ and financial industries. They have been in place since July 2014 -- four months after Russia took control of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

US: No desire for conflict with Russia

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Monday that economic sanctions are having an effect in answering Russian “aggression” in Ukraine. He also said there is neither a desire for a return to Cold War tensions nor for a new conflict with Russia.

Secretary Carter spoke⁶ at a conference in Berlin, where he met with Germany’s defense minister. He added that while the West is not looking to be enemies with Russia, it will defend itself if necessary.

The U.S. official will travel Tuesday to Estonia for meetings with the defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All three countries were once under the influence of the government in Moscow and the Soviet⁷ Union.

Historic US church reopens after mass shooting

A historic church in South Carolina reopened on Sunday for its first religious service since a white gunman attacked a Bible study group last week.

A visiting clergyman, the Reverend Norval Goff, took the place of the leader of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the city of Charleston. Clementa Pinckney was among the nine people killed on Wednesday in what police are investigating as a hate crime.

The Reverend Goff urged the crowd to depend on God as they mourn the victims.

Visitors from Charleston and as far away as California filled the religious center. Churches across Charleston rang their bells at the same time as a show of support before prayer gatherings⁸ in the city.

Words in the News:

mission – n. an operation; being sent out to perform a special service

blatant – adj. disagreeable or problematic

sanctions – n. measures or actions designed to punish something

Cold War – n. – relating to the period when the United States competed against the Soviet Union

church– n. a Christian religious center

1 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。

2 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。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 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。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。