奥巴马宣布改变人质政策

Obama Announces Changes to Hostage Policy 奥巴马宣布改变人质政策

President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced a reform of U.S. policies for dealing¹ with kidnappers². Mr. Obama said the U.S. will use “all instruments of national power” to recover Americans held by terrorists in other countries.

The president also said the government could and would “assist private efforts to communicate with hostage-takers.” 

The United States’ policy bars paying ransoms⁴. However, Mr. Obama said the government will no longer threaten legal action against families who choose to pay ransom³ to win their relatives' release. 

Obama reassures⁵ France after ‘unacceptable’ spying

U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the United States remains⁶ firm about ending spying tactics considered “unacceptable” by its allies.

Mr. Obama made the comment to French President Francois Hollande. On Tuesday, the website WikiLeaks released documents that it said show the U.S. National Security Agency spied on French presidents from 2006 to 2012.

Obama administration officials said the president told Mr. Hollande that the U.S. has and would continue to honor its 2013 promise not to “target the communications” of the French leader.

President Hollande held an emergency meeting of his ministers and army commanders after the release of the WikiLeaks documents. France is also sending a top intelligence official to Washington to confirm the spying is over, a government spokesman said.

Ukraine talks show little progress

Overnight talks about the Ukraine conflict ended late in Paris with little sign of progress.

Foreign ministers of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine restated their support for the cease-fire plan agreed to in February at meetings in Minsk, Belarus.

However, continued fighting between Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces may affect the deal.

The Minsk deal calls for a truce⁹ and heavy weapons withdrawal¹⁰. After, rebel-held areas are to get more autonomy and hold elections under Ukrainian law.

Boston marathon bomber¹¹ apologizes

Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev apologized in court Wednesday for his deadly attack on the 2013 Boston Marathon.

"I am sorry for the lives I have taken, for the suffering that I have caused you, for the damage I have done, irreparable damage," he said. The court in Boston, Massachusetts was holding a hearing to officially sentence the 21-year-old to death.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty of killing¹² three people and injuring 264 in the April 15, 2013, bombing at the Boston Marathon. He was also found guilty of killing a police officer three days later.

Earlier Wednesday, he listened as many bombing victims and their loved ones spoke⁸ to him about his “cowardly” and “disgusting” acts.

Words in the News

ransom – n. money that is paid in order to free someone who has been captured or kidnapped

tactic⁷ – n. an action or method that is planned and used to achieve a particular goal

irreparable – adj. too bad to be corrected or repaired

autonomy –n. the state of existing or acting¹³ separately from others

cowardly – adj. afraid in a way that makes you unable to do what is right or expected

disgusting – adj. so unpleasant to see, smell, taste, consider, etc., that you feel slightly sick

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

4 ransoms   

付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The kidnappers exacted ransoms for their hostages. 绑匪勒索人质的赎金。
• Hotel:Wealthy captives sleep at the hotel for an increase in their ransoms. 酒店：富有的俘虏们要住在酒店等待足够的赎金以回家。

5 reassures   

v.消除恐惧或疑虑，恢复信心( reassure的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A significant benefit of Undo is purely psychological: It reassures users. 撤销的一个很大好处纯粹是心理上的，它让用户宽心。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Direct eye contact reassures the person that you are confident and honest. 直接的目光接触让人相信你的自信和诚实。 来自口语例句

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

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。

9 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

10 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。

11 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

12 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。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。