特朗普或采取行动应对叙利亚疑似化学武器袭击

Trump¹ Considering Action to Answer Suspected Chemical Attack in Syria

President Donald Trump has condemned² the most recent suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria. Trump said he would make "major decisions" within 24 to 48 hours about how the United States would react.

The president told his cabinet that the U.S. would learn who was responsible for the attack, whether it was Syria, Russia, Iran or "all of them together."

"We're looking at that very strongly, very seriously," he said.

At least 40 people were reported killed in the suspected attack Saturday. It happened in a rebel-held area near Damascus.

Russia said there is no evidence Syria carried out such an attack.

Earlier Monday, U.S. Defense⁴ Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States is not ruling out military action against Syria.

Mattis spoke⁵ to reporters Monday during a meeting with Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin³ Hamad al-Thani at the Defense Department’s headquarters, near Washington.

Mattis said that the U.S. is “working with our allies and partners from NATO to Qatar and elsewhere, we are going to address this issue." He said the U.S. and its allies want to know why chemical weapons use continues after Russia guaranteed the removal of all such weapons from Syria.

Syria’s government has denied using chemical weapons throughout the Syrian conflict, which began in 2011.

Sunday night, the Trump administration reported about a telephone call between the president and French President Emmanuel Macron. It said the two leaders strongly condemned chemical attacks in Syria. They reportedly agreed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government "must be held accountable for its continued human rights abuses."

The U.S. president has blamed the Syrian leader for the attack. On Sunday, Trump also criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin. He wrote on Twitter that "President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible" for their support of, in his words, "Animal Assad."

Also, Syria and Russia say two Israeli military airplanes carried out an attack Monday morning on an air base in central Syria. They said the planes were operating in Lebanese air space.

Israel's military did not comment on the report.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory⁶ for Human Rights said the attack killed 14 people, including Iranian forces.

On Saturday, medical emergency crews said they found families suffocated⁸ in their homes and shelters near Damascus. They said the victims had foam⁹ on their mouths. Workers said more than 500 people, mostly women and children, were brought to medical centers. They all had difficulty breathing, foaming¹⁰ at the mouth and burning eyes.

The Civil Defense and Syrian American Medical Society said the patients gave off a chlorine-like smell. It noted¹¹ that some had blue skin – evidence of a lack of oxygen.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

address – v. to communicate directly; to speak of

accountable – adj. required to explain actions or decisions

suffocate⁷ – v. to die from being unable to breathe; to die from a lack of oxygen

foam – n. a soft material made from many products; a thick liquid that is made of many small bubbles

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 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。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 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。

5 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。

6 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

7 suffocate   

vt.使窒息，使缺氧，阻碍；vi.窒息，窒息而亡，阻碍发展

参考例句：

• If you shut all the windows,I will suffocate.如果你把窗户全部关起来，我就会闷死。
• The stale air made us suffocate.浑浊的空气使我们感到窒息。

8 suffocated   

（使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气

参考例句：

• Many dogs have suffocated in hot cars. 许多狗在热烘烘的汽车里给闷死了。
• I nearly suffocated when the pipe of my breathing apparatus came adrift. 呼吸器上的管子脱落时，我差点给憋死。

9 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

10 foaming   

adj.布满泡沫的；发泡

参考例句：

• He looked like a madman, foaming at the mouth. 他口吐白沫，看上去像个疯子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is foaming at the mouth about the committee's decision. 他正为委员会的决定大发其火。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。