VOA标准英语2010年-Obama Summons Top Officials on Securit

President Barack Obama (File)

U.S. President Barack Obama has summoned top U.S. intelligence and security officials to discuss security needs after last month's attempted bombing of a U.S. jetliner.

President Obama had meetings scheduled Monday at the White House with the Central Intelligence Agency, as well as with his top counterterrorism adviser¹, John Brennan.  Mr. Obama holds similar discussions with security officials Tuesday.

The president ordered an inter-agency review to determine how a young man with alleged² ties to al-Qaida was able to sneak³ explosives onto the Northwest Airlines flight.  The explosives did not detonate, and passengers subdued⁴ the Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Nigeria is protesting new security measures its citizens and those of 13 other countries now face on U.S.-bound flights, saying the policies amount to discrimination.  Nigerian Information Minister Dora Akunyili said Monday, "It is unfair to discriminate⁵ against more than 150 million people becaue of the behavior of one person."

On Sunday, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration issued new rules requiring people traveling from or through high-risk countries to go through tighter screening on flights headed for the U.S.  The countries include Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, which are listed by the State Department as state sponsors of terrorism.

Also subject to more stringent⁶ screening are travelers from Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.

Nigerian officials say Abdulmutallab, the son of a prominent Nigerian banker, appears to have received his terrorist training abroad.  The would-be bomber⁷ told U.S. investigators⁸ that he received training from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.

The U.S. also has revised its terror watch lists following the foiled attack on the U.S.-bound jet.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

4 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

5 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

6 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

7 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。

8 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》