VOA常速英语2020--美国在尼日利亚营救美国公民

Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.

以下是一篇反映美国政府政策立场的社论。

U.S. Special Forces successfully rescued an American citizen held captive by a group of armed men in Nigeria recently, underscoring the United States’ commitment to protect its citizens worldwide. The operation freed a 27-year-old farmer, who was living with his family in the neighboring country of Niger. He was taken from his farm by kidnappers¹ demanding a ransom² from his father. The United States worked with the governments of both Nigeria and Niger to achieve the rescue quickly and without military casualties. “We appreciate the support of our international partners in conducting this operation,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement. “The United States will continue to protect our people and our interests anywhere in the world.”

美国特种部队最近在尼日利亚成功营救了一名被一群武装分子绑架的美国公民，这凸显了美国在全球范围内保护美国公民的决心。这次救援行动解救了一名27岁的农民，他与家人住在邻国尼日尔。绑匪将他从农场带走，并向他的父亲索要赎金。美国与尼日利亚和尼日尔两国政府共同努力，在没有军事人员伤亡的情况下迅速完成救援。美国五角大楼首席发言人乔纳森·霍夫曼在一份声明中说，“我们感谢国际合作伙伴为这次行动提供的支持”，“美国将继续在世界任何地方保护我们的人民和我们的利益。”

U.S. President Donald Trump³ lauded⁴ the servicemen and women involved in the operation in comments to reporters: “I want the thank the special forces … it was a tremendous event. .. It was something that had to get done because they were playing with American citizens. We can’t let that happen.” Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Chris Miller⁵ echoed the sentiment on Twitter, writing: “ This is a clear message to all criminal and terrorist related groups everywhere that the United States Government's reach is infinite and we will do everything within our great capabilities⁶ to bring our citizens home.” “The United States is committed to the safe return of all U.S. citizens taken captive,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement. “Thanks to the extraordinary courage and capabilities of our military, the support of our intelligence professionals, and our diplomatic efforts, the hostage will be reunited with his family. We will never abandon any American taken hostage.”

美国总统特朗普对记者称赞了参加本次行动的军人。“我想要感谢特种部队……这是一件了不起的事……这是必须做的事，因为他们是在招惹美国公民。我们不能让这种事发生。”国家反恐中心主任克里斯·米勒在推文中也赞扬了本次行动。他在推文中写道：“这是向各地的所有犯罪和恐怖分子相关组织发出的明确信息，即美国政府的行动范围是无限的，而且我们将尽我们所能将我们的公民带回家。”美国国务卿蓬佩奥在一份声明中说，“美国致力于让所有被俘的美国公民安全返回。由于我们军方非凡的勇气和能力，以及我们情报专家的支持和我们的外交努力，这名人质将与家人团聚。我们决不会放弃任何被绑架的美国人质。”

That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.

这是一篇反映美国政府政策立场的社论。

1 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》

2 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。

3 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。

4 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

5 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓