VOA常速英语20212--智利推迟对同性婚姻法案的投票

Burkina Faso's government said Tuesday it had killed dozens of so-called "terrorists" and arrested hundreds of suspects in joint¹ operations along its borders with neighboring Ivory Coast and Ghana last week.

布基纳法索政府星期二说，在上周与邻国科特迪瓦和加纳边境的联合行动中，已击毙数十名所谓的“恐怖分子”，并逮捕了数百名嫌疑人。

The country's security minister says from November 21 to 27, a total of almost 6,000 soldiers from four countries were deployed² against jihadists.

该国安全部长表示，从11月21日到27日，总共部署了来自四个国家的近6000名士兵以对抗圣战分子。

In Burkina itself, the minister says, five so-called terrorist bases were destroyed and, quote, "around 30 terrorists neutralized³ in clashes" near the border with Ivory Coast.

这位部长说，在布基纳法索，5个所谓的恐怖分子基地被摧毁，“大约30名恐怖分子在其与科特迪瓦边境附近的冲突中被击毙”。

Jihadist attacks have grown increasingly regular and deadly in Burkina Faso since 2015.

自2015年以来，布基纳法索的圣战袭击变得越来越频繁，也越来越致命。

At least nine officers and around 10 civilians⁴ were killed November 21 in an attack blamed on jihadists.

11月21日，至少9名军官和大约10名平民在一场被归咎于圣战分子的袭击中丧生。

A week before, at least 57 people, 53 of them in the military, were killed in an attack on a police post in the West African country's north.

一周前，至少57人在西非国家北部的一个警察哨所遇袭身亡，其中53人是军方人员。

And Chile's parliament on Tuesday postponed⁵ a vote on a long-awaited bill to legalize same-sex marriage and shelved another to decriminalize abortion⁶.

智利议会周二推迟了对期待已久的同性婚姻合法化法案的投票，并搁置了另一项使堕胎合法化的法案。

In a frustrating⁷ day for activists⁸, the bill on gay marriage was sent back to legislators to iron out disagreements on the day many had hoped it would finally be passed.

对于活动人士来说，这是令人沮丧的一天，就在许多人期望法案获得通过的这天，关于同性婚姻的法案被发回立法者以解决一些分歧。

And in a separate process, a bill that would allow elective abortion within 14 weeks of pregnancy⁹ was put on hold pending¹⁰ a further reworking of the text -- effectively archiving it for a year.

在另一个单独的程序中，一项允许在怀孕14周内进行选择性堕胎的法案被搁置，等待进一步修改文本——实际上是将其存档一年。

Once adopted, the marriage law will see Chile join only a handful of countries in majority Catholic Latin America where same-sex couples can legally tie the knot -- after Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina and also in 14 of Mexico's 32 states.

一旦同性婚姻法通过，智利将成为继哥斯达黎加、厄瓜多尔、哥伦比亚、巴西、乌拉圭和阿根廷以及墨西哥32个州中的14个之后，少数几个允许同性伴侣合法结婚的拉美天主教国家之一。

In Latin America abortion is legal only in Uruguay, Cuba, Argentina since January and Guyana as well as in Mexico City and three Mexican states.

在拉丁美洲，堕胎只在乌拉圭、古巴、阿根廷、圭亚那以及墨西哥城和墨西哥的三个州是合法的。

It's banned in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

萨尔瓦多、洪都拉斯、尼加拉瓜、多米尼加共和国和海地禁止堕胎。

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 neutralized   

v.使失效( neutralize的过去式和过去分词 )；抵消；中和；使（一个国家）中立化

参考例句：

• Acidity in soil can be neutralized by spreading lime on it. 土壤的酸性可以通过在它上面撒石灰来中和。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This strategy effectively neutralized what the Conservatives had hoped would be a vote-winner. 这一策略有效地冲淡了保守党希望在选举中获胜的心态。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

6 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

7 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

10 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。