VOA慢速英语 2008 0223

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

 
 
One of the world's longest serving leaders announced this week that he is leaving office after just short of fifty eventful years. Fidel Castro of Cuba is eighty-one years old and in poor health. He named his brother Raul as acting¹ president in two thousand six.

In a letter published Tuesday, Fidel Castro said he was not saying goodbye to the Cuban people. His only wish, he said, is to "fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas."

On Sunday the Cuban National Assembly is expected to name seventy-six-year-old Raul Castro as president. The two brothers appear to share very similar ideas about governing the communist-ruled island. Fidel Castro will apparently² remain a member of Parliament and is widely expected to still have strong influence.

He came to power as a socialist³ revolutionary in nineteen fifty-nine. He overthrew⁴ the pro-American Fulgencio Batista, who himself had seized power. Fidel Castro soon won the support of the Soviet⁵ Union at the height of its cold war tensions with the United States.

In nineteen sixty-one, a force of Cuban exiles trained by the American Central Intelligence Agency launched an invasion of the island. The Cuban government learned of the plan. Within days its troops defeated what became known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. The failure was a public relations disaster for the United States and its president, John F. Kennedy.

In February of nineteen sixty-two Kennedy used power approved by Congress to ban all trade with Cuba. The embargo⁶ of goods except food and medicine is still in effect.

In October of nineteen sixty-two, the United States found that the Soviets⁷ had missiles in Cuba. Cuba is one hundred forty-five kilometers from the Florida coast. President Kennedy warned of the risk of a nuclear strike on the United States. He ordered a naval⁸ blockade which soon forced the Soviets to remove the missiles.

 
With Hugo Chavez
But the Soviets remained Cuba’s top ally and trade partner for thirty years. The Cuban economy suffered after the Soviet Union collapsed⁹ in nineteen ninety-one. But in recent years the economy has improved. Venezuela, led by socialist President Hugo Chavez, has become an important ally.

Supporters of Fidel Castro praised a leader who provided free health care and education in Cuba. But others condemned¹⁰ a dictator with a repressive government that spread communist revolution in Latin America and Africa.

Cuba has one legal political party, the Communist Party. The media rights group Reporters Without Borders rates Cuba as the fifth worst nation for press freedoms. Human rights groups say Cuba's eleven million citizens are denied privacy, free speech and fair legal process.

The Bush administration says it has no plans to end economic restrictions¹¹ against Cuba without changes like free elections. President Bush says he hopes the end of Fidel Castro’s rule can be the beginning of peaceful reform.

And that’s IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Caty Weaver¹². I'm Bob Doughty¹³.

 

1 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。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

4 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

7 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

8 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

9 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

10 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。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

13 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。