VOA慢速英语2014 尼日利亚总统承诺找到被绑架女孩们

 

AS IT IS 2014-07-15 Nigerian President Promises Malala to Find Kidnapped Girls 尼日利亚总统承诺找到被绑架女孩们

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan met on Monday with Malala Yousafzai.  The young Pakistani activist¹ for women’s rights became famous around the world after the Taliban shot her as she travelled to school. Mr. Jonathan promised her that his government will rescue the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the militant² group Boko Haram three months ago. The meeting happened in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

Boko Haram recently released a video message criticizing activists³ who are calling for the return of the girls.

The kidnapping took place last April, in the Nigerian town of Chibok. Almost 300 schoolgirls were put into trucks by men in military clothing. When the men began burning the schoolhouse, the girls knew the men were not, as they had said, soldiers rescuing them from a planned attack.

More than 50 girls escaped that night, but more than 200 are still missing.

In Abuja, activists gather daily to demand the return of the girls.

“What are we demanding? Bring back our girls now and alive!  What are we demanding? Bring back our girls now and alive!”

They call their social media campaign “#BringBackOurGirls.”

Boko Haram says it is holding the girls and has threatened to sell them as “slaves.”

Malala Yousafzai spoke⁴ with reporters after her meeting with President Jonathan.

“The president fortunately promised that he will do something for these girls. And he promised me that the girls will be returned as soon as possible.”

Ms. Yousafzai was in Nigeria on her 17th birthday. She has become an activist for girls’ education. Two years ago, Taliban terrorists⁵ shot her in the head for her support of education for girls in Pakistan. The attack angered people around the world. Although she was seriously injured, the attack made Ms. Yousafzai famous.

Malala Yousafzai says she spoke to some of the schoolgirls who escaped. She says although they are free, they are still suffering.

“I spoke to him about those girls whom I met yesterday, and who were telling me they cannot go to school. They have dreams. They want to become doctors, engineers and teachers but the government is not providing them any facility. They also need health facilities. They also need security, but the government is not doing anything.”

Presidential spokesman⁶ Reuben Abati sat next to Ms. Yousafzai as she spoke to reporters. Mr. Abati defended the government’s education efforts.

He said the administration has spent more on education than any administration before it.  He added that Education is a main area of importance for President Jonathan. 

But Ms. Yousafzai says more than 10 million children in Nigeria do not have access to education. She called on the international community and the Nigerian government to give all children the opportunity to attend school.

But much of northeastern Nigeria has been under emergency rule for more than a year. Officials say there are not enough security forces to guard all of the schools. Hundreds of children have been killed in attacks on their schools as they slept.

Abubakar Shekau says he is the leader of Boko Haram. He speaks in a video that was recently released by the group. He smiles as he talks to the activists who are working to bring the girls back.

“Bring back our girls? Aww-oo. Bring back our army. Bring back our army.”

He is talking about his repeated demand for the release of members of Boko Haram being held by the government.  

Also in the video, Abubakar Shekau claims responsibility for bombings last month in the city of Lagos and in the Nigerian capital Abuja. And he threatens Muslim religious leaders who criticize militants⁷.

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 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》

4 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。

5 terrorists   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子( terrorist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The terrorists have halted their bloody campaign of violence. 恐怖分子已经停止了他们凶残的暴力活动。
• They were finally forced to capitulate to the terrorists' demands. 他们最后被迫屈从恐怖分子的要求。

6 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。