VOA慢速英语2015--美国政府称打击IS联军已消灭10000名武装分子

U.S. Official: 10,000 Militants¹ Killed During Anti-IS Campaign 美国政府称打击IS联军已消灭10000名武装分子

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the military campaign to stop the Islamic State group has killed more than 10,000 of its fighters in less than a year.

His comments to France's Inter² radio came a day after he and officials from other coalition³ partners met in Paris with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to discuss their strategy to fight the Islamic State group.

The U.S. began leading a campaign of airstrikes against Islamic State targets last August in support of Iraqi ground troops.

Gunmen Kill 2 Egyptian police officers near pyramids

Gunmen on a motorbike shot and killed two policemen Wednesday, near Egypt's famous pyramids. The attack came a day after a hearing to confirm death sentences against top Muslim Brotherhood⁴ leaders was postponed⁶ by a Cairo court.

The shooting took place during the daytime in an area full of activity, near Egypt's grand pyramids in Giza. Witnesses said three gunmen opened fire on members of Egypt's tourist police, killing⁷ one instantly. A second officer died at a local hospital. The gunmen fled on their motorbike.

South Korea: Test shows missile can hit ‘any target’ in North Korea.

South Korea said it has tested a ballistic missile capable of hitting any target in North Korea,   in what is seen as a response to recent military aggression⁸ by Pyongyang.

Seoul defense⁹ officials said President Park Geun-hye watched over the successful launch Wednesday in the southern part of South Korea. The missile has a range of 500 kilometers and can hit anywhere in North Korea. Officials also say the technology will be deployed¹⁰ by the end of the year.

Harvard gets $400 million, biggest gift ever

America's Harvard University said Wednesday it has received its biggest gift ever - $400 million from Wall Street hedge fund billionaire John Paulson.

The university said the money would support its School of Engineering and Applied¹¹ Sciences, which is being renamed for the 59-year-old donor¹², a 1980 Harvard Business School graduate.

John Paulson's fortune is estimated at more than $11 billion.

Words in the News:

coalition – n. a group of people, groups, or countries who have joined together for a common purpose

postpone⁵ – v. to decide that something which had been planned for a particular time will be done at a later time instead

ballistic missile – n.  a weapon that is shot through the sky over a great distance and then falls to the ground and explodes

hedge fund – n. a group of investors who take financial risks together in order to try to earn a lot of money

1 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。

2 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

5 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

6 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。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 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。

11 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

12 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。