VOA慢速英语--奥巴马:这是我最严重的错误

AS IT IS 2016-04-13 Obama: My Worst Mistake 奥巴马:这是我最严重的错误

Ousting¹ Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi without a strategy for what followed was his worst mistake, says President Barack Obama.

In 2011, NATO-led forces ousted² the Libyan dictator. After that, Libya fell into chaos³ and turmoil⁴.

Obama said his administration failed “to plan for the day after” Gadhafi was ousted. However, he said, taking action in Libya to protect civilians⁵ from Gadhafi’s forces was “the right thing to do.”

Gadhafi was captured and killed months after the United States and European nations began air attacks. The country was left in chaos. Militias⁶ took control, and two competing parliaments and governments were formed.

Libya became a place migrants used to get to Europe. This helped worsen Europe’s immigration crisis.

A unity⁷ government supported by the United Nations is in the capital Tripoli. But neither of the country’s two competing parliaments has announced support for a peace agreement.

Obama said Libya is now a “mess.”

On Monday, Obama’s spokesman Josh Earnest noted⁸ that in a speech in September 2015 to the U.N. General Assembly, Obama said “our coalition⁹ could have and should have done more to fill a vacuum left behind.”

Earnest said the president believes the United States and other nations have not given Libya the help it needs to become stable.

The president asks “about what situation will prevail and what sort of commitments from the international community will be required after” military action has been ordered by the president, Earnest told reporters.

Obama said his greatest accomplishment¹⁰ during his more than seven years in office was saving the economy from collapsing¹¹.

The 2008 and 2009 economic recession was the worst in the United States since the 1930s. Millions of people lost their jobs and were unable to pay their home loans. Since then, the economy has improved, and the jobless rate is much lower.

Obama said the best day of his presidency¹² was in 2010, when Congress approved national health care reforms that came to be called Obamacare. The program has given health insurance to millions of people who did not have it.

Obama said the worst day of his presidency was in late 2012, when he visited the small town of Newtown, Connecticut, two days after a gunman killed 20 students and six teachers at an elementary school.

Obama leaves office in January.

Words in This Story

chaos – adj. complete confusion and disorder¹³; a state in which behavior and events are not controlled by anything

vacuum – n. a situation created when an important person or thing has gone and has not been replaced

accomplishment – n. something done or achieved successfully

1 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

4 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

5 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。

6 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 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。

10 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

11 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

12 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

13 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。