VOA常速英语2021--寒潮袭击,美国德州进入重大灾难状态

This is VOA news. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd. Saturday was believed to be the worst single day of violence in Myanmar since a military coup¹ on February 1, with at least two protesters reportedly killed and many others wounded. Reuters Matthew Larotonda reports. At least two people have been killed in Myanmar in the city of Mandalay in what is believed to be the single bloodiest² day of protests against the military coup that happened almost three weeks ago. A local volunteer emergency service reported the deaths on Saturday. The ongoing³ demonstrations⁴ have hit several cities but in Mandalay, the situation escalated⁵ when security forces were confronted by shipyard workers who had gone strike with other protesters. Some of them fired catapults at police in a cat-and-mouse game through the city streets. Police responded with tear gas and gunfire. Witnesses say they found both rubber bullets and live ammunition⁶ on the ground. In addition to the dead, at least 22 people are reportedly injured. That's Reuters Matthew Larotonda.

欢迎收听美国之音新闻。我是大卫·伯德，为您远程报道。据信，星期六是缅甸自2月1日军事政变以来暴力事件最严重的一天。据报道，至少两名抗议者死亡，多名抗议者受伤。请听路透社记者马修·拉罗通达带来报道。在缅甸曼德勒市的抗议活动中，至少有两人被杀害，据信，这是近三周前发生的针对军事政变的抗议活动以来最血腥的一天。当地一个志愿急救服务机构在周六报告了死亡情况。缅甸多个城市都在举行示威活动，但曼德勒的示威局势升级，当地的造船厂工人与其他抗议者一起罢工来对抗安全部队。其中一些抗议者在曼德勒街道上玩起了猫捉老鼠的游戏，他们用弹弓袭击警察。警方以催泪瓦斯和枪声回击抗议者。目击者表示，他们在地上发现了橡皮子弹和实弹。据报道，除死亡外，还有至少22人受伤。我是路透社记者马修·拉罗通达。

President Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in the state of Texas after freezing weather led to power outages, burst pipes and deaths. The designation will free federal resources to help. The White House said Saturday the president has asked federal agencies to identify additional resources to help alleviate⁷ the suffering in the southern state. Biden has been monitoring the situation in the South and had declared states of emergency in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. At least 69 people have died across the country because of the weather, which featured a blast of unseasonably cold air that reached almost to the Gulf⁸ of Mexico. You can find more on our website voanews.com. This is VOA news.

美国总统拜登宣布，得克萨斯州发生重大灾难，起因是严寒天气引发了断电、管道爆裂和死亡。此项声明将释放联邦资金来提供帮助。白宫星期六表示，总统已经要求联邦机构确定追加资金，以帮助减轻南部各州遭受的苦难。拜登一直在关注南部的局势，并宣布德克萨斯州、俄克拉荷马州和路易斯安那州进入紧急状态。由于天气原因，全国至少有69人死亡，这股反常的冷空气几乎到达墨西哥湾。您可以通过我们的网站voanews.com获取更多新闻。欢迎收听美国之音新闻。

1 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

2 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

6 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

7 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。