CNN 2011-12-12

 Bet I will. Thanks to our friends out at Joplin Missouri for getting things started today, during next ten minutes we’re gonna talk about Parliamentary politics and technology challenge, we’re starting with Europe’s economy. It’s in the middle of crisis, because several countries in the European Union have massive debts. This problem affects a lot more nations than just the one that’s struggling with money. 17 countries all use the same currency, the euro. If any of them take a big hit economically all of them could be affected¹, that’s why European leaders are meeting in Belgium today and in tomorrow, they’re working on new financial rules that will force countries manage their budgets better. U.S. Treasury² Secretary Timothy Geithner is there too, he said the U.S. trusts Europe’s ability to resolve the debt crisis. But some analysts³ say the fact that Secretary Geithner is there shows how concerned the U.S. is about what’s happening in Europe, because if the crisis doesn’t get resolved it could get more problems for America’s economy as well. 

Next up, some people are asking new parliamentary election in Russia. That’s because they worried the ones that were held this past Sunday were unfair. Protesters had hit the streets speak out about this. Several hundred people have been arrested, the protesters are angry about the election results and a lot of their anger is directed at the man at the right of your screen here, that’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, he was president of Russia for eight years, and he’s the leader of the political party that has the majority in Russia’s Parliament. In Sunday’s vote that party won fewer seats than it used to have, but it still won enough to control Parliament, Putin has promised to make changes in the government.

See if you can ID me? I’m an island nation that’s home to around eleven million people. I’m the one of the only Communist countries in the world. I’m located about hundred miles away from the United States and my capital is Havana. I’m Cuba, the U.S. has headman embargo⁴ in placed against the country for decades.

That embargo restricts Americans or U.S. companies from doing business with Cuba, or traveling to the island nation. The goal of embargo is to enforce the Communist government to move toward democracy, earlier in this year President Obama loosen some of those traveler’s restrictions⁵ to try to help the Cuban people. Yesterday the first // flight took off from Atlanta to Havana. The New policies allow purposeful travel to Cuba that includes people who have close relatives in Cuba, the rules also applied⁶ to anyone who works in the medical or agriculture industries or who is traveling for educational or religious activities.  

Switching from people who are traveling out of the United States to people who are returning and this is a significant journey home. 170 members of the U.S. military landed in Washington State yesterday, they’re coming back from serving in Iraq. And the reason why this is a big deal is because it was the last large group of soldiers who are coming home from that country. 

We’ve reported on how the U.S. is on schedule to pull nearly all of its troops out out of Iraq by the end of this year, but not all of its troops are going home. M walks us through some the details as America’s military involvement in Iraq withers⁷ down.  

Because it all began the firing, anyway began in 2003 that’s when the first troop went across the border, and it’s nearly nine years later. These guys are finally coming home, and Iraqis get its country back. 

The Americans will hand over the keys so to speak to the Iraqis. December fifteenth is going to be the big one for the United States, there’s gonna be a ceremony at the massive U.S. embassies there. Now from December 1990 that’s when you’re gonna see the last convoy⁸ when the last soldier symbolically⁹ crosses the border into Kuwait.

There’re gonna be a lot of U.S.troops stay in Kuwait, there’s 23,000 base there, and having base there for years now, some U.S. forces are going to stay as trainers that’s not gonna be a lot of people, you’re talking about maybe a couple of hundred people, and you also let’s remember got U.S. forces in other parts of the region, //, //, the united Arab // this // the U.S. having increase worship presents in the region too. So they wanna keep put that footprint there in the Middle East. 

Of course when the U.S. troops go, the bases become Iraqi property. And the // around the bases although just dismantle¹⁰ them entirely¹¹, you know you’re talking about a huge number of bases during this war, at the height of the war there was more than 500 U.S. bases around the country. By round towards the end of 2010 I think that number dropped to less than a hundred, right now there’s about a dozen. 

At the end of the day, there’s gonna be a lot of relieve, people that it’s //, both the United States and Iraq and all other states who were taken apart in this war, I think also there’ll also be a lot of  damage that’s going to endure forever.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 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。

5 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

6 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。

7 withers   

马肩隆

参考例句：

• The girl's pitiful history would wring one's withers. 这女孩子的经历令人心碎。
• "I will be there to show you," and so Mr. Withers withdrew. “我会等在那里，领你去看房间的，"威瑟斯先生这样说着，退了出去。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

9 symbolically   

ad.象征地，象征性地

参考例句：

• By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上，意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久，他们定能白头偕老。
• Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽，清清嗓子。

10 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。