CNN 2011-04-04

This morning at 6 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time, 12 days after the launch of the military action in Libya, NATO took sole command of international air operations over Libya. The alliance effort dubbed¹ Operation Unified² Protector has assets in place and is now leading efforts to enforce the arms embargo³ and the no-fly zone, and to protect Libyan civilians⁴. As you'll remember, the president pledged to the American people at the start of our effort in Libya that U.S. military action would be limited in duration and scope, and that we would ultimately transition from a U.S. to a coalition⁵ lead in days and not weeks.

It turns how I got there, obviously the situation in Japan is what they just happened, travelled across the jet streams across the Pacific ocean and landed on our shores. It’s hardly surprise that happened. It was expected. It’s important to remember that. Actually, we live surrounded by radiation every single day. It comes from the sun. It comes from our Television and it comes from our cell phone.

Over the past 4 months, the people of Cote divoire have lived through a political crisis that has devastated⁶ their economy, created a humanitarian⁷ crisis that threatens a region and led to a death of over 400 divoire citizens. This week has seems some of the most intense fighting in Cote divoire since the political crisis began in late November. United States calls on all parties to exercise restraint and to make the protection of civilians their highest priority.

1 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。