CNN 2012-02-17

 It's the middle of the week, the middle of the month, the start of a brand new edition of CNN Students News. Hello everyone, I'm Carl Azuz. We welcome you to this February 15th edition of our show, in which we are bringing you 10 minutes of completely commercial-free headlines.

 

First up today, the crisis in Syria, you've heard us talk about it. This has been going on for months and it's showing no signs of stopping. In the past 10 days, more than 700 people have reportedly been killed. CNN's Arwa Damon, one of our reporters, was inside the Syria. She said that everybody she spoke¹ to believed the country was either heading for or already in a full-blown war. Opposition² groups blame this violence on Syria's government, which has reportedly launched attacks against its own people. The government says the violence is being caused by armed terrorists. And CNN is finding some evidence of that. Barbara Starr reports that the US government is keeping a close watch on what's happening.

 

All eyes and the ears on Syria. CNN has learned that spying on Bashar al-Assad's moves in the brutal³ war against his own people is now a top priority for US intelligence and the military. The State Department released these images showing Syrian artillery⁴ guns outside the town. American officials tell CNN classified higher-resolution images show military targets being trapped in case US action is ordered. The US is looking to involve more satellites,  drones and U-2 spy planes. Sources tell CNN that the US is already secretly eavesdropping⁵ on telephone and electronic communications of Assad's regime. It comes as a United Nations official accused Syria of crimes against humanity.

 

"Children have not been spared. Children have been killed by beating, sniper fire and shelling from government security forces in several places throughout Syria."

 

Assad's government is not the only focus. US intelligence has picked up on cell phone communications of known al-Qaeda operatives inside Syria. After several suicide bombings including this police station in Aleppo, there are growing indicators⁶ a small group of al-Qaeda operatives from next-door Iraq are now inside Syria.

 

"What's already been clear is that al-Qaeda in Iraq in particular has pushed in operational and tactical level units into Syria right now and appears to have conducted some of the high-profile bombings."

 

Back in 1985, Xi Jinping spent two weeks in Iowa. He was a Chinese regional official and he was in Iowa to learn more about American farming. Well, Xi is scheduled to be back in Iowa today but he is not a Chinese regional official anymore. He's China's vice⁷ president and he's expected to become president soon. His stop in Iowa is part of Vice President Xi's five-day trip to the United States. Yesterday he was at the White House meeting with President Obama. The US and China have the world's two largest economies so global trade issues were a big part of their conversation. Vice President Xi said the main goal of his visit is to strengthen ties between the two countries. Eunice Yoon looks at how that relationship has played out.

 

You could say China and the US are in some ways like an old-married couple, permanently⁸ hitched⁹. Over the past three decades, the two countries have depended on each other. China relies on the US to set up factories and create jobs while the US imports low-priced goods for American consumers and needs China to invest in its massive pool of government debt. But just like other long-time relationships, Beijing and Washington have their marital¹⁰ spats¹¹. The two nations have quarreled over everything from trade, China's currency and human rights. And with China growing in power, tempers are flaring¹² over other global issues like the US's growing security presence in the South China Sea. Many of these issues will likely still be on the agenda later this year when Xi is expected to take office as the next president of China. Chinese officials say that Washington and Beijing suffer from a trust deficit¹³. They hope that Xi's visit will help bridge the divide. During Xi's trip both sides are getting a fresh view of their partner and a chance to reset¹⁴ the tone of an ever-evolving affair.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

6 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 hitched   

（免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
• We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。

10 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

11 spats   

n.口角( spat的名词复数 )；小争吵；鞋罩；鞋套v.spit的过去式和过去分词( spat的第三人称单数 )；口角；小争吵；鞋罩

参考例句：

• Gasoline is a solvent liquid that removes grease spats. 汽油是一种能脱去油迹的有溶解能力的液体。 来自辞典例句
• Then spats took a catnap, and the bird looked out for dogs. 然后斯派茨小睡了一会儿。小鸟为它站岗放哨，防止狗跑过来。 来自互联网

12 flaring   

a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的

参考例句：

• A vulgar flaring paper adorned the walls. 墙壁上装饰着廉价的花纸。
• Goebbels was flaring up at me. 戈塔尔当时已对我面呈愠色。

13 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

14 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。