CNN 2012-03-23

 Thanks to those Park City High School students for helping¹ us jump into today's headlines.I am Carl Azuz,this is cnn student news.

 

First up.We are heading to Iraq.Authorities there are investigating a series of bombings that rocked the middle eastern country on Tuesday.These attacks happened more than a dozen locations across Iraq.One official said they were coordinated² and blamed them on the terrorist group,Al-Qaeda in Iraq but as of yesterday morning no one had independently claimed responsibility for causing this violence.At least 45 people were killed by the bombings,more than 20 others werewounded,several of the attacks targeted police or government buildings.This all happened on the 9th anniversary of when US led forces invaded Iraq and three months after US troops left the country.Iran's also getting ready to host a meeting of Arab leaders next week.Some officials are worried that Tuesday's attacks could raise security concerns about that meeting. 

 

Turning now to the crisis in Syria,international groups have accused Syria government of abusing human rights,things like kidnappings,torture.Now,those same groups are accusing the people fighting against the government of the same abuses.They are urging everyone to stop.A lot of video we've shown you from Syria has been from YOUTUBE that because international journalists don't have a lot of access inside of the country.Phil Han looks at the role that social media has played in this crisis.

 

First it was Tunisia,then Egypt.This time last year,much of the region was engulfed³ in upheaval⁴ and uprising,spurred on and inspired by what they saw and read on social media.No more so than in Syria.Thousands of YOUTUBE videos have been published by Syrians through what little technology they have.Those videos show the sufferings and devastation⁵ at the hands of government troops.Most news organizations have been banned from reporting inside the country,which led Syrians to become citizen journalists,risking their lives every time they post blogs or hit record on their phones.

 

From YOUTUBE,to Facebook,to Twitter,to set equipments to hidden cams,all of that played crusher role,because those are the tools that told the world what's going on inside the country.

 

You can see over there,another rocket landed on one of the civilian's houses.There has been going on all,all day long.Why isn't anyone helping us?Where's the humanity in the world？

 

One activist,named Danny,documented the dire⁶ situation and became known as the voice of Homs.The situation was so dangerous that he fled the country.

 

If there was no internet,and there was no set equipments inside the country,which most of uploads of the day happened via a set of equipments,then the world wouldn't know what going against fights in Syria,and the bloodshed would be much bigger and al-Assad will kill much much more people.Phil Han,CNN,London.

 

Today's Shout Out goes out to Ms. Lentz's students at Pilgrim Academy in Houston,Texas.Which US state is highlighted on this map?You know what to do.Is it Illinois,Indiana,Missouri or Wisconsin? You've got three seconds.Go.

 

You are looking at Illinois,a state as home to more than 12 million people.That's your answer and that's your Shout Out.

 

 

 

And that population is one of the reason that a lot of delegates were at the stake in the Illinois Republican primary.Big population equals more delegates and Illinois offers 54.For the leading candidates,former Massachusetts governor Mitt⁷ Romney and former senator Rick Santorum,the momentum⁸ of a win could be just as important as the actual delegates count.The results from Illinois came in after we produced the show,you can check them out on our homepage though.Go to the spotlight⁹ section,click on the cnn election center link at cnn student news.com.

 

Every year the US Congress is supposed to come up with the budget,it starts with Democratic and Republican leaders offering budget proposals.We reported on President Obama's plan earlier this year,yesterday Republicans in the House of Representative released their proposal for the budget,the price tag just over three and half trillion dollars.It includes some changes to how Americans pay taxes and it would cancel a scheduled cut in spending for the Defense¹⁰ Department,instead,Republicans have suggested making cuts to other government programs.Political experts though,say neither budget proposal,the House Republican's or the President's,has much chance of being passed by Congress.

 

The nation's capital might be feeling some tension inside,but outside,a symbol of friendship is in full bloom.And up to a million visitors are expected to visit DC to check this out.

 

It is the national cherry blossom festival.It stated this week,runs through late April.This year's event is a true milestone¹¹ because it marched the 100th anniversary of when these trees were planted.The cherry blossoms were a gift from Japan.They meant to be a symbol of international friendship and the beauty of nature.NOTES；

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

5 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

7 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

8 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。