美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-09-18

 On Tuesday night, President Obama spoke¹ to the American people about Syria. He aimed to give a moral argument for why the U.S. military should get involved, and explained why he thinks what’s happening in Syria could potentially affect the United States.

 

"If we fail to act, the Assad regime will see no reason to stop using chemical weapons. As the ban against these weapons arose, other terrorists will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poisonous gas and using them. Over time, our troops were again face the prospect² of the chemical warfare³ on the battle field. And it could be easier for terrorist organizations to obtain these weapons and to use them to attack civilians⁴."

 

The President talked about the idea of a strike against Syria, and he also discussed a diplomatic proposal from Russia.

 

"I determined⁵ that it is in the national security interests of the United States to respond to the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons through a targeted military strike."

 

"But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because Russia is one of Assad’s strongest allies. I have therefore asked the leaders of the Congress to postpone⁶ a vote to authorize⁷ the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path."

 

And the next step is for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. That starts today in Geneva, Switzerland. So President Obama made his case on Tuesday. Some members of Congress said they weren’t convinced.

 

"What I’m arguing is it that what the President has planned is not going to accomplish what he says he is going to accomplish, which is to punish Assad for this. I think Assad personally will not be held accountable for this. I also think that even if the diplomatic solution occurs, that he still may not be accountable."

 

Next story today takes us to Libya. One city in the North African nation has been the site of multiple attacks against diplomatic missions and officials. Yesterday a car bomb exploded outside of a foreign ministry⁸ building in Benghazi. Large parts of the building’s outer walls were blown away. But there were no casualties and only one minor⁹ injury was reported.

 

This happened on the 12th anniversary of the 9•11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.. And one year to the day after a terrorist attack against the U.S. facility in Benghazi, Libya.

 

In 2012, a U.S. consulate¹⁰ building there was targeted. This video was shot inside the consulate afterward¹¹. Four Americans were killed in that assault, including U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens, some lawmakers criticized President Obama and his administration for their response to that attack and for not providing enough security before it happened.

 

Yesterday we marked the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack in the United States. And the Americans paused to honor the victims of that day.

 

In New York City, there were moments of silence. Family members read the names of people who lost their lives in September 11th, 2001.

 

People gathered at the Pentagon to remember lost loved ones. President Obama was there, saying, "Our hearts still ache for the futures¹² snatched away."

 

And the ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, is bells tolled¹³ for each passenger and crew member on board the plane that crashed there 12 years ago.

 

In New York, a new building, one World Trade Center, has been gradually climbing back up into the sky. Here`s a look at its progress.

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 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

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 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

7 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

11 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

12 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

13 tolled   

鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Bells were tolled all over the country at the King's death. 全国为国王之死而鸣钟。
• The church bell tolled the hour. 教堂的钟声报时。