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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
I am Joe Macintosh with the BBC news.Hello.
President Obama has rejected calls by Republican members of the Senate to leave their nomination1 of a new supreme2 court judge to his successor. Mr. Obama said he would name a candidate to replace justice Antonia Scalia, who died on Saturday, and the Senate would either approve the nomination or reject it. The president called on his political opponents in Washington to overcome the hostility3 that prevented basic work from getting done.
That fact that, it's that hard, that we are even discussing, this is, I think, a measure of how unfortunately the parliament rancor4 in Washington has prevented us from getting basic work done. And this would be a good moment for us to rise above that.
US and Cuba have signed a deal restoring commercial flights for the first time in more than 50 years. The agreement comes as the White House is contemplating5 a possible presidential trip to Cuba. Will Grant is in Havana.
There can be little doubt that the pace of the thaw6 between the US and Cuba is quickening in president Obama's last year in office. And this signing of a memorendum of understanding on commecial flights between the old enemies is a good example of that new impetus7. Up to 110 daily flights from US to Cuba can begin under the new plan, 20 a day to the capital Havana, and 10 to each of the other international airports on the island. This arrangement signifies more than just a new beginning for our civil aviation relationship, said the US transport secretary Antony Fox after signing the deal. It represents a critically important milestone8 in the US's continued efforts to engage with Cuba and normalize our relations.
The UN says the Syrian government has a duty to allow humanitarian9 aid to all areas under siege. Syria has approved aid deliveries to 7 sieged areas, but the UN special envoy10 Staffan de Mistura said the UN had to have access to all Syrians in need. Our diplomatic correspondent James Robins11 reports.
This is an increasingly tense week after key world powers including Russia agreed to work towards a partial ceasefire in Syria. But neither the Syrian government nor opposition12 forces were involved, and the UN envoy Staffan de Mistura is meeting Syria's foreign minister in Damasscas, trying to persuade his government to stop fighting, and allow unhindered humanitarian access to all besieged13 areas. There are signs that aid will be allowed in some beseeged areas over the next few days, but it is hard to see an end to the fighting.
The UN says it's investigating new allegations that its peacekeepers sextually abuse children in the Central African Republic. A UN spokesman said 4 children were reportedly abused by peacekeepers from the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2014 and 2015. For more than a decade, UN peacekeeping missions in Africa have been tarnished15 by such scandals.
This is world news from the BBC.
Former French president Nicola Sarkozy has been placed under formal investigation16 for alleged17 campaign funding irregularities. The former head of state, was questioned by examining magistrates18 in Paris about excess spending in his unsuccessful bid for reelection in 2012. His campaign costs were more than twice the legal limit. Mr. Sarkozy has repeatedly denied knowledge over the overspending.
Ukrain's embattled prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote in his government only hours after the president asked him to stand down. Despite critisizing the government's record only 194 MPs voted in support over the no confidence motion, which were short of the 226 votes required for its approval.
The authorities in Austria say they planned to introduce daily quotas19 for the numbers of migrants and refugees who will be allowed to enter the country from neighbouring Slovenia. Austria will also increase controls at its other borders. The interior minister says the quotas were necessary to insure order and security in Austria.
Police in Croatia are reported to have sent more officers to reinforce the Croatian border with Serbia.
On the fourth day of his visit to Mexico, Pope Francis has urged a stadium packed with members of the clergy20 not to give up in the face of violence, drug trafficing and corruption21. He's visiting Morelia, the state capital of Michoacan, one of the parts of the country worst affected22 by drug related violence. Kitty Watson reports.
In a stadium, the Pope spoke14 to tens of thousands of nuns23 and clergy, urging them not to be resigned to evils like drug trafficing. He said they needed to be out helping24 those who are suffering, not stuck in their churches. In a past decade, more than 100,000 people have been killed or gone missing in Mexico's drug war. Michoacan is no stranger to that violence. In recent years, Vigilante groups have taken up arms against the drug gangs.
1 nomination | |
n.提名,任命,提名权 | |
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2 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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3 hostility | |
n.敌对,敌意;抵制[pl.]交战,战争 | |
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4 rancor | |
n.深仇,积怨 | |
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5 contemplating | |
深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想 | |
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6 thaw | |
v.(使)融化,(使)变得友善;n.融化,缓和 | |
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7 impetus | |
n.推动,促进,刺激;推动力 | |
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8 milestone | |
n.里程碑;划时代的事件 | |
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9 humanitarian | |
n.人道主义者,博爱者,基督凡人论者 | |
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10 envoy | |
n.使节,使者,代表,公使 | |
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11 robins | |
n.知更鸟,鸫( robin的名词复数 );(签名者不分先后,以避免受责的)圆形签名抗议书(或请愿书) | |
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12 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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13 besieged | |
包围,围困,围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14 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 | |
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15 tarnished | |
(通常指金属)(使)失去光泽,(使)变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 ); 玷污,败坏 | |
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16 investigation | |
n.调查,调查研究 | |
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17 alleged | |
a.被指控的,嫌疑的 | |
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18 magistrates | |
地方法官,治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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19 quotas | |
(正式限定的)定量( quota的名词复数 ); 定额; 指标; 摊派 | |
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20 clergy | |
n.[总称]牧师,神职人员 | |
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21 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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22 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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23 nuns | |
n.(通常指基督教的)修女, (佛教的)尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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24 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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