VOA慢速英语2015 尼泊尔救援继续拯救生命

Nepal rescue efforts continue to save lives 尼泊尔救援继续拯救生命

Four more people were rescued from wreckage¹ in Nepal on Sunday, more than a week after a powerful earthquake hit the country. Police said one of those rescued was a 101-year-old man.

Nine days have passed since the earthquake struck. Officials say more than 7,200 people died in the quake. They are warning the number could climb “much higher.” Thousands of people are still missing.

Australia explains its investigation² of the “Bali Nine”

The Australian Federal Police has defended its cooperation with Indonesia in the case of two drug traffickers. Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed last week. The two men were part of a drug trafficking group known as the Bali Nine. Indonesia sentenced the two to death for their part in a plot to secretly transport the drug heroin³ from the island of Bali to Sydney in 2005.

The Australian Federal Police has denied accusations⁴ that it was partly responsible for their deaths. Officials have said they knew their actions 10 years ago could endanger the Australians, exposing them to the death sentence. They have said they have no reason to apologize for wanting to stop the flow of illegal drugs into Australia.

City of Baltimore lifts nighttime curfew

The mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, has cancelled a nighttime curfew in the U.S. city. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake ordered the curfew after riots that followed the funeral of a 25-year-old African-American man who died while under police arrest.

The decision came two days after the city’s top government lawyer announced she was bringing criminal charges against the six police officers involved in Freddie Gray’s arrest.

Texas police kill two gunmen

Police in Texas shot and killed two men Sunday outside a building where what organizers described as a free speech event was taking place. Officials said police reacted quickly when a car drove up to the building and two men began firing at a security officer. In the exchange of gunfire, the officer suffered wounds that were not life-threatening.

The free was held by an orgnization called the American Freedom Defense⁵ Initiative, also known as Stop the Islamization of America. It included a competition for cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Many Muslims consider any image of him a crime against Islam.

More Republican candidates enter presidential race

And three more Americans are making plans to become candidates for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination⁶. Ben Carson said Sunday he will compete for his party’s nomination. He planned an official announcement at an event Monday in Detroit. Also on Monday, former Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina was expected to announce her candidacy. Former Arkansas Governor Mick Huckabee plans to join the race on Tuesday.

Words in the News

unification – n. uniting; combining; joining

wreckage– n. what remains⁷ of something severely⁸ damaged or destroyed

trafficking – n. the movement of something (in this case, drugs)

curfew – n. an order for people to stay off the streets or to close their businesses

1 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 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。

6 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。