CNN 2010-12-09

Now that is how you get a show！ Poppin'! Thank you gentlemen very much. Welcome, all of you, to a new week of CNN Student News! I'm Carl Azuz, and we thank all our viewers from all over the world for tuning¹ in.

First Friday of every month, the U.S. government usually announces the current unemployment rate. Bad news: This past Friday's announcement came as a surprise; the rate went up to 9.8 percent. It had been 9.6 percent for several months. Some experts were predicting it would stay the same. More than 15 million Americans looking for work, not good news. But there are some people who are actually encouraged by the increase. The unemployment rate only counts people who are actively² looking for jobs. So if the rate goes up, it could mean that Americans who'd stopped looking think they have a better chance of finding work, so they're back on the job hunt. Still, analysts³ say it is disappointing the overall job market hasn't gotten better.

President Obama is back in Washington after a trip to Afghanistan. He made a surprise visit there on Friday, meeting with thousands of U.S. troops. This is his second trip to Afghanistan since he became president. Dan Lothian has more on the president's time in Afghanistan and why it didn't go exactly as planned.

It was a secret trip the White House says was in the works for more than a month; flying into Bagram Air Base for a little more than four hours to salute⁴ the men and women who are carrying out the administration's stepped-up strategy in Afghanistan.

This part of the world is the center of a global effort where we are going to disrupt and dismantle⁵ and defeat al Qaeda and its extremist allies, and that's why you're here.

But ahead of a mid-December review, what is being called a comprehensive assessment⁶ to possibly tweak the president's policy there, challenges remain. There's rampant⁷ corruption⁹ in the Afghan government, highlighted by leaked state department cables in which Ambassador Carl Eikenberry is said to be concerned about "how to fight corruption when key government officials are themselves corrupt⁸." And then there is the continued Taliban threat.

You're going on the offense¹⁰. Tired of playing defense¹¹. Targeting their leaders. Pushing them out of their strongholds.

Mr. Obama had planned on flying to Kabul to meet with President Hamid Karzai and visit U.S. embassy employees. But a storm rolled in with high winds, dust and low cloud cover, so his helicopter trip was canceled, and the Karzai meeting became a 15-minute phone call. The president did visit wounded troops at a base hospital, awarding five Purple Hearts, and met with members of the 101st Airborne Division who lost six members in a deadly attack earlier this week.

There are going to be difficult days ahead. Progress comes at a high price.

Thirteen hundred U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the war began. This year was especially deadly. The Obama administration plans to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in July 2011, and a stable, reliable government there is key to meeting that deadline.

1 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

5 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

6 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

7 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

8 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

11 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。