美国有线新闻 CNN 2012-12-15

 This is the state capital building in Langsing, Michigan, there is a crowd gathered in front, and this is what that crowd looked like a close. Protesters, thousands of them, holding up signs and chanting, at least 3 schools around the state were closed because teachers went to Langsing to be part of this. The chants were going on inside the capital too.

 

They are saying veto because they are protesting against legislation that was up for a vote yesterday. That legislation passed, and it was headed to the governor's desk next. He said he'll sign it and when he does, Michigan will become the 24th U.S state with right to work laws. Now what that means is that workers in Michigan won't have to join a Labor¹ Union or to pay union dues in order to get or keep a job. People who support these laws say they give workers more choice and can attract more business. Critics say that right to work laws make unions weaker and keep wages lower.

 

Nelson Mandela, political activist², world leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner, here is Mandela at the U.S capital building in 1990 and this is where Mandela was yesterday. A hospital on his home country of South Africa, checked in there over the weekend. Authorities said doctors were treating the 94-year-old for a lung infection. Mandela had a abdominal³ surgery earlier this year and had a series respiratory infection last year. Nelson Mandela was once called the world's most famous political prisoner. He's been 27 years in jail fighting for equality for black South Africans. After he was released in 1990, he continued his effects to unite his country. His work earned him that Nobel Peace Prize, and in 1994, he won South Africa's first open election becoming the country's first black president.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 abdominal   

adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Abdominal tissues sometimes adhere after an operation.手术之后腹部有时会出现粘连。