VOA慢速英语20060507a

WORLD NEWS - 00:30 UTC, May 7, 2006By Voice of America

Broadcast: Sunday, May 07, 2006


In the news of this hour, the American Secretary Of State has discussed the possible settlement of the Iranian nuclear situation with Russia's foreign minister. Condoleezza Rice spoke¹ with Sergei Lavrov by telephone on Saturday. Ms Rice called Mr. Lavrov after Russia and China objected to part of the proposed United Nations' resolution on Iran. The proposed resolution would permit restrictions² and military force against Iran, if Iran continues to process uranium. Russia's ambassador to the UN said the resolution should have one goal, he said it should make sure the Iranian nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council met on Saturday to discuss the proposed resolution.

A United States military helicopter has crashed while carrying out military operations in eastern Afghanistan. All 10 American soldiers on the helicopter were killed. A military spokesman said the helicopter crashed on Friday near Asadabad, the capital of Kunar province. The crash area is east of Kabul near the border with Pakistan. Officials are investigating the crash. The military says there was no sign that enemy fire shot down the helicopter.


Britain's Defense³ Minister Des Browne has confirmed that a British helicopter has crashed in the Iraqi city of Basra. Mr. Browne said he could not confirm the number of death. But Iraqi officials say at least 4 crewmembers were killed. The cause of the crash is being investigated. Iraqi police say at least 5 civilians⁴ were killed in a crash between British troops and the crowd near the area of the helicopter crash. At least one British vehicle was set on fire. Officials in Basra declared a curfew until Sunday morning.

Also in Iraq, an attacker exploded a bomb in an Iraqi army base in Tikrit. The explosion killed 3 army officers and the bomber⁵. And the United States military said one American soldier was killed in Baghdad.

The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency has said his surprising resignation was just one of those mysteries. Porter Goss made the comment Saturday to CNN news. Top Bush's administration officials say air force general Michael Hayden is the leading candidate to replace Mr. Goss. The officials said the president's nominee⁶ to replace Mr. Goss could be announced this Monday. General Hayden currently serves as the aid to director of national intelligence John Negroponte. General Hayden also is the former director of the national security agency.


You are listening to the news in VOA Special English.


A state-run newspaper in Burma says many members of the opposition⁷ National League for Democracy have resigned. The New Light of Myanmar newspaper says the members resigned because they were dissatisfied with the party, but the spokesman for the party Nyan Win told the Associated Press that members told him that local officials caused the resignations. He said members feared punishment if they did not resign. Last month, Burma's government threatened to ban the party of Aung San Suu Kyi. The government said that National League for Democracy has links with terrorism.



Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas has met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party. The two discussed the government's financial crisis. Media reports say the two men did not reach any agreements, but they agreed to meet again as soon as Sunday. Western countries have suspended aid to the Palestinian authority because Hamas has refused to denounce violence. The ruling group also has refused to recognize Israel's right to exist. The government has not been able to pay about 165,000 workers.

British Finance Minister Gordon Brown says the government must renew itself and deal with changes to come. The ruling Labor⁸ Party suffered loses in local elections on Thursday. Mr. Brown said he and Prime Minister Tony Blair have plans to strengthen the party. On Friday Mr. Blair replaced Foreign Minister Jack⁹ Straw with Margaret Beckett, the Environment Minister. He also changed defense ministers.

A United Nations worker has been shot and wounded in eastern Chad. Media reports say the incident took place in Abeche late on Friday. The woman was taken to a hospital in N'Djamena. Details of her condition have not been released. Several UN agencies are carrying out aid efforts in eastern Chad, the place where hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees from Darfur have fled.

And a horse named Barbaro has won the Kentucky Derby Race in Louisville, Kentucky. Barbaro pulled away from the other horses and won easily. He finished the 2-kilometer-race in just over two minutes. Horses named Bluegrass Cat finished second and Steppenwolfer finished third.


And so briefly¹⁰ now here again is the major news of this hour. The American Secretary Of State has discussed a possible solution to the Iranian nuclear situation with Russia's foreign minister. A United States military helicopter has crashed in eastern Afghanistan killing¹¹ 10 American soldiers. And in the United States, the former director of the Central Intelligence Agency has said his surprising resignation was just one of those mysteries. So ends the news in VOA Special English.

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 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 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。

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 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

6 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 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。

9 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

10 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。