VOA慢速英语 2007 0915

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, President Bush said he will bring home almost six thousand American troops from Iraq by the end of the year. He also accepted the advice of his top commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, for limited reductions by next July.

 
President Bush discussing his Iraq plan
The president said his decisions on troop levels are being guided by the idea of what he called return on success. He said the reductions are possible because his decision to send additional troops earlier this year has improved security.

Troop levels in Iraq rose from around one hundred thirty thousand to nearly one hundred seventy thousand.

The president spoke¹ from the White House Thursday night. Senator Jack² Reed of Rhode Island answered for the Democratic Party which controls Congress. He said an endless and unlimited³ military presence in Iraq is not a choice. He said the Democrats⁴ propose to begin what he called a responsible and rapid redeployment of American troops out of Iraq.

A public opinion study by the Associated Press this week showed that almost two-thirds of Americans disapprove⁵ of the president's handling of the war. It also showed that fifty-eight percent believe the troop increase, known as the surge, has not helped the situation in Iraq.

The president spoke hours after a bomb killed a local Sunni leader he met during a visit to Anbar last week. Mister Bush called him "one of the brave tribal⁶ sheiks who helped lead the revolt against al-Qaeda" in that province.

The president again sought to link the war with security at home. He said the nation must succeed for the safety of future generations of Americans.

But Senator Reed warned that American interests throughout the world are being damaged. And he said the armed forces are being stretched toward the breaking point.

Democrats say the recent troop increase in Iraq has failed to meet what was supposed to be the main goal. That was to give Iraqi leaders the chance to work for political unity⁷.

President Bush said Iraq's national leaders are getting some things done. For example, he noted⁸ that they have passed a budget and are sharing oil money with the provinces. He said efforts to unite warring groups are making progress locally. As local politics change, he said, so will national politics.

Congress wants the Iraqi government to meet eighteen political and security goals. On Friday, the White House gave a new report on these goals, known as benchmarks. The Iraqis are making satisfactory progress on nine of them, it says, one more than in the last report in July.

Also Friday, the State Department released its International Religious Freedom Report for two thousand seven. It says that over the past year, the violence in Iraq greatly harmed the ability of all religious believers to practice their faith. It says many individuals were victims of kidnapping, killings⁹ and other abuse because of their religious identity.

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 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。

3 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。