VOA慢速英语2014 美国国防部长哈格尔辞职

 

US Defense¹ Secretary Chuck Hagel Resigns 美国国防部长哈格尔辞职

President Barack Obama announced Monday that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is resigning after almost two years in the position.

President Obama spoke² at the white House with Mr. Hagel and Vice³ President Joe Biden. The president said Mr. Hagel told him last month that it was time for him to complete his service. Mr. Obama called the defense secretary a “steady hand” in helping⁴ the administration deal with Ebola and the Islamic State militant⁵ group.

Mr. Hagel has agreed to stay on as Defense Secretary until his successor is chosen.

Iran nuclear talks extended to July 1

Iranian and Western diplomats⁶ said nuclear talks between Iran and six other nations will be extended until July 1, 2015.

The diplomats spoke in Vienna on the final day of the group's year-long time limit to reach an agreement about Iran's nuclear program.

Sanctions, falling oil prices costing Russia billions

Russia's finance minister says the country may lose $130 to $140 billion a year as a result of sanctions and falling oil prices. He says falling oil prices are the bigger problem for the Russian economy.

The finance minister spoke Monday at an economic conference in Moscow. He said Russia is losing around $40 billion a year from sanctions, and as much as $100 billion from oil losses. Oil prices have decreased by about 30 percent.

The United States and the European Union have ordered sanctions against Russia for its part in the conflict in Ukraine. The U.S. and E.U. accuse Russia of supporting a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.

Swiss museum to accept Nazi⁷ art collection

A Swiss museum says it will accept a priceless collection of long-hidden artwork that includes masterpieces stolen by Nazi Germany.

An official with the Bern Art Museum said Monday in Berlin that the museum would accept the collection. But, he said, it would also work to return any art stolen from Jews during World War Two.

In 2012, German authorities seized more than 1,200 art works from the Munich home of Cornelius Gurlitt. Mr. Gurlitt was the son of an art dealer⁸ who worked for Adolf Hitler to help steal works from museums and Jewish collectors. Many of the Jewish collectors died in the Nazi gas chambers⁹.

Cornelius Gurlitt died in May at the age of 81.

Turkish president says women not equal to men

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that women are not equal to men. Mr. Erdogan spoke during a conference in Istanbul on women and justice. He said Islam says women’s only positions are as mothers. He said it is against nature to put men and women on equal footing.

The Turkish leader's political party is rooted in Islam. It has been accused of trying to weaken modern Turkey's secular¹⁰ principles and civil liberties.

1 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。

2 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。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

8 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

9 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

10 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。