VOA慢速英语2014 奥巴马要求联合国竭力打击伊斯兰国武装分子

 

Obama Appeals to UN in Effort Against IS Militants² 奥巴马要求联合国竭力打击伊斯兰国武装分子

President Barack Obama on Wednesday called on the world "to join him in an effort to degrade and ultimately destroy" Islamic State militants.

Mr. Obama appealed to the world community in his address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The president had this to say:

"Mothers, sisters and daughters have been subjected to rape³ as a weapon of war. Innocent children have been gunned down. Bodies have been dumped in mass graves. Religious minorities have been starved to death. In the most horrific crimes imaginable, innocent human beings have been beheaded, with videos of the atrocity⁴ distributed to shock the conscience of the world.”

President Obama also noted⁵ that more than 40 nations have offered to join the U.S. in the fight against the IS militants. He added that the U.S. will not “send U.S. troops to occupy foreign land” but “will train and equip forces fighting against these terrorists on the ground.”

In his speech, the U.S. president presented his vision of American leadership in a changing world, the fight to contain Ebola, the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and the effort against greenhouse gas.

Algerian militants behead a French hiker

Algerian militants have released a video to show the beheading of French tourist Herve Gourdel. The group said the killing⁶ was a response to French action against the Islamic State militants in Iraq.

According to the Reuters news agency, Gourdel is seen, in the video, kneeling with his arms tied behind his back before four masked militants. A militant¹ reads a statement in Arabic critical of France’s action.

“This is why the Caliphate Soldiers in Algeria have decided⁷ to punish France, by executing this man, and to defend our beloved Islamic State,”

The video does not show the beheading, but a militant holds the head up to the camera.

Hong Kong students march as part of weeklong protest

Students marched through the business district of Hong Kong as part of a protest to demand free elections in 2017.

Thousands of university students are staying away from classes all week to take part in the pro-democracy campaign. The students are protesting China’s decision not to permit what they consider fully⁸ democratic elections in the former British territory.

Last month, China ruled that its own committee must approve all candidates for Hong Kong’s chief executive.

1 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。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 atrocity   

n.残暴，暴行

参考例句：

• These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
• I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。

5 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。

6 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。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。