VOA慢速英语2015 两名以色列士兵和一名联合国维和士兵死于炮火

 

Israeli Soldiers Killed in Exchange of Gunfire with Hezbollah 两名以色列士兵和一名联合国维和士兵死于炮火

Two Israeli soldiers and a United Nations peacekeeping soldier were killed Wednesday along the border between Israel and Lebanon. It was the biggest increase in fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant¹ group Hezbollah since their war in 2006.

The United Nations called on both sides to show restraint to prevent more violence.

The U.N. peacekeeper was killed in southern Lebanon in an exchange of gunfire. It began with a Hezbollah rocket attack on Israeli military vehicles. The soldier was from Spain.

The Israeli military reported that, in addition to the dead, seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in the rocket attack.

Hezbollah suggested the attack was meant to answer an airstrike in Syria. The strike killed six Hezbollah members and an Iranian general earlier this month. The militant group blames Israel for the raid.

Jordan to trade jailed suspected terrorist for hostage

A Jordanian official says his government is ready to trade a jailed terror suspect for a Jordanian pilot being held by Islamic State militants².

Information Minister Mohammad al-Momani made the announcement on state television Wednesday. He said if the pilot is released unharmed, Jordan will release an Iraqi woman, Sajida al-Rishawi. She was jailed for taking part in a terror attack 10 years ago in the Jordanian capital, Amman. Sixty people died in the attack.

The pilot was identified as Lieutenant³ Mu’ath al-Kaseasbeh. The Jordanian official did not talk about a second hostage, Japanese reporter Kenji Goto. The Islamic State has threatened to execute him. Japan’s government has asked for help from Jordan to win his release.                                                     

Afghan cabinet nominees⁴ rejected

Afghan lawmakers have rejected most of President Ashraf Ghani’s nominees for the new cabinet. In a vote Wednesday, the lower house of the Afghan parliament rejected 10 of his 19 choices for minister positions. Among them was the choice for defense⁵ minister, Sher Mohammad Karimi. He currently serves as chief of the Afghan army.

The Afghan lawmakers also voted in support of Rahmatullah Nabil to serve as director of the intelligence services.

New Greek government holds first meeting

New Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he wants to reach a fair, “viable and mutually beneficial” solution with his country’s international lenders. Mr. Tsipras spoke⁶ Wednesday during his first meeting with his new cabinet.

He said he wishes to avoid any destructive conflicts with Greece’s creditors⁷. But he said his country would no longer blindly obey the demands of the European Union.

Mr. Tsipras said international efforts to fix Greece’s financial problems have led to a humanitarian⁸ crisis in his country. The government is seeking to remove some of its debt and ease cost-cutting measures. International lenders required the cuts in exchange for more than $300 billion in loans.

Freedom House says democratic ideals under threat

Freedom House says the likelihood of an international system built on democratic ideals is under greater threat now than at any time in the past 25 years. The rights group said in a report Wednesday that the state of democracy in 2014 was, in its words, “exceptionally grim.” Freedom House rated Syria at the bottom of the yearly report. The group said it recorded more declines, or decreases, than gains in democratic freedoms around the world.

Freedom House said the one exception is Tunisia. In 2014, Tunisia became the first Arab country to be classified as “free” since Lebanon’s civil war 40 years ago.

Words in the News

border - n. a dividing line between nations

war - n. fighting between nations, or groups in a nation, using weapons

exchange - n. an event in which people direct something at each other

militants - n. people active in trying to cause political change, often by the use of force or violence

blindly – adv. without thinking or questioning

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 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 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。

7 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。