VOA标准英语2015--恐怖主义给奥巴马在国会上的演讲蒙上阴影

 

Terrorism Casts Shadow on Obama's Speech to Congress 恐怖主义给奥巴马在国会上的演讲蒙上阴影

WASHINGTON—

President Barack Obama is preparing to deliver his annual State of the Union address at a time of heightened vigilance in Washington and beyond following terrorist attacks in France.

The ceremonial pageantry of Tuesday’s presidential speech before a joint¹ session of Congress comes against a backdrop of ramped-up security on both sides of the Atlantic.  

In recent days, there have been a shoot-out in Belgium, police raids in Germany, arrests in Greece, and stepped-up security across Europe -- all following the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Security efforts must adapt to an evolving threat, said Rob Wainwright, who heads the European Union law enforcement agency Europol.

“We are seeing a very determined² response by our national governments, national police authorities, and at institutions like Europol urgently reviewing ways that we can better support counter-terrorist services everywhere, and the better exchange of intelligence, in the tracking of terrorist financing, and illicit³ firearms, and in particular monitoring terrorist activities online," Wainwright said.

For Obama, who hopes to work with a new Republican-controlled Congress on an agenda that includes domestic priorities, the fast-paced international developments are forcing greater attention to security matters at home and abroad.

“This phenomenon of violent extremism, the ideology⁴, the networks, the capacity to recruit young people, has metastasized and it is widespread, and it has penetrated⁵ communities around the world," the president said.

"This is a problem that causes great heartache and tragedy and destruction, but it is one that ultimately we are going to defeat," he added.

With terrorist sleeper⁶ cells believed to exist in numerous countries and the possibility of the Charlie Hebdo incident rallying extremists across the globe, the Obama administration and other governments are asking not whether another attack will be attempted, but when and where.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

4 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

5 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

6 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。