VOA常速英语2021--多名法国军人撞击爆炸装置丧生

Two French soldiers were killed Saturday when their vehicle hit an improvised¹ explosive device in northeastern Mali, just days after three others died in similar fashion. The Office of French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Saturday that he had learned with great sadness of the deaths. One of the soldiers was the first female soldier sent to the region since the French operation began. According to the French army, the latest deaths bring 250 the number of French soldiers killed in Mali, since France first intervened militarily in January 2013. The goal of the intervention² was to help drive back Islamic jihadists who had overrun parts of the country. Macron has since affirmed France’s determination to continue its role in what a statement calls the battle against terrorism.

两名法国士兵星期六在马里东北部撞击简易爆炸装置后丧生，就在此事件几天前，另外三名士兵也以类似方式死亡。法国总统马克龙办公室周六宣布，自己在得知死亡的消息后深感悲痛。其中一名士兵是法国行动开始以来派往马里东北部的第一名女兵。据法国军方称，自2013年1月法国首次军事干预以来，最近马里丧生的法国士兵人数增加了250人。干预行动的目的是帮助击退占领马里部分地区的伊斯兰圣战分子。此后，马克龙重申法国决心继续在一份声明中所称的反恐斗争中发挥作用。

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that American soldiers have suffered no deaths in Afghanistan in almost a year, he cited the Trump³ administration's initiative to promote peace in the conflicts torn nation. Washington in February concluded an agreement with the Taliban insurgency⁴ to close the 19-year-old Afghan war. It's the longest war in American history. The historic understanding started a phased withdrawal⁵ of American troops from the South Asian nation. The deal also opened first ever direct peace talks between the Taliban and the US-backed Afghan government in September to negotiate a political power sharing understanding to permanently⁶ end the war. US officials, however, have acknowledged a recent spike⁷ in fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents⁸ that threatens the ongoing⁹ peace process. They've urged both Afghan adversaries¹⁰ to reduce hostilities¹¹ and move quickly toward negotiated settlement. 

美国国务卿蓬佩奥周六表示，近一年来，在阿富汗没有美国士兵死亡，他提起了特朗普政府提出的促进饱受冲突蹂躏的阿富汗和平的倡议。华盛顿方去年2月与塔利班叛乱分子达成协议，结束长达19年的阿富汗战争。这是美国历史上最长的战争。这一历史性的协议致使美国军队开始从这个南亚国家分阶段撤离。该协议还开启了塔利班与美国支持的阿富汗政府之间有史以来首次直接和谈，双方在九月就达成政治权力分享协议以永久结束战争进行谈判。然而，美国官员承认，阿富汗安全部队和塔利班叛乱分子之间的战斗最近出现了高潮，威胁到正在进行的和平进程。他们敦促两方阿富汗对手减少敌对行动，并迅速走向谈判解决。

Gunmen killed a significant number of civilians¹² Saturday in Niger authorities said in the latest attack, in the landlocked (nations) nations troubled Tillaberi region. Local officials said many civilians were killed in the attack on a village near the border with Mali. The attack came on the same day election officials announced results for the first round of Niger's presidential vote. The results put ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoumin in the lead. A runoff election is set for next month. Niger’s is also threatened by jihadis from Nigeria, home of a decade old insurgency launched by Boko Haram.

尼日尔当局在最近一次袭击中表示，持枪歹徒星期六在尼日尔杀害了大量平民，袭击发生在尼日尔这一内陆国家动乱的蒂拉贝里地区。当地官员表示，许多平民在马里边境附近一个村庄遭到袭击时丧生。袭击当天，尼日尔总统府官员宣布首轮选举结果。选举结果显示，执政党候选人巴祖敏领先。决选定于下月举行。尼日尔也受到来自尼日利亚的圣战分子的威胁，那里是博科圣地发动的长达十年的叛乱活动的发源地。

And the Syrian Observatory¹³ for Human Rights says two car bombings in separate parts of Turkish controlled areas of northern Syria killed six people on Saturday, including children. In the first car bomb near a vegetable market killed five people, including two children in a border town. Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton from Washington. This is VOA news.

而叙利亚人权观察组织表示，周六在叙利亚北部土耳其控制区的不同地区发生的两起汽车爆炸事件造成包括儿童在内的6人死亡。在一个蔬菜市场附近发生的第一起汽车炸弹事件中，5人死亡，其中包括一个边境城镇的两名儿童。我是玛丽莎·梅尔顿，为您在华盛顿远程报道美国之音新闻。

1 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

2 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

7 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

11 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

12 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

13 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。