奥巴马宣布改变人质政策
时间：2019-01-12 作者：英语课 分类：2015年VOA慢速英语(六)月
Obama Announces Changes to Hostage Policy 奥巴马宣布改变人质政策
President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced a reform of U.S. policies for dealing 1 with kidnappers 2. Mr. Obama said the U.S. will use “all instruments of national power” to recover Americans held by terrorists in other countries.
The president also said the government could and would “assist private efforts to communicate with hostage-takers.”
The United States’ policy bars paying ransoms 4. However, Mr. Obama said the government will no longer threaten legal action against families who choose to pay ransom 3 to win their relatives' release.
Obama reassures 5 France after ‘unacceptable’ spying
U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the United States remains 6 firm about ending spying tactics considered “unacceptable” by its allies.
Mr. Obama made the comment to French President Francois Hollande. On Tuesday, the website WikiLeaks released documents that it said show the U.S. National Security Agency spied on French presidents from 2006 to 2012.
Obama administration officials said the president told Mr. Hollande that the U.S. has and would continue to honor its 2013 promise not to “target the communications” of the French leader.
President Hollande held an emergency meeting of his ministers and army commanders after the release of the WikiLeaks documents. France is also sending a top intelligence official to Washington to confirm the spying is over, a government spokesman said.
Ukraine talks show little progress
Overnight talks about the Ukraine conflict ended late in Paris with little sign of progress.
Foreign ministers of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine restated their support for the cease-fire plan agreed to in February at meetings in Minsk, Belarus.
However, continued fighting between Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces may affect the deal.
The Minsk deal calls for a truce 9 and heavy weapons withdrawal 10. After, rebel-held areas are to get more autonomy and hold elections under Ukrainian law.
Boston marathon bomber 11 apologizes
Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev apologized in court Wednesday for his deadly attack on the 2013 Boston Marathon.
"I am sorry for the lives I have taken, for the suffering that I have caused you, for the damage I have done, irreparable damage," he said. The court in Boston, Massachusetts was holding a hearing to officially sentence the 21-year-old to death.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty of killing 12 three people and injuring 264 in the April 15, 2013, bombing at the Boston Marathon. He was also found guilty of killing a police officer three days later.
Earlier Wednesday, he listened as many bombing victims and their loved ones spoke 8 to him about his “cowardly” and “disgusting” acts.
Words in the News
ransom – n. money that is paid in order to free someone who has been captured or kidnapped
tactic 7 – n. an action or method that is planned and used to achieve a particular goal
irreparable – adj. too bad to be corrected or repaired
autonomy –n. the state of existing or acting 13 separately from others
cowardly – adj. afraid in a way that makes you unable to do what is right or expected
disgusting – adj. so unpleasant to see, smell, taste, consider, etc., that you feel slightly sick
- This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
- His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
- They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
- The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。
- The kidnappers exacted ransoms for their hostages. 绑匪勒索人质的赎金。
- Hotel:Wealthy captives sleep at the hotel for an increase in their ransoms. 酒店：富有的俘虏们要住在酒店等待足够的赎金以回家。
- A significant benefit of Undo is purely psychological: It reassures users. 撤销的一个很大好处纯粹是心理上的，它让用户宽心。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
- Direct eye contact reassures the person that you are confident and honest. 直接的目光接触让人相信你的自信和诚实。 来自口语例句
- He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
- The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
- Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
- She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。
- 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。
- The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
- She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。
- 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。
- He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
- Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。
- 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。