奥巴马总统敦促埃塞俄比亚更加开放
时间：2018-12-16 作者：英语课 分类：2015年VOA慢速英语(七)月
President Obama Urges More Open Ethiopia 奥巴马总统敦促埃塞俄比亚更加开放
In the news today…
President Barack Obama has urged the government in Ethiopia to give more freedom to reporters and opposition 1 political parties. The ruling party controls all of the seats in parliament and limits reporting from the media.
Mr. Obama added Ethiopia’s strong economy has helped bring millions of people out of poverty. And he said the country has helped fight the Somali militant 2 group Al-Shabab.
The president spoke 3 in a joint 4 news conference with the Ethiopian prime minister in Addis Ababa. He is also in the Ethiopian capital to meet with leaders of the African Union to discuss the civil war in South Sudan.
US supports Turkish strikes
The U.S. is supporting Turkey’s air and artillery 5 attacks on Kurdish rebels in Iraq along with Islamic State militant targets in Syria.
On Sunday, the Obama administration said Turkey had the right to attack terrorist targets. And it agreed with Turkey that the Kurdish Workers’ Party, or PKK, is a terrorist organization.
Last week, Turkish forces had attacked a town in northern Iraq controlled by the PKK. It was the first attack on the group since a peace agreement was reached in 2013.
Stock markets in China drop sharply
The Shanghai stock market index dropped sharply on Monday. The drop of 8.5 percent was the biggest drop of the index since 2007.
The sell-off of Chinese stocks continued despite earlier attempts from the Chinese government to calm the markets. Last month, shares of Chinese companies dropped 30 percent for a loss of more than $3 trillion.
Fighting continues despite truce 6 in Yemen
Saudi Arabia stopped its airstrikes in Yemen on Monday. A five-day-long truce is planned. However, ground fighting continues in some areas after Houthi rebels rejected the cease-fire.
The coalition 7 that has been fighting the Iranian-supported Houthi Shi’ite rebels with air attacks for the past four months declared the truce to let emergency supplies be shipped into Yemen.
Nuclear negotiators to discuss North Korea
The U.S. special diplomat 8 to the six-nation talks on North Korea’s nuclear program is meeting with officials in South Korea, China and Japan. They may try to restart negotiations 9 with North Korea aimed at ending its nuclear program.
In Seoul on Monday, Sydney Seiler said the United States is ready to negotiate with North Korea to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for an end to economic restrictions 10.
Words in the News
opposition – n. a political party that is trying to replace the political party in power
index – n. a number that indicates changes in the level of something (such as a stock market) when it rises or falls
sell-off – n. the sale of a large number of stocks or shares that causes their price to drop
negotiation(s) – n. formal discussions between people who are trying to reach an agreement
- The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
- The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
- 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。
- 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。
- 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。
- This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
- The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。
- 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 several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
- Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。
- The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
- He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。
- negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
- Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
- I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
- a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制