美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-12-22

 We are starting today in Gaza.  You have heard the mention of the region in Middle East before, often in the context of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But further complicating¹ life in the area, severe flooding started with a very rare snow storm, the first in decades. But then rain and rising waters knocked out power. That causes problems for medical care and city services, delays in delivery of much needed fuel, and that is just its toll² on infrastructure³. 

 

In a place that is already bladed and bleed for years of war in a lack of resources, a winter storm is pushing people to the brink⁴. In some of the tightly woven neighborhood, several days of torrential rain have created rivers where there should be roads. The Hamas government says more than five thousand people have been forced from their homes in Gaza. 

 

W and her six children fled to an overcrowded shelter. They had no choice but to abandon the room they all slept in and leave behind everything they had. She says she came here because her house was destroyed,the roof fell in and the water soaked the mattresses⁵ and blankets. There was noway to savage⁶ things and dry out. A lone⁷ power plant was shut off last month, causing 12-hour black out with a fuel shortage.

 

On the tour of destruction brought by the winter storm, Hamas minister gets a near fall as he approaches a farmer.

 

I almost freeze to death, the farmer yells out. 

 

The farmer is destroyed, because this storm has flooded his field and frozen his crops, which means he would suffer along difficult year, not just a hard winter. He said he is totally ruined.There is nothing left, not the greenhouse nor his fields of peas, carrots, cucumbers and potatoes. It's all completely destroyed, he tells us.  

 

Here the blame game is in endless stream of slights Hamas lays up in Israel's streets, but the blame goes both ways. And Israeli Egyptian blockade, that Israel says is in place to curb⁸ the flow of weapons into Gaze, is also slowing down the important things such as fuel and building supplies. On Friday, Israel opened a main crossing to allow in fuel and water pumps to help alleviate⁹ the flooding. According to the UN agency there, the damage from the flood has created disaster zones in part of Gaza, in a place that is always lacking, more help can come as soon enough. 

 

US national security agency has made international headlines this year, started when a former NSA worker named Edward Snowden leaked classified information. Part of them indicated the USA has collected billions of phone and email records of American citizens. While a federal judge ruled Monday the NSA's collection of American phones records is unconstitutional, but it was likely a violation¹⁰ of privacy rights. The ruling is in favor of four palliatives suing the government, but it is limited only to those four not everyone whose phone records might have been collected. This ruling could open the door to more legal challenges though. US justice department is studying the ruling. It says the NSA’s spy program protected the privacy of American citizens.

 

1 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

5 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

6 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

7 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

8 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

9 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

10 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。