VOA慢速英语2014 迪尔玛·罗塞夫再次当选巴西总统

 

Brazilians Re-elect Dilma Rousseff as President 迪尔玛·罗塞夫再次当选巴西总统

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected to a second term. She won less than 52 percent of the votes.

Her Workers' Party has held the presidency¹ since 2003. The party is credited with expanding social welfare programs and lifting millions of people out of poverty.

But the election was close because Brazil has experienced weak economic growth.

US ambassador² calls for more international effort to stop Ebola

The United States ambassador to the United Nations is calling for a stronger international effort to stop the spread of the Ebola virus.

The disease has killed almost 5,000 people in West Africa this year.

Ambassador Samantha Power was in Guinea on Sunday. She will also travel to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

New York's governor revised Ebola quarantine

Separately, the governor of New York amended³ his state’s policy on health care workers who return to the United States after treating Ebola patients in Africa.

 Governor Andrew Cuomo said that workers who show no signs of the virus would be permitted to stay in their homes for a 21-day period. He also said they would be examined two times a day by other health care workers during that time.

South Korea seeks death penalty⁴ for captain of sunken ferry

South Korean government lawyers have rested their case in the trial of the captain of the Sewol ferry. More than 300 people were killed when the boat sank six months ago.

 The lawyers say they will seek the death sentence for captain Lee Joon-seok. They plan to ask for lesser⁵ sentences for the other 11 crew members.

 The captain and 14 crew members were among the first people to leave the sinking ferry.

 Second student died in Washington state shooting

A 14-year old girl has died after being shot at a high school in the U.S. state of Washington. Hospital officials say Gia Soriano died late Sunday, two days after the shooting. She is the second student to have died in the shooting.

She and four other students were shot at the school, about 55 kilometers north of the city of Seattle. Two boys and a girl are still in the hospital.

The boy who shot them was a student at the school. He shot and killed himself after the shooting. News reports say the two wounded boys are members of his family.

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

3 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

4 penalty   

n.处罚，刑罚，罚款

参考例句：

• If you knock the ball with your hand in football,you will suffer a penalty.如果在踢足球时你用手碰到球，你将受到处罚。
• One of those arrested could face the death penalty.被捕的那些人中有一人可能被判死刑。

5 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。