VOA慢速英语2014 奥巴马总统称不准备向伊拉克派遣地面部队

 

Obama: No Ground War in Iraq 奥巴马总统称不准备向伊拉克派遣地面部队

President Barack Obama on Wednesday said the United States would not fight another ground war in Iraq. He commented after a top American general suggested some combat troops could be deployed¹.

Mr. Obama spoke² at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.  He said U.S. troops "will support Iraqi forces on the ground as they fight for their own country against these terrorists. ... (But) as your commander in chief I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq."

The president added, "American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission” and airstrikes would be the base of the U.S. effort to fight against the Islamic State.

On Tuesday, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint³ Chiefs of Staff, spoke to lawmakers about the possibility of ground forces deployment⁴ in Iraq.

U.S. proposes talk with North Korea

The United States has proposed a discussion with North Korea in connection with three Americans detained in that country. The U.S. is considering sending a special U.S. diplomat⁵ to North Korea to secure their release.

A diplomatic source spoke to VOA’s Korean Service. The source said the U.S. would not again propose sending Robert King. North Korea has twice rejected that diplomat.

The U.S. is looking to free Americans Kenneth Bae, Matthew Todd Miller⁶, and Jeffrey Fowle.

China and India signed trade agreements

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have signed three trade agreements.  The deals are designed to expand trade relations between the countries.

The agreements call for setting up an industrial park in Gujarat state.  They also would create a sister-city agreement between Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat, and Guangzhou, capital of China's Guangdong province.

Relations between the two have been strained by a long-term border dispute and distrust about each other's military strength.

Scotland’s independence vote

On Thursday, the people of Scotland will vote on whether to stay in the United Kingdom with England or be an independent country. 

So far the opinion polls are evenly divided between the Yes and No vote. And eight to 14 percent of Scotland's 4.3 million voters are still undecided.

1 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• 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。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• 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。

4 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• 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。

6 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。