(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.
Islamic militants have been seizing territory in Iraq this week. A group called the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, or ISIL, has already captured most of the country's north.
On Tuesday, ISIL fighters took control of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. A day later, the group captured Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Officials said militants captured two towns in the eastern province of Diyala on Thursday.
A spokesman for the ISIL said its supporters will push into Baghdad, the capital, and on to the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Karbala. The group says it is seeking to establish an Islamic form of government.
Separately, the security forces of Iraq's Kurdish north took control of an airbase and other positions in oil-rich Kirkuk.
The security forces acted after Iraqi government troops left the posts.
Iraqi government forces have seemingly been powerless to stop the militants. To the west of Mosul, the fighters have taken control of parts of eastern Syria.
The recent developments are seen as cancelling 10 years of work by the United States. The U.S. has spent an estimated $25 billion on training and equipping the Iraqi military since 2003, when the war in Iraq began.
President Barack Obama says he is considering a "range of options" in deciding how to deal with the crisis. He spoke on Thursday to reporters at the White House.
"I don't rule out anything because we do have a stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either Iraq or Syria for that matter."
But his choices are limited. Just two and a half years ago, Mr. Obama brought home the last of the U.S. ground troops in Iraq. And the president has rejected calls to send troops back to the country.
One idea is to use drone aircraft to target the ISIL fighters. The U.S. has used drones to attack suspected militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia. Drone strikes are often effective in killing small numbers of people. But they are not effective against an army and could endanger civilians.
Stephen Zunes is a Middle East expert at the University of San Francisco.
"This is not a matter of getting a few bad guys and their various hideaways. We're talking about a rebellion that has thousands of armed men that control a very large swath of territory, including some major urban areas."
Another option for the U.S. is to provide more training, weapons and intelligence to the Iraqi army. Andreas Krieg is with King's College London.
"The Iraqi military has, despite all the billions we invested in security sector reform, not really performed in the way we want it to perform. But the Iraqis will obviously be the first line of defense against [ISIL], so they will need to be propped up in one way or another."
Few experts believe the militants can capture the heavily guarded city of Baghdad. But Andreas Krieg said it is important to stop the ISIL before it can set up an Islamic state in the heart of the Middle East.
"They don't have the fighting force to actually administer the vast territory that they have gained. So I think because they are weak right now, if we act quickly, I think something can be done. But once they consolidate their power over months to come, I think we will face a much bigger problem that we will not be able to contain."
And that's In the News from VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.
VOA英文文本来自51VOA，译文由可可原创，未经许可请勿转载。
词汇学习
1.seize vt. 夺取；占领
She tried to seize the gun from him.
她试图夺他的枪。
2.establish vt. 建立，创建
She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.
她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
3.powerless adj. 无力的，无能的
When the enemy attacked, we were completely powerless against them.
敌人进攻的时候，我们毫无抵御能力。
4.endanger vt. 危及，使遭受危险
Development of the area would endanger wildlife.
开发这一地区将会危及野生生物。
5.hideaway n. 隐避处
The bandits fled to a remote mountain hideaway.
匪徒们逃到了一个偏远的山间藏身。
6.swath n.长而宽的一长条
The tornado cut a swath through the town.
龙卷风袭击该镇，留下破坏的痕迹。
内容解析
1.On Tuesday, ISIL fighters took control of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.
second largest，第二大的，second修饰最高级largest
2.A spokesman for the ISIL said its supporters will push into Baghdad, the capital, and on to the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Karbala.
push into推进
We did not intended to push into the wide part, but to hold the narrow leg.
我们并不打算推进到宽广的内地，而只想坚守那狭窄的靴形地区。
3.I don't rule out anything because we do have a stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either Iraq or Syria for that matter.
rule out排除
The regulations rule out anyone under the age of eighteen.
按规定，18岁以下的人都不能参加。
4.so they will need to be propped up in one way or another.
prop up支持，资助
The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.
政府无意扶持不景气的企业。
参考译文
美国之音慢速学英语节目，这里是时事新闻。
本周，伊斯兰极端分子不断在伊拉克攻城略地。一个叫做伊拉克与黎凡特伊斯兰国或者ISIL的组织已经占领了伊拉克北部大部分土地。
周二，ISIL控制了伊拉克第二大城市摩苏尔。一天之后，该组织又占领了伊拉克前领袖萨达姆·侯赛因的家乡提克里特。官员们表示，周四，激进分子占领了东部省份迪亚拉两座城镇。
ISIL一名发言人表示，其支持者将向首都巴格达推进，并袭击什叶派穆斯林圣城卡尔巴拉。该组织表示，他们寻求建立伊斯兰风格的政府。
另外，伊拉克库尔德北方的安全力量控制了石油丰富的基尔库克一个空军基地和其他据点。这些安全力量在伊拉克政府军队离开据点后采取了行动。
伊拉克政府力量似乎无力制止激进分子。在摩苏尔西部，战士们占领了叙利亚东部部分地区。
最近的事态进展似乎让美国最近十年的工作化为乌有。自2003年伊拉克战争开始以来，美国花费了大约250亿美元来训练和装备伊拉克军队。
奥巴马总统表示，他正在考虑一系列选择来决定如何解决这场危机。周四，他在白宫向记者发表讲话。
“我不排除任何可能性，因为我们必须确保这些圣战分子不能在叙利亚或伊拉克建立永久性的据点。”
但是他的选择非常有限。就在两年半以前，奥巴马总统撤回伊拉克最后一批美国地面部队。奥巴马拒绝了重新向伊拉克派遣部队的呼吁。
其中一个想法是使用无人机来袭击ISIL战士。美国曾经使用无人机来袭击巴基斯坦，阿富汗，也门和索马里的可疑激进分子。无人机袭击在消灭少量敌人方面比较有效。但是对于大规模部队来说效果不佳，而且容易危及平民。
Stephen Zunes是旧金山大学一位中东问题专家。
“这并不是消灭几个坏人，摧毁他们的藏身之处这么简单。我们说的是一项反叛活动，他们拥有成千上万的武装人员，控制着大量的领土，其中包括一些主要的城市地区。”
美国的另外一个选择就是为伊拉克军队提供更多训练，武器和情报。Andreas Krieg是伦敦国王学院工作人员。
“尽管我们已经为安全部门改革投入了数百亿美元，伊拉克军队现在的表现仍然没有达到我们希望的水平。但是很明显，伊拉克将是抵抗ISIL的前线，所以他们将需要某一方面的扶持。”
很少有专家认为极端分子可以占领保卫严密的巴格达。但是Andreas Krieg表示，必须于ISIL在中东腹地建立伊斯兰国家之前制止他们，这非常重要。
“他们没有战斗力来真正管理他们所占领的广阔土地。所以我认为，他们现在比较疲弱，如果我们迅速采取行动的话，我认为是可以成功的。
但是一旦他们在未来的几个月中巩固了力量，我们将面临更大的问题，到时或许难以控制。”
以上就是今天的美国之音慢速学英语时事新闻节目。我是Steve Ember。
