UN peacekeepers moved in on Tuesday to create a buffer zone between rival factions of the Congolese army. 2004-12-24
Ration: 定量配给
The agency has been steadily cutting rations to more than 2.8 million people in Southern Africa over the last six months, many of them living with HIV/AIDS and many of them children. Most have been surviving on half a normal ration, or less. 2004-12-23
Casualty: 伤亡（人数）
While a slight majority believe the Iraq war contributed to the long-term security of the United States, 70 percent of Americans think these gains have come at an \"unacceptable\" cost in military casualties, the poll shows. 2004-12-23
Head off: 阻止，拦截
In setting up a Commission on Truth and Friendship, the two countries hope to head off a parallel initiative by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is weighing his own expert commission to review whether justice was done after the 1999 violence, their foreign ministers said after talks with Annan. 2004-12-22
Bravado: 虚张声势
Protected by U.S. Black Hawk helicopters, Britain's Tony Blair flew into Iraq on Tuesday in a surprise show of political bravado designed to boost prospects for Iraqi elections and cheer UK troops before Christmas. 2004-12-22
Round up: 围捕，使集拢
Police rounded up dozens of suspects on Monday after twin suicide car bombings killed 66 people in Iraq's Shi'ite holy cities, attacks that intensified fears of sectarian violence during elections on Jan. 30. 2004-12-21
Pharaoh: 法老，暴君
Now, following a 20-year re-examination of historical records and
uncovering new evidence, Vassil Dobrev, a French Egyptologist, claims to have proved that the largest single stone statue on Earth is the work of a forgotten pharaoh. 2004-12-21
Brief: 辩护状
Clive Stafford Smith, a British human rights lawyer, has prepared a 50-page brief which contains advice to take the case to US courts to ensure he receives a fair trial, the Sunday Times reported after saying it had seen the document. 2004-12-20
At will: 随意，任意
The deadly strikes highlighted the apparent ability of the insurgents to launch attacks almost at will, despite confident assessments by U.S. military commanders that they had regained the initiative after last month's campaign against militants in Fallujah. 2004-12-20
Overturn: 否决
Caitriona Ruane, who heads the \"Bring Them Home\" campaign that sought the Irishmen's release, said the court overturned an earlier decision clearing James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley of terrorism-related charges. 2004-12-17
Ebbed: 退潮，衰落
Israeli troops killed nine Palestinians during a raid into Gaza, the bloodiest in two weeks, where fighting has not ebbed despite expectations that moderate Mahmoud Abbas will win a presidential poll to replace Yasser
Arafat next month. 2004-12-31
Laser beam: 激光束
Authorities are investigating a mysterious laser beam that was directed into the cockpit of a commercial jet traveling at more than 8,500 feet. 2004-12-31
Warplane: 军用机
US troops backed by Warplanes have killed 25 guerrillas in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after facing a fierce coordinated assault by two suicide bombs and dozens of insurgents, the military say. 2004-12-30
Ward off: 防止，挡住
Bodies were piled into mass graves in the belief that burial would ward off disease. Paramedics in southern India began vaccinating thousands of survivors against cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and dysentery, and authorities sprayed bleaching powder on beaches where bodies have been recovered. In Sri Lanka, reports of waterborne disease such as diarrhea caused fears of an epidemic. 2004-12-30
Mudslide: 泥流
A powerful storm moved along the California's Coast Monday and Tuesday, causing highway-blocking mudslides, flooding and power outages. 2004-12-29
Shiite: 什叶派教徒
A main Sunni Muslim political party withdrew from Iraq's upcoming
elections on Monday, and a suicide bomb attack on the nation's largest Shiite party killed at least six people and wounded 33 others, police said. 2004-12-29
Sanitation: 公共卫生设施 The disaster could be the costliest in history as well, with \"many billions of dollars\" of damage, said U.N. Undersecretary Jan Egeland, who is in charge of emergency relief coordination. Hundreds of thousands have lost
everything, and millions face a hazardous future because of polluted drinking water, a lack of sanitation and no health services, he said. 2004-12-28
Fraudulent: 欺骗性的，欺诈的
\"We have been independent for 14 years but we were not free,\" Yushchenko told the festive crowd in Kiev's central Independence Square, the center of weeks of protests after the fraudulent and now-annulled Nov. 21 ballot in which Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych had been declared the winner. 2004-12-27
Tsunami: 海啸
The earthquake hit at 6:58 a.m.; the tsunami came as much as 2 1/2 hours later, without warning, on a morning of crystal blue skies. Sunbathers and snorkelers, cars and cottages, fishing boats and even a lighthouse were swept away. 2004-12-27
Fahrenheit: 华氏度 Two hit films that have been snubbed this awards season in Hollywood snared top People's Choice honors on Sunday as anti-Bush documentary \"Fahrenheit 9/11\" was named best film and \"The Passion of The Christ\" best film drama. 2005-01-11
Pragmatic: 实干的，注重实效的
The victory of the staid and pragmatic Abbas, who has spoken out against violence and has the backing of the international community, was expected to usher in a new era, after four decades of chaotic and corruption-riddled rule by Yasser Arafat who died Nov. 11. 2005-01-10
Curfew: 宵禁
Emergency powers allow the government to impose curfews, close borders and airports and detain suspects without following normal legal procedures. The emergency applies to all regions of Iraq except the
Kurdish north, which has been relatively stable. 2005-01-07
Unseat: 使失去资格
High humidity, poor air quality and some of the nation's longest commute times also helped Texas' most populous city unseat Detroit, the 2004 heavyweight champion, the magazine said. 2005-01-07
Congeniality: 趣味相同，意气相投
Bullock, whose screen credits include \"Miss Congeniality,\" \"While You Were Sleeping\" and \"Speed,\" contacted the American Red Cross last week, the organization said Monday. 2005-01-06
Catastrophe: 异常的灾祸
The president was criticized for his initial reaction to the catastrophe when he pledged $15 million from the United States, with some critics pointing out that this was less than half what will be spent on Bush's inauguration. The pledge has since risen to $350 million. 2005-01-06
Beef up: 加强，补充
But experts warn the high-tech network of sensors and buoys would be useless unless countries like Indonesia beef up communications links to the coastal communities that would be hit by giant waves. 2005-01-05
Payroll tax: 工资税
The Bush administration is focusing on a Social Security proposal that would allow younger workers to invest nearly two-thirds of their payroll taxes in private accounts, with contributions limited to about $1,000 to $1,300 a year, an administration official said Tuesday. 2005-01-05
Indigenous: 本土的；土产的
The shooting started before dawn on a bridge on the other side of town from the captured police station in Andahuaylas, 275 miles southeast of
Lima, Radioprogramas radio reported. The station was seized Saturday by followers of Antauro Humala, a retired army major who, along with his brother, seeks to establish a nationalist indigenous movement modeled on the ancient Incan Empire. 2005-01-04
Spearhead: 充当先锋，带头
Although the United States was not among the first at the scene after last week's natural disaster thousands of miles from American shores, it is now spearheading the international relief effort and delivering more supplies than any other nation. A U.S. warship strike group carrying thousands more Marines was headed in to help. 2005-01-04
Enclave: 被包围的领土
The top Palestinian security official Wednesday ordered troops deployed along the Gaza-Israel frontier in an attempt to curb attacks from the Arab enclave, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reversed course again, approving a \"security meeting\" that for the time being headed off a possible large-scale Israeli invasion to curb the surging violence. 2005-01-20
Give no ground: 毫不让步
Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice gave no ground in Senate confirmation questioning Tuesday, insisting the United States was fully prepared for the Iraq war and its aftermath and refusing to give a timetable for U.S. troops to come home. 2005-01-19
Thwart: 阻挠，妨碍
Insurgents in Iraq threatened yesterday to kill eight Chinese hostages as Baghdad officials said they would close land borders and restrict traffic across the country in a bid to thwart attacks during next week's election. 2005-01-19
Archbishop: 大主教
The Iraqi Catholic archbishop of Mosul was kidnapped at gunpoint on Monday and the Vatican demanded his quick release and deplored what it branded an act of terrorism. 2005-01-18
Inauguration: 就职典礼，开幕式
An unprecedented level of security is planned for George W. Bush's inauguration on Jan. 20, including six thousand police officers, 2,500 military personnel, and dozens of federal security agencies on patrol.
2005-01-17
Malaria: 疟疾，瘴气
Health officials plan to go door to door and tent to tent with
mosquito-killing spray guns beginning Friday to head off a looming threat that one expert says could kill 100,000 more people around the tsunami disaster zone: malaria. 2005-01-14
Convoy: 护送队
The White House on Wednesday said the search for weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq has ended without any evidence of the banned weapons, while guerrillas attacked a joint U.S.-Iraqi convoy in Mosul, killing two Iraqi National Guard. 2005-01-13
Comet: 彗星
A NASA spacecraft with a Hollywood name Deep Impact blasted off Wednesday on a mission to smash a hole in a comet and give scientists a glimpse of the frozen primordial ingredients of the solar system. 2005-01-13
Hamlet: 小村庄，部落
Rescuers with listening devices sensitive enough to pick up a whimper or a faint tapping searched on Tuesday for victims feared buried in a mudslide that sent a thunderous cascade of trees and dirt onto this seaside hamlet. 2005-01-12
Escalate: 冲突逐步升级
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is one of the more heavily armored U.S. military vehicles, suggesting that the roadside bomb was more powerful than those typically used in recent months. The Defense Department said last week that insurgents were increasing the size and power of the bombs they plant as they escalate their attacks before the Jan. 30 election. 2005-01-11
Lay out: 制定，设计
The Massachusetts Democrat, who opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, became the first senator to lay out a plan for Bush to start withdrawing troops a day after the Pentagon warned lawmakers that strikes by insurgents may increase after Sunday's elections. 2005-01-28
Normalcy: 标准，常态
More than 100 schools reopened throughout the province, to give surviving pupils some kind of normalcy. 2005-01-27
Corpsman: 医务兵，海军看护兵
Thirty Marines and a Navy corpsman were killed in a helicopter crash near Iraq's border with Jordan, bringing the number of U.S. troops killed Wednesday to 37 -- the deadliest day for U.S. forces since the start of the war in Iraq. 2005-01-27
Stampede: 蜂拥，惊跑
A stampede of religious pilgrims, packed along a narrow road leading to a Hindu shrine, killed at least 215 people in western India Tuesday afternoon, Indian officials said.
2005-01-26
Cheerleader: 啦啦队队长 For his part, Bush played cheerleader in chief at a rally before the march, telling tens of thousands of anti-abortion protesters on the Ellipse that their approach to the debate this year would \"change hearts and minds\" of those still favoring abortion rights. 2005-01-25
In custody: 被拘留
An al-Qaida lieutenant in custody in Iraq has confessed to masterminding most of the car bombings in Baghdad, including the bloody 2003 assault on the U.N. headquarters in the capital, authorities said Monday. 2005-01-25
A state of panic: 恐慌状态
\"Iraqi women face more stress than they can handle,\" another candidate, Widjan al-Khuzri told ABC News recently. \"We live in a state of panic.\" 2005-01-24
Abductee: 被绑架者
\"My biggest wish now is to hear my son's voice on the phone, the newspaper quoted Wei Shoulong, the father of one abductee, as saying. 2005-01-24
Quadrennial: 四年一次的
More than 100,000 people gathered outside the Capitol in chilly weather as the traditional pomp and ceremony of the quadrennial presidential inauguration took place under unprecedented security. 2005-01-21
Staggering: 令人惊愕或沮丧的
Indonesia is reporting a staggering new death toll from the tsunami disaster as recovery efforts slowly resolve the fates of tens of thousands of missing people. 2005-01-20
Skewed: 倾斜的，弯曲的
Officials haven't tallied results yet from Iraq's Sunni and Kurdish areas, and the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq cautioned the early data on how the Shiite region voted cannot be used to interpret the final election results because of the skewed demographics. 2005-02-05
Disclose: 揭露，透露，泄露
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld disclosed Thursday that he had offered President Bush his resignation twice during the height of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal last year. He said he wanted the decision on his future to be placed in Bush's hands. 2005-02-04
Emaciated: 消瘦的，衰弱的
The five men, two women and two children were found in a forest on Great Nicobar on Wednesday, according to a police source. The survivors were hungry, weak and emaciated, the source said. 2005-02-03
Homemade: 家庭自制的，本国制的
Leftist rebels attacked a Colombian marine post in southwest Colombia with homemade rockets early Tuesday, killing at least 14 soldiers and wounding about 25, the commander of the Colombian navy said. 2005-02-03
Minefield: 布雷区
The newly discovered minefields, some of which border on Honduras and Costa Rica, were probably laid by U.S.-backed Contra rebels who fought to overthrow Nicaragua's leftist Sandinista government of the time, the Defense Ministry said. 2005-02-02
Mafioso: 黑手党成员
Italian police raided houses and hideouts around the Sicilian city of Catania on Monday and arrested 45 Mafiosi accused of cocaine trafficking, extortion and kidnapping. 2005-02-01
Inmate: 同住者，同室者
American troops opened fire to put down a riot Monday at a prison camp in southern Iraq that left four inmates dead and six wounded, U.S. military officials said. 2005-02-01
Ransack: 到处搜索，洗劫
Nearly three dozen people roared up on motorcycles to the main building of Karachi's largest news group Saturday, overpowering the security staff and ransacking the reception area, offices and a relief camp set up to collect goods for tsunami victims. 2005-01-31
Resounding: 彻底的，极大的
In Washington, President George W. Bush said the election was a
``resounding success'' and ``the world is hearing the voice of freedom'' from the Middle East. ``By participating in free elections, the Iraqi people have firmly rejected the anti- democratic ideology of the
terrorists,'' Bush said. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's main ally in Iraq, later praised the ``courage'' of Iraqi voters. 2005-01-31
Hominid: 原始人类
Fossil hunters in Ethiopia have discovered the remains of at least nine primitive hominids, nearly 4.5 million years old, which scientists claim could help fill some of the gaps in early human evolution. 2005-01-28
Torrential: 奔流的、湍急的
Rivers of mud, rocks and uprooted trees scarred the landscape in a mountain valley where dozens of people were missing Monday after devastating floods and landslides, the latest victims from torrential rains across Venezuela and Colombia that have killed at least 86 people and destroyed thousands of homes. 2005-02-16
Procession: 行列，队伍
In Lebanon, noisy street processions mourned former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri a day before the funeral that will bring international leaders to Beirut. Angry Lebanese attacked Syrian workers in his hometown of Sidon, injuring several and shattering the windows of a Syrian-owned bakery. 2005-02-16
Al Jazeera: 半岛电视台
In the survey of almost 2,000 ad executives, brand managers and academics by online magazine Brandchannel, Apple ousted search engine Google from last year's top spot, but the surprise to many will be Al Jazeera's entry into the top five. 2005-02-13
Migrate: 移居，移民
Unskilled foreigners will find it harder to migrate to Britain under new proposals, which also call for stricter screening of asylum seekers and tighter border controls. 2005-02-11
Hospitalization: 住院治疗
The 10-minute appearance at an open window gave the public its first glimpse of the 84-year-old pontiff since his hospitalization, which rekindled questions about his ability to carry on. 2005-02-08
Rosy: 光明或愉快的
Bolstered by a humming economy and widespread approval of his response to the December tsunami tragedy, Thaksin's projected win surpassed even his and his party's rosiest expectations.
2005-02-07
Clash: 冲突，战斗
Fourteen attackers also died in the clash that broke out about 10:30 p.m. in Mahawil, 50 miles south of Baghdad, police Capt. Muthana Khalid Ali said. The dead included five Iraqi national guardsmen and 17 policemen, he said. 2005-02-07
Stave off: 挡开，延迟
Hungry Zimbabweans are staving off starvation by selling property and getting money from relatives abroad, but rights groups fear food may still become a political weapon ahead of elections in March. 2005-02-06
Embolden: 壮胆，鼓励
That could embolden Kurds in southeastern Turkey, where the Turkish army has been battling Kurdish rebels since 1984, a fight that has left 37,000 dead.
2005-02-06
Snatch: 攫取，抢夺
An Italian journalist was snatched from her car Friday in Baghdad, police said.
2005-02-05
Low-key: 低调的
The queen planned to stay away to respect the couple's wish for a low-key wedding, the palace said. But some royal watchers said the move would further embarrass the royal family and add to an air of farce around the April 8 ceremony. 2005-02-23
Flatten: 夷为平地
Under a cold, driving rain, survivors wailed over the bodies of the dead and dug through the ruins of mud-brick houses searching for their loved ones after a powerful earthquake flattened villages in central Iran on Tuesday, killing at least 420 people. 2005-02-23
Authenticity: 真实性
CNN could not confirm the authenticity of the video. 2005-02-22
Avalanche: 雪崩，山崩
Avalanches and slides triggered by heavy weekend snowfall in India's portion of Kashmir have killed at least 154 people and left 200 missing, an official said Monday. 2005-02-22
De facto: 事实上的
Prospects for peacemaking in the Middle East have strengthened since Abbas was elected to succeed Yasser Arafat on a platform of non-violence and persuaded the armed factions to follow a de facto truce. 2005-02-21
Unilateral: 单方面的，单边的
With the vote, an Israeli government agreed for the first time since capturing the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war to dismantle some of the dozens of Jewish settlements it has built there. However, approving the route of the barrier, Israel acted unilaterally on what was to be a key issue in peace talks with the Palestinians, and signaled it will keep a chunk of prime West Bank land close to Jerusalem, including two large Jewish settlement blocs. 2005-02-21
Atone: 弥补（过错），赎（罪）
Facing a brewing revolt by some undergraduate faculty, Summers posted a transcript of his remarks on his Web site (http://www.president.harvard.edu/) along with a letter in which he again atoned for the things he said. 2005-02-18
Besiege: 包围，团团围住
President Bush named John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, as the government's first national intelligence director Thursday, turning to a veteran diplomat to revive a spy community besieged by criticism after the Sept. 11 attacks. 2005-02-18
Mosque: 清真寺
Giuliana Sgrena, who was abducted in front of a mosque on February 4, talked in Italian and in French, saying that action to end the occupation is the only way she can be freed. 2005-02-17
Concur: 同意，赞成
Otari concurred, saying, \"The challenges we face in Syria and Iran require us to be in one front to confront all the challenges imposed (on us) by others.\" 2005-02-17
Unprecedented: 空前的
Two weeks of unprecedented protests forced the pro-Syrian government of Prime Minister Omar Karami to quit on Monday, leaving officials with a complex search for a new head of government. 2005-03-02
Outlaw: 宣布„„为非法
A closely divided Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for juvenile criminals on Tuesday, declaring there was a national consensus such executions were unconstitutionally cruel and ending a practice that had brought international condemnation. 2005-03-02
Touch off: 触发，激起
With shouts of \"Syria out!\" 25,000 protesters massed outside Parliament in a dramatic display of defiance that forced out Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister and Cabinet Monday, two weeks after the assassination of a popular politician touched off increasing unrest. 2005-03-01
National terror alert level: 国家安全警戒级别
The government has no immediate plans to raise its national terror alert level, Roehrkasse said. But, he said, the intelligence \"reiterates the desire by al-Qaida and its associates to target the homeland.\" 2005-03-01
Fiery: 激烈的，热烈的
Thousands of demonstrators massed in central Beirut overnight to defy a government ban on protests on Monday ahead of a fiery debate in parliament over the assassination of the country's former prime minister. 2005-02-28
Reactor: 反应堆
Iran and Russia ignored U.S. objections and signed a nuclear fuel
agreement Sunday that is key to bringing Tehran's first reactor online by mid-2006. 2005-02-28
Penalize: 处罚，罚款
World Bank investigators said on Thursday they had penalized more than 300 firms and individuals for fraud and corruption since 1999 but did not know the full extent of the problem in bank-financed projects. 2005-02-25
Tracheotomy: 气管切开术
The pontiff was conscious in his hospital room after the tracheotomy, breathing with the help of a respirator, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. 2005-02-25
Bleak: 阴冷的；无遮蔽的
Thousands of survivors of the magnitude 6.4 quake, many angry at the slow pace of relief efforts, faced another bleak night on freezing and
rain-soaked slopes amid the mud and rubble that used to be their homes. 2005-02-24
Perpetuate: 使永久
By intervening in northern Uganda's 18-year civil war, the International Criminal Court is in danger of perpetuating it, according to NGOs and international bodies concerned about the court's fledgling investigation.
Ward off
截至29日，印尼海域发生的里氏9级地震和海啸中的遇难人数已近8万，红十字会预测最后的死亡人数将逾10万。印尼总统苏西洛指示全国对灾区实施救援，同时命令印尼军方派出通信、工程和卫生兵，使用大型工程机械清理灾区废墟，防止疫情和其他疾病的暴发流行。外电报道如下：As the world scrambled to the rescue, survivors fought over packs of noodles in quake-stricken Indonesian streets Wednesday while relief supplies piled up at the airport for lack of cars, gas or passable roads to move them. The official death toll across 12 countries soared to near 77,000 and the Red Cross predicted it could pass 100,000.
Bodies were piled into mass graves in the belief that burial would ward off disease. Paramedics in southern India began vaccinating thousands of survivors against cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and dysentery, and authorities sprayed bleaching powder on beaches where bodies have been recovered. In Sri Lanka, reports of waterborne disease such as diarrhea caused fears of an epidemic.
Ward off表示“防止，挡住，避开”，例如：ward off an assault（击退一次攻势）。
Beef up
联合国官员日前称，南亚和东南亚地区将在一年内建立海啸预警系统，如果该系统在今年海啸灾难发生前已经存在，就可以挽救上万人的生命。专家认为，国家之间需要分享地震知识，并具备有效的国内通信网络，使政府得以快速将警报传递到有危险的地区，“问题主要不在技术系统，而在于通信网络„„要让临海国家意识到这一点还有很多工作要做。”外电报道如下：A tsunami warning system could be built in the Indian Ocean in just a year and cost as little as $20 million, a scientist said Tuesday.
But experts warn the high-tech network of sensors and buoys would be useless unless countries like Indonesia beef up communications links to the coastal communities that would be hit by giant waves.
Many coastal villages that bore the brunt of last month's earthquake and tsunami lack modern communication networks. Many don't even have telephones.
Beef up是口语用法，表示“加强，补充”，因为beef作动词时有“使（菜牛）长膘，加强”的含义，例如：beef up the air force（加强空军力量）。此外，beef还有“发牢骚（美俚）；告发；密告”等含义，例如：Women can always find something to beef about.（女人们总会找点什么由头发发牢骚。）
Spearhead
1月3日，美国总统布什与前任总统比尔·克林顿联合发出倡议，号召美国民众和企业踊跃捐款，以帮助遭受地震和海啸灾难的东南亚和南亚国家。至此，美国已将援助力度提高到最初计划金额的十倍，增加到3.5亿美元，布什还派他的弟弟、佛罗里达州州长杰伯·布什随同美国国务卿鲍威尔前往受灾地区进行视察，对灾情进行评估。外电报道如下：U.S. helicopters rescued dozens of
desperate and weak tsunami survivors, including a young girl clutching a stuffed Snoopy dog, as the American military relief operation reached out to remote areas of Indonesia with cartons of food and water on Monday.
Although the United States was not among the first at the scene after last week's natural disaster thousands of miles from American shores, it is now spearheading the international relief effort and delivering more supplies than any other nation. A U.S. warship strike group carrying thousands more Marines was headed in to help.
Spearhead的名词含义是“先头部队，前锋，矛头”，在此表示“充当先锋，带头”，例如：Spearhead the effort to offer classes in settlement houses and provide lecturers to women's clubs（带头在定居区提供课堂并为妇女俱乐部配备演讲者）。
据悉，《洛杉矶时报》1月2日发表社论，敦促布什尽快提出类似于马歇尔计划的亚洲战略，拨款数十亿美元用于各国的饮用水净化、卫生设施等灾后重建项目。一些美国国际事务分析家认为，华盛顿可以利用这个“天赐良机”向世人说明，美国之所以发动战争，完全是打击恐怖主义和推翻独裁政权的正义之举。通过在救援中的积极表现，美国可以改变世界大多数地区由于美国发动伊拉克战争而对美国所持的不满态度。
（中国日报网站编）
Anonymity
一名不希望透露名字的北约官员10月20日透露，北约下个月将在挪威和德国培训一批伊拉克军官。外电报道如下：NATO will begin training Iraqi officers in Norway and Germany next month, as part of a NATO mission offered to the new interim government in Baghdad, officials said Wednesday.
Some 20 senior Iraqi army officers will travel to Stavanger in
southwestern Norway for a week's training at NATO's newly-created Joint Warfare Centre at the start of November.
Meanwhile another group of Iraqi officers will undergo military doctrine instruction at a NATO centre in Oberammergau, southern Germany, said an official, requesting anonymity.
Anonymity表示“匿名，隐姓埋名，作者不明”；还可表示“匿名者，无名氏”。例如：He wanted the anonymity of suburban life where his reputation was not known.（他希望在他的盛名鲜为人知的郊区过一种隐姓埋名的生活。）
据悉，捷克国防部长屈恩尔20日也表示明年将在本国培训100名伊拉克安全人员。屈恩尔说，捷克国防部将分两批对这些人员进行培训，每期50人，时间各为3个月。捷方将为此次培训拨款2000万克朗（1美元约合25克朗）。
Kidnapper
广受媒体关注的英国人质比格利29日出现在卡塔尔半岛电视台播放的画面上，他再次呼吁英国首相布莱尔满足绑架者的要求，释放被关押的伊拉克女囚犯。英国外交大臣承认救人希望渺茫。外电报道如下：Kenneth Bigley, 62, appeared on the tape chained and squatting in a cage, pleading to the prime minister for help while accusing him of lying over the hostage crisis.Blair has said repeatedly he will not negotiate with the kidnappers, who demand release of women prisoners held in Iraq. kidnapper的意思是“拐子、 绑匪”。例如：The boy's kidnappers demanded an enormous ransom.（绑架男孩的歹徒索要一大笔赎金）。它的动词形式是kidnap，其近义词是abduct。
Commando
据报道，一群和“基地”有关的武装分子29日袭击了沙特东部石油城市胡拜尔的石油中心大楼，又在当地一外国人聚居区劫持人质。5月30日，沙特阿拉伯安全特种部队逮捕了该武装组织首领及其同伙， 结束了这次枪杀和挟持人质事件。外电是这样报道的：Helicopter-borne Saudi commandos drove al-Qaida militants from an expatriate housing complex in the kingdom's oil hub Sunday, ending a shooting and hostage-taking spree that left 22 dead. Commando的意思是“突击队”，特指水陆装备突击队，Saudi commandos指得是“沙特安全部队及特种部队”。该部队直属于沙特内政部，相当于美国各大城市的“霹雳特警队”
Franchise
5月20日，“飞人”迈克尔·乔丹向媒体透露，他的下一个目标是花钱买下一个篮球队，而不是做教练，因为他自称缺乏耐心。外电是这样报道的：Michael Jordan, widely described as the greatest basketball player of all time, has no desire to move into coaching and would rather own an NBA franchise. Franchise常见的意思是“公民权；选举权；参政权；专卖权”，但是在体育用
语中，franchise特指“职业运动队”。
Abuse
最近，美军虐待伊拉克战俘一事被炒得沸沸扬扬，据美联社报道，5月4日，五角大楼就此事举行了新闻发布会，美国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德在会上表示，涉嫌参与虐待战俘的美军玷污了同仁及国家的声誉，必将受到严厉惩处。他还表示将采取一切措施确保类似事件不再发生。外电中有这样的报道：US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said he will take \"all measures necessary\" to ensure that abuse of detainees such as what a Pentagon report says took place at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq \"does not happen again.\" abuse既可以作名词也可以作动词，意思是“虐待”，abuse detainees意思就是“虐待战俘”。abuse还可以解释为“滥用，妄用”，例如：to abuse one's power（滥用职权）。
Patrol
美军官员4月25日表示，美军将与伊拉克安全部队成员在巴格达西部城市费卢杰共同巡逻。此外，美军将向伊拉克什叶派圣城纳杰夫派兵，对抗什叶派领袖萨德尔领导的武装力量。外电中的报道是这样的：U.S. troops will be on patrol with Iraqi security forces in Fallujah, as the United States backed down from warnings of an all-out assault that could spark new bloodshed and deepen anti-American sentiment.“巡逻，巡查”的英文就是patrol，常用的固定搭配是：be on patrol，例如：Warships were on patrol in the North Atlantic.（多艘军舰在北大西洋巡逻。）
Single out
4月18日，约10万名巴勒斯坦人涌上加沙街头，为17日遇袭身亡的巴勒斯坦伊斯兰抵抗运动领导人兰提西送葬。兰提西的儿子在接受媒体采访时说：They target all the Palestinians, so of course they would single out our leaders. The leaders are always targets of such operations. single当形容词用时是“单一的、独身的”的意思，而在上面这句话中用作动词，常和out连用即single out，意思是“挑选、选出、选拔”。如：They were all to blame; why single him out for punishment? 今年3月22日哈马斯创始人、精神领袖亚辛遇袭身亡后，兰提西当选为哈马斯加沙地带领导人。去年6月兰提西曾遭到以色列导弹袭击，但这次未能幸免。他被认为是哈马斯强硬派代表人物，主张通过暴
力袭击，解放所有巴勒斯坦被占领土。
Armed to the teeth
Armed to the teeth，按字面意思翻译就是：“武装到牙齿”，可以引申为“全副武装，装备齐全”。这个短语是怎么来的呢？
1849年，armed to the teeth第一次出现。英国实业家和政治家理查德·科布登在演讲中谈到英国的国防预算问题时说\"Is there any reason why we should be armed to the teeth?\"，从此，armed to the teeth就被广泛使用。
例如：
Hitler was armed to the teeth when he launched the Second World War, but in a few years, he was completely defeated.
希特勒在发动第二次世界大战时全副武装，可是不过几年，就被彻底打败了。
The students went into the examination room, armed to the teeth with pens, pencils, erasers, calculators and so on.
同学们带着钢笔、铅笔、橡皮、计算器等走进了考场。他们个个准备齐全。
其实，to the teeth本身也是一个短语，意思是“完全地，充分地”。例如：Daddy and Mummy fought a war to the teeth. （爸爸和妈妈大吵了一场。）还有一些相关短语：be dressed to the teeth（浓妆艳抹），be fed up to the teeth with sth.（对某事及其厌倦）。 Hostage
4月8日，伊拉克武装分子抓住了3名日本人并将他们作为人质，还威胁日本政府如果不撤走驻扎在伊拉克的日本部队，他们将杀掉这3名人质。外电这样报道说：Iraqi militants put knives to the throats of three Japanese hostages and threatened to kill them unless Japan's troops leave the country. 句中的hostage是“人质”的意思。又如：Twenty innocent civilians were held as hostages by the gunmen.（20名无辜百姓被歹徒扣为人质。）日本政府当天就此事要求绑架者立即释放人质。日本政府今年总共向伊拉克派遣了500多名陆上自卫队官兵，参加伊拉克“重建”活动。这是二战后日本首次向海外战争地区派兵
Yahoo
大家一定都知道yahoo网站吧，但是如果我告诉你yahoo的原意是“乡巴佬”，你会有什么感想呢？
Yahoo一词最早出现在1726年。这一年Jonathan Swift（乔纳森·斯威夫特）创作了脍炙人口的《格列佛游记》，yahoo这个词正是Swift在书中杜撰的一种人。在故事里，格列佛第四次航海时遇到海难，被海水带到一个不知名的岛屿上，那里就生活着yahoo。这些被称为yahoo的人没有受过教育，非常愚笨且野蛮。可以看出，yahoo在Swift心目中象征着最低等的人，他们被那些富有智慧和美德的Houyhnhnms统治着。后来，yahoo就被用作“特别不讨人喜欢，愚笨的人”的代名词了。或许是因为它的读音特别，yahoo流传广泛。然而，至于yahoo网站为什么取名yahoo，就不得而知了，应该不会是指“乡巴佬网站”吧！
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