1、Buffer zone: 缓冲地带UN peacekeepers moved in on Tuesday to create a buffer zone between rival factions of the Congolese army.2004-12-24Ration: 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
2、and many of them children. Most have been surviving on half a normal ration, or less.2004-12-23Casualty: 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 mil
3、itary casualties, the pollshows.2004-12-23Head 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 viol
4、ence, their foreign ministers said after talks with Annan.2004-12-22Bravado: 虚张声势Protected by U.S. Black Hawk helicopters, Britains 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.2004-1
5、2-22Round up: 围捕，使集拢Police rounded up dozens of suspects on Monday after twin suicide car bombings killed 66 people in Iraqs Shiite holy cities, attacks that intensified fears of sectarian violence during elections on Jan. 30.2004-12-21Pharaoh: 法老，暴君Now, following a 20-year re-examination of histori
6、cal 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.2004-12-21Brief: 辩护状Clive Stafford Smith, a British human rights lawyer, has prepared a 50-page brief which contains a
7、dvice 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.2004-12-20At 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
8、. military commanders that they had regained the initiative after last months campaign against militants in Fallujah.2004-12-20Overturn: 否决Caitriona Ruane, who heads the “Bring Them Home“ campaign that sought the Irishmens release, said the court overturned an earlier decision clearing James Monagha
9、n, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley of terrorism-related charges.2004-12-17Ebbed: 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
10、Yasser Arafat next month.2004-12-31Laser 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.2004-12-31Warplane: 军用机US troops backed by Warplanes have killed 25 guerrillas in the northern Iraqi city o
11、f Mosul after facing a fierce coordinated assault by two suicide bombs and dozens of insurgents, the military say.2004-12-30Ward 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 agains
12、t 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.2004-12-30Mudslide: 泥流A powerful storm moved along the Californias Coast Monda
13、y and Tuesday, causing highway-blocking mudslides, flooding and power outages.2004-12-29Shiite: 什叶派教徒A main Sunni Muslim political party withdrew from Iraqs upcoming elections on Monday, and a suicide bomb attack on the nations largest Shiite party killed at least six people and wounded 33 others, p
14、olice said.2004-12-29Sanitation: 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
15、 future because of polluted drinking water, a lack of sanitation and no health services, he said.2004-12-28Fraudulent: 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 Kievs central Independence Square, the center of weeks of protests after t
16、he fraudulent and now-annulled Nov. 21 ballot in which Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych had been declared the winner.2004-12-27Tsunami: 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, ca
17、rs and cottages, fishing boats and even a lighthouse were swept away.2004-12-27Fahrenheit: 华氏度Two hit films that have been snubbed this awards season in Hollywood snared top Peoples Choice honors on Sunday as anti-Bush documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11“ was named best film and “The Passion of The Christ“
18、 bestfilm drama.2005-01-11Pragmatic: 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
19、Nov. 11.2005-01-10Curfew: 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.2005-01-07Unseat: 使失去
20、资格High humidity, poor air quality and some of the nations longest commute times also helped Texas most populous city unseat Detroit, the 2004 heavyweight champion, the magazine said.2005-01-07Congeniality: 趣味相同，意气相投Bullock, whose screen credits include “Miss Congeniality,“ “While You Were Sleeping“
21、and “Speed,“ contacted the American Red Cross last week, the organization said Monday.2005-01-06Catastrophe: 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 w
22、hat will be spent on Bushs inauguration. The pledge has since risen to $350 million.2005-01-06Beef 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
23、waves.2005-01-05Payroll 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 Tues
24、day.2005-01-05Indigenous: 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 wh
25、o, along with his brother, seeks to establish a nationalist indigenous movement modeled on the ancient Incan Empire.2005-01-04Spearhead: 充当先锋，带头Although the United States was not among the first at the scene after last weeks natural disaster thousands of miles from American shores, it is now spearhe
26、ading 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.2005-01-04Enclave: 被包围的领土The top Palestinian security official Wednesday ordered troops deployed along the Gaza-Israel frontier
27、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.2005-01-20Give no ground: 毫不让步Secretary of State nominee
28、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.2005-01-19Thwart: 阻挠，妨碍Insurgents in Iraq threatened yesterday to kill eight Chi
29、nese hostages as Baghdad officials said they would close land borders and restrict traffic across the country in a bid to thwart attacks during next weeks election.2005-01-19Archbishop: 大主教The Iraqi Catholic archbishop of Mosul was kidnapped at gunpoint on Monday and the Vatican demanded his quick r
30、elease and deplored what it branded an act of terrorism.2005-01-18Inauguration: 就职典礼，开幕式An unprecedented level of security is planned for George W. Bushs inauguration on Jan. 20, including six thousand police officers, 2,500 military personnel, and dozens of federal security agencies on patrol.2005-
31、01-17Malaria: 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.2005-01-14Convoy: 护送队The White House on Wednesday
32、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.2005-01-13Comet: 彗星A NASA spacecraft with a Hollywood name Deep Impact blasted off Wednesday on
33、 a mission to smash a hole in a comet and give scientists a glimpse of the frozen primordial ingredients of the solar system.2005-01-13Hamlet: 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 th
34、at sent a thunderous cascade of trees and dirt onto this seaside hamlet.2005-01-12Escalate: 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
