Spiiker新闻万花筒, BBC视角,带您看世界,听八方,练听力。 提升能力,做更好的自我~ BBC News with Julie Candler. The Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has made an emotional plea for support in his country's fight against pro-Russian rebels. Brandishing what he said were the passports of captured Russian soldiers, Mr Poroshenko told world leaders at a conference in Munich that Ukraine needed help to confront Russian aggression. "I take with me the passport(s) and military ID of Russian soldiers, Russian officers who come to us. This is the best evidence for the aggression and for the presences of Russian troops killing my soldiers and killing Ukrainian civilians, dozens, hundreds, thousands." Earlier the American Vice President John Biden said the United States was committed to helping Ukraine defend itself with the latest peace initiative failed, but Chancellor Merkel of Germany warned against arming Ukraine. Ukraine says its forces have come under intensified shelling from pro-Russia separatists across the conflict zone. Defence officials in Kiev say the rebels have amassed more tanks, armoured personnel carriers and multiple rocket launchers to renew their attacks on two key government-held towns - the railway hub of Debaltseve and the coastal city of Mariupol, which controls access to the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. A BBC correspondent in rebel-held Donetsk says the streets are largely deserted with many residents sheltering in basements. Thousands of Yemenis have been protesting in several cities in the centre of the country against the political takeover by Houthi rebels. They denounced the Houthi's declaration on Friday of a new power framework in Yemen as a coup and demanded they withdraw their fighters from major cities. Houthi gunmen fired into the air to disperse protesters in the capital Sanaa. Earlier a bomb exploded outside the presidential palace, which rebels now control. The United Arab Emirates says it is sending a squad of F-16 aircraft to Jordan to support the kingdom's forces in an intense programme of air strikes against Islamic State militants as part of the US-led coalition. From Dubai here's Mark Lobel. Pressure has been mounting on the UAE to respond to claims made by American officials that safety concerns had led to it pulling out of coalition air strikes against the Islamic States two months ago. The alleged pullout was said to have taken place after Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh was captured in Syria in December after his jet crashed during a bombing mission. The recent confirmation of the Jordanian flight lieutenant's death burnt alive in a cage by his captors has, however, prompted Jordan and its allies to intensify its efforts. The announcement is intended to dispel rumours of a split in moderate Sunni Arab support for air strikes on those parts of Syria and Iraq now under the control of the Sunni extremists IS. World News from the BBC The Brazilian government says there has been a 50% increase in the number of cases of dengue fever this year. Health officials say the rise is due to the country's prolonged drought in the heavily populated southern states. They say people were storing water inadequately in open containers allowing mosquitoes to breed. The governor of the Mexican state of Veracruz has said that high levels of violence have nothing to do with the cancellation of a popular international literary festival in the capital Xalapa. On Friday organisers of the UK Hay festival, who promote literary meets in cities around the world, decided to pull out this year's gathering in Xalapa and host an online conference instead. Security has been tightened in a number of Nigerian cities ahead of an announcement by the electoral commission on whether to postpone next Saturday's general election. Security officials have said they won't be able to guarantee public safety if the poll goes ahead as planned because of the threat posed by Boko Haram Islamists. Chekwas Okorie, an opposition presidential candidate, accused the governing party of interference. "Our supporters will lose confidence in the process because definitely they would believe that the shift is a result of the pressure that come from the party that is scared of defeat. And so if the party has its win to shift the goal balls towards the end of the match, then the party will have its win in many political results." The South African author Andre Brink, who was a prominent critic of apartheid, has died aged 79. Andre Brink was a white South African who wrote in Afrikaans and English. Some of his novels were burned for challenging the apartheid system. In his later work he was deeply critical of the African National Congress after South Africa became a democracy. His most famous books include A Dry White Season and Looking On Darkness. BBC News 词汇解析 literary 难度:1星畅通词汇,属常用20000词 英汉解释 adj.文学的 参考例句 用作形容词 (adj.) He is endowed with literary talent. 他有文学天分。 Literary works are art works of language. 文学作品是一种语言文学的艺术。 ************************ postpone 难度:4星核心词汇,属常用3000词 英汉解释 vt.延期;推迟 参考例句 用作及物动词 (vt.) The weather being bad, we had to postpone our trip. 因为天气不好,我们不得不延期出行。 Our financial situation is still precarious if we postpone the release of the new product. 如果我们推迟发布新产品的话,我们的财政状况仍然岌岌可危。 ************************ confidence 难度:4星核心词汇,属常用3000词 英汉解释 n.信任;把握;信心;知心话 adj.骗得信任的 参考例句 用作名词 (n.) The worst barrier to your success is not lack of money, but lack of confidence. 你成功最大的障碍不是缺钱,而是缺乏信心。 The two girls told each other confidences about their boyfriends. 这两个姑娘相互谈了关于各自男友的悄悄话。 ************************ shift 难度:4星核心词汇,属常用3000词 英汉解释 v.移动;改变;换挡;字型转换 n.轮班;变化;移动;计谋;轮班职工 参考例句 用作动词 (v.) The tools shift around in the car boot every time we turn a corner. 我们每次转弯,汽车行李箱里的工具就来回动。 用作名词 (n.) They were taking turns to be on the night shift. 他们轮流做夜班。 ************************ prominent 难度:3星常用词汇,属常用6000词 英汉解释 adj.显著的;杰出的;突出的 参考例句 用作形容词 (adj.) That school is prominent in baseball. 那个学校以棒球著称。 She is having a lean, gaunt frame with prominent bones. 他骨瘦如柴的身材又细又瘦,骨骼突出的 See more information, you can visit us 英语口语测试 http://www.spiiker.com/daily/
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