VOA慢速英语:塔利班武装分子袭击阿富汗议会大楼

Heavily armed Taliban militants attacked Afghanistan's parliament building Monday as lawmakers met inside. The attack began with a powerful explosion at the main entrance. Other explosions sent smoke rising from the building in Kabul.

全副武装的塔利班武装分子周一时候袭击了正在开会的国会大厦。袭击一开始用高强炮弹攻击了主要入口。其他爆炸产生的浓烟围绕着喀布尔建筑周围弥漫。

An Afghan Interior Ministry official says seven Taliban gunmen took part in the attack. The gunmen reportedly wore explosives around their bodies. The official said security forces killed all of the attackers. He said no lawmakers were hurt. However, Afghan officials said at least 30 people were hurt.

阿富汗内政部官员说七名塔利班持枪人员参与了此次袭击。持枪男子据报道称身上捆满了炸药。官方称安全部队击毙了所有袭击者。他说没有议员在此次袭击中受伤。然而阿富汗官员称至少有30人在袭击中受伤。

A Taliban statement claimed responsibility for what it called a suicide mission.

塔利班发布一项声明称对所谓的自杀袭击任务负责。

The United States embassy in Kabul strongly condemned the attack. An embassy statement said, "The attack on Parliament shows blatant disrespect for democracy and the rule of law."

美国驻喀布尔大使对此次袭击事件表示强烈谴责。一份大使馆声明称：此次对国会大厦的袭击表明了武装分子对民主和法治的不尊重和公然挑衅。

European Union extends economic actions against Russia

European Union foreign ministers officially agreed Monday to extend economic sanctions against Russia for an additional six months. The sanctions are meant to punish Russia for its involvement in the conflict with Ukraine.

欧盟外交部长周一时候正式同意延长对俄罗斯经济制裁六个月时间。制裁目的是为了惩罚俄罗斯参与乌克兰冲突事件。

The agreement came during a meeting of the EU's foreign ministers in Luxembourg. EU representatives had expressed support for the measure last week.

这一协议在欧盟外长在卢森堡会议上达成的。欧盟代表国在上周时候对此措施表示支持。

The economic sanctions target Russia's energy, defense and financial industries. They have been in place since July 2014 -- four months after Russia took control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

经济制裁目标瞄准了俄罗斯的能源，国防和金融行业。自2014年7月份俄罗斯控制乌克兰克里米亚半岛四个月之后，经济制裁政策开始实施。

US: No desire for conflict with Russia

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Monday that economic sanctions are having an effect in answering Russian "aggression" in Ukraine. He also said there is neither a desire for a return to Cold War tensions nor for a new conflict with Russia.

美国国防部长Ashton Carter周一时候表示经济制裁正在对俄罗斯“侵略”乌克兰后果产生影响。他说这项措施并不希望重返冷战紧张关系也不会与俄罗斯产生新的冲突。

Secretary Carter spoke at a conference in Berlin, where he met with Germany's defense minister. He added that while the West is not looking to be enemies with Russia, it will defend itself if necessary.

Carter秘书长在柏林会见了德国国防部长，他在会议上发表了讲话。他补充说，西方国家没有想与俄罗斯为敌，但是必要的时候也会采取正当防卫。

The U.S. official will travel Tuesday to Estonia for meetings with the defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All three countries were once under the influence of the government in Moscow and the Soviet Union.

美国官员周二的时候将前往爱沙尼亚，与爱沙尼亚，拉脱维亚和立陶宛国防部长举行会议。所有这三个国家均曾受莫斯科政府和前苏联历史影响。

Historic US church reopens after mass shooting

A historic church in South Carolina reopened on Sunday for its first religious service since a white gunman attacked a Bible study group last week.

南卡罗莱纳州历史性教堂在上周发生枪击案之后于周日重新开放。

A visiting clergyman, the Reverend Norval Goff, took the place of the leader of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the city of Charleston. Clementa Pinckney was among the nine people killed on Wednesday in what police are investigating as a hate crime.

一位来访的牧师，Norval Goff牧师，担任了查尔斯顿市伊曼纽尔非洲卫理公会领袖。Clementa Pinckney是发生在周三案件中九名遇害者中的其中的一人。目前警方正以种族歧视处理该案件。

The Reverend Goff urged the crowd to depend on God as they mourn the victims.

Goff牧师督促群众向上帝祷告为遇难者哀悼。

Visitors from Charleston and as far away as California filled the religious center. Churches across Charleston rang their bells at the same time as a show of support before prayer gatherings in the city.

来自查尔斯顿和远在加利福尼亚的游客都涌进了这个宗教中心。查尔斯顿的教堂在同一时间敲响了钟声表示对聚集在该城市祷告者的支持。

__________________________________________________________

Words in the News:

mission – n. an operation; being sent out to perform a special service

blatant – adj. disagreeable or problematic

sanctions – n. measures or actions designed to punish something

Cold War – n. – relating to the period when the United States competed against the Soviet Union

church– n. a Christian religious center