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① At least 81 people were thought to have perished in forest fires near Athens, with many more unaccounted for.
据信至少81人在雅典附近的森林大火中丧生，还有更多人下落不明。
perish： formal or literary to die, especially in a terrible or sudden way
死亡〔尤指惨死或猝死〕
Hundreds perished when the ship went down. 轮船沉没，数百人罹难。
以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》
unaccounted for：something or someone that is unaccounted for cannot be found or their absence cannot be explained
下落不明的，失踪的；〔某事物或某人的缺席〕不能解释的
•Two people are still unaccounted for after the floods. 洪水过后仍有两人下落不明。
以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》
②Spain’s People’s Party chose a new leader following the resignation of Mariano Rajoy, who was forced to stand down as prime minister last month.
西班牙人民党在Mariano Rajoy辞职后选择了一位新领导人。Mariano Rajoy在上个月被迫辞去了首相职务。
stand down：If someone stands down, they resign from an important job or position, often in order to let someone else take their place. (从要职上) 退下
• Four days later, the despised leader finally stood down, just 17 days after taking office.
4天后，这位受鄙视的领导人终于辞职了，就职才只有17天。
以上来源于《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》
③ France was gripped by a presidential scandal involving one of Emmanuel Macron’s bodyguards, who was filmed wearing a police helmet (though he is not a policeman) and beating up a protester.
法国深陷总统丑闻。此事涉及马克龙总统的一名保镖。他戴着警察头盔（他并非警察）殴打了一名抗议者。
was gripped by=be in the grip of sth
to be experiencing a very unpleasant situation that cannot be controlled or stopped
处于某种困境
a country in the grip of famine 受饥荒困扰的国家
④ Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s new foreign secretary, warned the EU not to expect Britain to “blink” in Brexit negotiations.
英国新任外交大臣杰里米·亨特警告欧盟不要指望英国在脱欧谈判中犯错。
类似于on the blink
spoken not working properly
失灵，出毛病
My computer’s on the blink again. 我的电脑又出问题了。
以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》
⑤ More than a dozen senators defected from Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, to join the People’s Democratic Party. The defections may weaken the campaign of Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office in next year’s presidential election.
十多名从尼日利亚执政党（全体进步大会）中脱离的参议员加入了人民民主党。此次脱党行动可能削弱Muhammadu Buhari在明年的总统大选中争取连任的竞选活动。
defect ：to leave your own country or group in order to go to or join an opposing one
背叛，叛逃，投敌，变节，脱党
[+ to/from]
a Russian actor who defected to the West 一名叛逃到西方国家的俄罗斯演员
以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》
⑥ Jair Bolsonaro formally entered the Brazilian presidential race. The congressman, a former army officer, is riding high in the polls with his strongman promise to crack down on Brazil’s rampant crime and corruption.
Jair Bolsonaro正式参选巴西总统。这位国会议员和前军官在民意调查中高居榜首。他承诺将强力打击巴西猖獗的犯罪和腐败。
ride high
1. 极顺利,成功,获得成功;万事如意：
Our shop has been riding high recently. 我们商店近来生意一直很好。
2. 得意洋洋；趾高气扬；神气十足：
Our school team are really riding high after winning the game. 我们校队打赢那场比赛后真是神气十足。
以上来源于《21世纪大英汉词典》
rampant
If you describe something bad, such as a crime or disease, as rampant, you mean that it is very common and is increasing in an uncontrolled way. 猖獗的; 泛滥的
Inflation is rampant and industry in decline.
通货膨胀肆虐，工业生产下降。
以上来源于《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》
⑦ Donald Trump responded to sabre-rattling comments from the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, by tweeting that Iran would “suffer consequences the likes of which few…have ever suffered” if it kept provoking America. Iran retaliated by saying it would take “countermeasures” against American plans to block Iranian oil exports. The barrage of barbs briefly rattled oil markets.
唐纳德特朗普总统在推特发文回击了伊朗总统Hassan Rouhani武力威胁的论调。他说，如果继续挑衅美国，伊朗将“遭遇无人经验过的严重后果”。 伊朗反击说，将针对美国阻止伊朗石油出口的计划采取“对策”。 双方你来我往，唇枪舌剑。这让石油市场一度陷入了恐慌。
sabre-rattle：炫耀武力；以武力相威胁，用武力恫吓
以上来源于《21世纪大英汉词典》
provoke
If you provoke someone, you deliberately annoy them and try to make them behave aggressively. 对…挑衅
He started beating me when I was about fifteen but I didn't do anything to provoke him.
我大约十五岁时，他开始打我，但我并没有做什么招惹他的事情。
以上来源于《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》
barrage of
I worried whether the barrage of shattering surprises would disorient you.
我担心一连串令人吃惊的倒闭是否将误导你。
barb
A barb is an unkind remark meant as a criticism of someone or something. 讽刺; 伤人的话或事
The barb stung her exactly the way he hoped it would.
他的讽刺如期伤到了她。
以上来源于《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》
⑧ The British government waived a protocol that British citizens extradited to America to stand trial for murder should not face the death penalty, in the case of two members of an Islamic State death squad.Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are two alleged members of a cell nicknamed The Beatles who carried out a series of high-profile beheadings in Syria.
在一个案件中，英国政府放弃了一项外交权力，即引渡到美国的英国公民在接受谋杀审判时不应被判死刑。Alexanda Kotey和El Shafee Elsheikh是伊斯兰国死刑小队的两名成员，据说也是绰号为“披头士”小组的成员。他们在叙利亚执行了一系列高调斩首行刑。
waive
If you waive your right to something, such as legal representation, you choose not to have it or do it. 放弃 (权利)
He pleaded guilty to the murders of three boys and waived his right to appeal.
他对杀害了3个男孩的罪行表示认罪伏法，并放弃上诉的权利。
以上来源于《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》
protocol
A protocol is a written record of a treaty or agreement that has been made by two or more countries. 议定书
• ...the Montreal Protocol to phase out use and production of CFCs.
…逐步停止使用和生产含氯氟烃的《蒙特利尔议定书》。
extradite
If someone is extradited, they are officially sent back to their own or another country or state to be tried for a crime that they have been accused of. 引渡
A judge agreed to extradite him to Texas.
一位法官同意将他引渡到德克萨斯州。
stand trial
(因…)受审判，(因…)受审讯
以上来源于《21世纪大英汉词典》
death squad
Death squads are groups of people who operate illegally and carry out the killing of people such as their political opponents or criminals.
high-profile
A high-profile person or a high-profile event attracts a lot of attention or publicity. 引人注目的
...high-profile criminal defence lawyer, Gerald Shargel.
…备受关注的刑事辩护律师，杰拉尔德·夏盖尔。
behead
If someone is beheaded, their head is cut off, usually because they have been found guilty of a crime. 斩首
• At least one hostage was beheaded in that room.
至少有一名人质在那个房间被斩首。
⑨ Election day in Pakistan was marred by violence; a suicide-bomb at a polling station in Quetta killed at least 31 people. Supporters of the party led by Imran Khan, a former cricketer, claimed victory, but his opponents alleged that security officials helped rig the vote.
暴力袭击事件给巴基斯坦选举日蒙上了阴影。在奎达投票站，一枚自杀式炸弹被引爆，造成至少31人死亡。前板球运动员伊姆兰·汗领导的政党支持者们声称取得了胜利，但反对者指责安全官员操纵了投票。
mar：to make something less attractive or enjoyable
玷污，损坏，毁坏
近义词：spoil
Their wedding was marred by the death of Jenny’s mother a week earlier. 一周之前珍妮母亲的过世使他们的婚礼蒙上了一层阴影。
A frown marred his handsome features. 紧锁的眉头破坏了他俊美的面容。
以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》
⑩ The Indian government scrapped its tampon tax. Campaigners argued that, by making it costlier to go out without embarrassment while menstruating, the tax was pushing girls to drop out of school.
印度政府取消了卫生棉条税。此项政策的推动者认为，征税增加了女孩子在行经期外出没有窘迫之感的成本，并迫使女孩辍学。
menstruate: when a woman menstruates, usually every month, blood flows from her body
行经
以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》