BBC news 2011-04-16 加文本

短语讲解：

1. Police in Syria have used tear gas and batons to break up crowds of anti-government protesters marching towards the centre of Damascus in a rare protest there.

break up （使）破碎，分散
例句：The workers will break up the old cars for their parts.
工人要把那些旧车拆掉取零件。

2. Many thousands of people marched towards the capital until they came face to face with a large deployment of security personnel determined to prevent them from reaching the centre of the city.

face to face 面对面
例句：I sat face to face with her.
我和她面对面坐着。

3. One woman was forced to watch the mass rape of her sister who then died from her injuries.

die from 死于…
例句：In big cities during cold winter months, many old people die from the polluted air. 
在大城市里, 在寒冷的冬季, 许多老年人死于污染的空气。

4.  The current President Goodluck Jonathan is regarded as the clear front-runner, even though his People's Democratic Party lost seats in parliamentary elections last week.

be regarded as 被当做…，被认作…
例句：Hearsay definitely can't be regarded as accurate information .
道听途说的决然不能算作很准确的消息。
even though 虽然，即使
例句：He's the best teacher even though he has the least experience.
尽管他经验最少, 但教得最好。

5. The United States government currently pays for a quarter of its spending with borrowed money, so the accumulated debt continues to rise, and in May it'll reach the maximum allowed by Congress, over $14tn.

pay for 为…付钱
例句：I have to pay 150 dollars for the sewing machine.
我得花150美元买这台缝纫机。

6. If Congress refuses to increase the limit, it would severely disrupt government business, and if that continued long enough, it could have a negative impact on the economy in the US and unsettle global financial markets.

have an impact on 对…有影响
例句：The Olympics will have an impact on everything in Beijing .
奥运会的召开对北京的方方面面将产生重大的影响。

7. However, neither the Republicans in Congress nor President Obama would want to be blamed for that, so they have a compelling incentive to reach an agreement.

be blamed for 因…而被责备
例句：Heavy industries have been blamed for river, soil, air, noise and visual pollutions. 
重工业由于河流、土壤、空气、噪音和视觉的污染而备受指责。 

8. The Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the threat to Libyan civilians would not disappear while Colonel Gaddafi was still in power, but he reiterated that Nato was strictly conforming to the UN mandate to protect civilians.

conform to 符合，遵照，遵守
例句：All students must conform to the rules .
所有学生必须遵守规则。

9. itnesses at the time said he killed himself rather than surrender using a rifle given to him by his friend, the Cuban leader Fidel Castro, but some supporters of the left-wing leader think he may have been killed by soldiers.

rather than 而不是
例句：I prefer tea rather than coffee.
我喜欢茶甚于喜欢咖啡。

10. It's one of hundreds of unresolved human rights cases dating back to military rule when thousands of Chileans were tortured and killed.

date back to 追溯到…
例句：The history of the town dates back to the Middle Ages.
这个城镇的历史可回溯到中世纪。

11. Strong winds caused extensive damage with electricity pylons being torn down in the state of Arkansas.

tear down扯开，拆卸，拆毁
例句：The old houses have been torn down.
旧房子拆掉了。