BBC news 2011-06-03 加文本

短语讲解：

1. Syrian opposition groups have called on President Assad to resign immediately and make way for a transition to democracy.

call on要求, 请求; 叫, 号召
例句：The government called on the workers to oppose waste.
政府号召工人反对浪费。

2. Al-Rastan has been cut off and under attack by troops and tanks for several days now.

cut off使(人)死亡
例句：He was cut off when he was still young.
他死时年岁不大。

3. Activists said the town has been under heavy bombardment from artillery and tanks, with some houses being brought down on the heads of families.

bring down使(某物或某人)掉下〔倒下〕
例句：In American football, you have to try to bring down your opponent.
在美式橄榄球赛中, 你必须设法把对手弄倒在地。

4. All of this is going on despite the conciliatory gestures being made by the regime.

go on进行
例句：We could hardly have gone on without your help.
要是没有您的帮助, 我们很难取得进展。

5. One report said two roadside bombs went off in the main market near the provincial governor's compound and that the blasts were followed by a car bomb.

go off开火；爆炸
例句：The firecracker didn't go off.
爆竹没响。

6. For now, at least it seems as if the president has seen off this latest challenge.

see off把(某人)赶走
例句：See him off the premises and sure he never returns!
把他从这房屋赶走, 决不让他再回来!

7. He has decades of experience of surviving and even benefiting from various armed conflicts in Yemen, but he's never seemed under siege in quite the same way as fighters bent on his removal approach the very heart of his power.

benefit from通过…获益
例句：He thought he would benefit from going to school.
他认为上学对他有好处。
bend on专心致志于
例句：She bent her glance on a table at which four men sat together.
她把目光转到一张坐着四个人的桌子上。

8. An American couple who kidnapped a school girl and held her captive for nearly two decades has been sentenced to life in priso

be sentenced to被判处…
例句：He is sentenced to pay a heavy fine.
他被判处交巨额罚金。

9. Scientists are still searching for the source of the outbreak, which has killed nearly 20 people and made more than 1,600 ill across 10 European countries.

search for搜索, 搜寻
例句：I have searched my mind for a reason, but can't find one.
我绞尽脑汁寻找理由, 但是没找到。

10. Mr Romney said it broke his heart to see fellow citizens out of work, losing their homes and struggling to pay for food and petrol.

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。

11. A court in Argentina has ruled that the heirs to the country's main media group must submit to DNA testing to clarify whether they were born to left-wing prisoners killed by the armed forces in the 1970s.

submit to向…呈交〔递送〕…; 顺从〔屈从, 服从〕…
例句：The minority should submit to the majority.
少数应服从多数。

12. Brazil has launched a welfare scheme aimed at lifting millions of people out of extreme poverty.

aim at以…为目标, 计划, 打算
例句：The visit was aimed at expanding the relations between the two countries.
访问的目的是扩展两国的关系。