BBC news 2011-06-09 加文本

短语讲解：

1. Tanks and troops led by the Syrian president's brother are reportedly closing in on the town of Jisr al-Shughour. Britain and France are meanwhile about to table a United Nations Security Council resolution in New York condemning Syria's repression of anti-government protests.

close in使关闭
例句：Police closed in the railway station.
警察关闭了火车站。
be about to将要,正打算
例句：The troops are about to set out.
部队就要出发了。

2. For weeks, the dominant countries at the United Nations in New York have failed to agree any collective condemnation of President Assad's government, so no one has tried to push the issue to a vote.

fail to未能…
例句：Your sales fail to cover the cost you have incurred. 
你的售货款不能抵偿你的成本。 

3. The issue for us was, can we attribute these rapes to Gaddafi himself, or is it something that happened in the barracks and decided by some people.

attribute to把某事归因于某人〔某事〕
例句：I attribute our success to him.
我把我们的成功归功于他。

4. It was never the pattern he used to control the population.

used to过去一向,过去时常;过去曾
例句：Knights used to tilt on horseback. 
武士们以前在马背上以矛刺击。 

5. Reports from the Libyan city of Misrata say at least 10 Libyan rebels have been killed in military operations to push back pro-Gaddafi positions east and west of the city.

push back使撤退, 使回到原处
例句：The invaders were pushed back beyond their own country eventually.
入侵者最终被赶回到自己的国境内。

6. For more than three weeks, Misrata's rebel army have remained at the fixed positions they've taken up after they forced Libyan government troops out of the city.

take up占去
例句：All available accommodation were taken up.
房间都住满了。

7. Spain, in particular, has said it expects 100% compensation for its farmers after German officials initially and erroneously said Spanish cucumbers were responsible for the outbreak.

in particular尤其, 特别
例句：She likes fruit and tomatoes in particular.
她喜欢水果, 尤其是西红柿。
be responsible for为…负责,形成…的原因
例句：Everyone should be responsible for his work
每个人都应对自己的工作负责。

8. As more people survive heart attacks, more are living with damaged hearts, which struggle to pump enough blood around the body.

live with学会去适应; 接受并忍受
例句：Most of us don't like the new regulations, but we have to live with them.
我们大多数人不喜欢新的规定, 但我们必须学会适应他们。

9. When the mouse is in embryo, these cells are able to transform cells into other heart tissue.

transform into把…转变成…
例句：A tadpole transforms into a frog.
蝌蚪会变成青蛙。

10. The team at University College London found a drug to wake the cells up.

wake up醒来; 唤醒, 弄醒
例句：Stop shouting or you'll wake up the neighbors. 
不要喊了，否则你会把邻居吵醒的。
 
11. Lead researcher Professor Paul Riley said this resulted in repair.

result in导致,结果是
例句：The flood resulted in a considerable reduction in production.
这次水灾造成相当大的减产。

12. The former speaker of the Nigerian parliament has appeared in court, charged with 16 counts of corruption.

charge with指控…犯有罪
例句：They charged him with negligence of duty.
他们指责他玩忽职守。

13. The contracts amount to $60m.

amount to共计
例句：The bill amounts to $500.
这张账单共计500美元。