BBC news 2011-10-08 加文本

短语讲解：

1. Then after days of delay, the fighters moved in, but they were pinned down by well-positioned snipers.

pin down把…固定住; 使动弹不得
例句：We were pinned down by the enemy fire.
我们被敌人的炮火压住了。

2. Now the fighters are moving from house to house, clearing out the last of the gunmen.

clear out (使)离开
例句：The police cleared out the demonstrators by force.
警察用武力驱赶示威者。

3. An international agency has downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of Italy and Spain, putting new pressure on two of the eurozone's biggest economies.

put on强使承担
例句：The bank put pressure on the company to reduce its borrowings.
银行界向这家公司施加压力，迫使其减少借款。

4. Kurdish opposition activists in Syria say one of their leaders, Mishaal Tammo, has been killed by masked gunmen who broke into his house in the north of the country.

break into闯入, 强行进入, 破门而入
例句：We had to break into the house as we had lost the key.
因为我们弄丢了钥匙, 所以不得不破门而入。

5. She said she hadn't carried out her work expecting such recognition.

carry out完成, 实现
例句：They carried out their plan without difficulty.
他们顺利地完成了计划。

6. If you are a symbol of hope, you don't do it because you are expecting a reward; you do it because you are expected to do so, and people are relying and depending on you in your community.

rely on信赖, 依赖
例句：You can rely on me for help.
你可指望我来帮忙。
depend on依赖, 依靠
例句：You may depend on their support.
你可依靠他们的支持。

7. Two former monks at a Tibetan monastery are reported to have set themselves on fire in a protest against the authorities in southwestern China.
set on把…置于…之上
例句：The hostess set a lamp on the table.
女主人把一盏灯放在桌子上。

8. A campaign group said one of the teenagers had died from his injuries after they set themselves alight near the restive Kirti monastery in Sichuan province.

die from死于
例句：In a severe winter, wild animals can die from lack of food.
在寒冷的冬天, 野兽可能因为缺乏食物而饿死。

9. One man was dragged from his home by the beard before his attackers tried to cut it off.

cut off (疾病等)使(人)死亡
例句：Disease cut Brooks off in the best part of life.
疾病结束了布鲁克斯盛年的生命。

10. The incidents may spring from some doctrinal dispute or merely represent a series of malicious pranks.

spring from由……引起；出身于
例句：The error sprang from carelessness.
这个错误是由于粗心造成的。