VOA常速英语:Somalia PM Says Suicide Attack Shows al-Shabab 'Weakness'

短语讲解：

1. This is the time to intervene, as we cannot watch these cowards to regroup and carry out more vicious and cowardly acts.

carry out执行; 贯彻
例句：He carried out the plan in very detail.
他一丝不苟地执行那项计划。

2. African Union peacekeepers broke al-Shabab’s three-year stranglehold on Mogadishu in August after weeks of heavy fighting, driving the extremists into rural areas hard hit by famine.

drive into赶进; 迫使处于(某种)状态
例句：The failure drove him into despair.
这次失败使他绝望了。

3. Speaking to reporters while on a visit to Addis Ababa, Prime Minister Ali said the hardline Islamist extremists are becoming desperate as people increasingly blame them for blocking distribution of food aid.

blame for因…怪罪, 责怪(某人)
例句：He blamed his brother for breaking the window.
他责备他兄弟打破了窗玻璃。

4. They lost the fight, they lost the battle, and resorting to violence and killing innocent people is the weakness of al-Shabab. 

resort to诉诸于,采取
例句：It was after the failure of this attempt that he resorted to force.
是这次尝试失败之后他才诉诸武力的。

5. Violence against innocent people will not inculcate fear in the people’s mind as they intend to, but this will rather lead to their demise and isolation

intend to打算(做)..., 想要(做)...
例句：He intends his son to manage the company.
他打算让他儿子经营该公司。
lead to导致
例句：Smoking can lead to lung cancer.
抽烟可能导致肺癌。

6. The prime minister called the bombing a crime, on top of the crime of preventing food aid from reaching desperate Somalis in the famine zone, effectively condemning many people to death.

prevent from阻止, 防止
例句：His prompt action prevented the fire from spreading.
他的果断行动制止了火势的蔓延。

7. "Those severely affected by this famine are under the yoke of al-Shabab.  They deny access of relief aid to Somalia, and adding again insult to injury this is what they did to the Somali people," Ali noted.

add to增加, 加强
例句：This lesson adds to the value of the book.
这一课增加了这本书的价值。

8. The extremist group is trying to drive out Prime Minister Ali’s fragile western-backed administration and install a government based on Islamic Sharia law in the strategically located Horn of Africa country.

drive out驱逐, 驱散
例句：They drove foreign goods out of the market.
他们把外国货驱逐出市场。
base on使建立在…基础上
例句：Action should be based on solid facts.
行动应有确凿的事实为依据。

9. Western governments fear that an al-Shabab victory would clear the way for al-Qaida to use Somalia as a base for terrorist operations.

clear the way for排除障碍；为……铺路
例句：The enforcement of this law will clear the way for further reform.
该项法律的实施将进一步扫除改革的障碍。