VOA常速英语:Ethiopia May Join Alliance Against Somalia's Al-Shabab

短语讲解：

1. An alliance of mostly East African nations is preparing a coordinated military campaign in Somalia to finish off the embattled al-Shabab extremist group. 

finish off杀死; 毁掉; 结束(某事)
例句：Two of the villagers finished off the bandit.
有两个村民杀死了那个匪徒。

2. The al-Qaida-inspired extremists were driven out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu by African Union troops in August, and have recently lost ground to advancing Kenyan forces in the south.

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。

3. Toward that end, heads of state from the six-nation Horn of Africa regional bloc known as IGAD will meet next Friday to discuss a military strategy aimed at greatly expanding the control of Somalia's weak Transitional Federal Government.

aim at (以…)瞄准; 针对, 以…为目标
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。

4. Planners say the Addis Ababa summit will encourage all IGAD countries, including Ethiopia, to contribute to the effort.

contribute to促成
例句：Your suggestion has greatly contributed to the accomplishment of our work.
你的建议大大地促进了我们工作的完成。

5. "You can simply guess Ethiopia is going to be part and parcel of this process," said Dina.

part and parcel 重要(或主要、基本)部分；不可缺少的部分
例句：Microbiology is part and parcel of biology.
微生物学是生物学的组成部分。

6. "It's not only Ethiopia that's interested in crushing al-Shabab, it's in the interest of the IGAD countries, the African countries, even the international community to get rid of al-Shabab, which is actually quite a menace to the region," added Dina.

get rid of除掉, 去掉；摆脱
例句：He can't get rid of the cold.
他的感冒老是好不了。

7. Kenya blames the group for a series of recent cross-border kidnappings of foreigners, an allegation al-Shabab has denied.

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。

8. Diplomats say the plan calls for Kenyan troops to be brought under the AMISOM command, but not Ethiopian troops.

call for需要
例句：Your plan will call for a lot of money.
你的计划需要许多钱。

9. We believe the Kenyan operation is further contributing to weakening al-Shabab and creating space for the political process to take hold and lead to the conclusion of the transition next August...

take hold握住, 控制住, 吸引, 对…有影响力
例句：She obeyed and took hold of his hand.
她顺从了, 并握住他的手。
lead to导致, 引起
例句：An ordinary cold can soon lead to a fever.
一场普通的感冒很快便会引起高烧。