EZCNN 易英网

Haitian and U.S. Officials Push for Release of 17 Kidnapped Americans; Rare Sight Appears Near Australia; New Railway Connects China and Laos.

CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Thanks for taking 10 for CNN 10. I`m your host Carl Azuz. It`s good to see you this Thursday. Somewhere just east of the

capital of Haiti, 17 American missionaries are being held hostage. The Christian aid workers were kidnapped six days ago by a Haitian gang, and
 

missionary [ˋmɪʃən͵ɛrɪ] n. 传教士

it`s demanded $1 million in ransom for each of them, a total of $17 million for their release.
 

ransom [ˋrænsəm ] n. 赎金

The Americans range in age from eight months to 48 years old. They were working with a charity organization called Christian Aid Ministries. It

says their efforts included helping school children, distributing Bibles, providing medicine to clinics, giving food to the hungry and teaching Haitian pastors.

pastor [ˋpæstɚ] n.（基督教的）本堂牧师

The missionaries were also helping in a rebuilding project for people who lost their homes in an earthquake that struck Haiti in August. Conditions

there were deteriorating before that. The nation`s president was assassinated in July. Throughout the summer, gang violence and crime spread

across the capital of Port-au-Prince. Prices of goods have increased tremendously.

The electricity often goes out. There are shortages of food and gasoline, and corruption is widespread throughout Haiti, the poorest country in the
 

go out 不再燃烧或发光; 熄灭

Western Hemisphere. Kidnappings have been on the rise. Hundreds of abductions have been reported since the beginning of this year, including

that of five priests and two nuns who were taken in the same area six months ago.

They were later freed on ransom. Experts say strengthening gangs, an understaffed and overwhelmed security force and corruption involving police
 

strengthening [ˈstreŋθnɪŋ] adj. 增强的; 变坚挺的; 变强劲的

understaffed [͵ʌndɚˋstæft] adj. 人手不足的；人员配备不足的

overwhelmed [͵ovɚˋhwɛlmd] adj. 被淹没的; 被压倒的; 不知所措的

and politicians are all factors in Haiti`s rise in crime. Christian Aid Ministries is asking people to pray for the missionaries` safety and

release, as well as for the Haitian and American authorities helping in the process. Paying ransoms has brought a number of abducted people home, but

some officials say it also has negative consequences for Haiti.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As the State Department and the FBI work behind the scenes to free the American missionaries and five children who

were snatched in Haiti, a new warning about paying the $17 million ransom the gang behind the kidnapping is demanding .
 

snatch [snætʃ] v. 夺走，夺得

demanding [dɪˋmændɪŋ] adj. 高要求的

LAURENT LAMOTHE, FORMER HAITIAN MINISTER: It would be very unfortunate for the $17 million to be paid, because that would only reinforce the gang and

that would only finance further kidnappings. And so, the solution is to, short-term, send, you know, experts, security experts to -- to help the

police in this particular situation.

JOHNS: The missionaries were believed to be staying at compound in the village of Titanyen outside Port-au-Prince. On Saturday, they were

kidnapped by a group of armed men while driving back from visiting a nearby orphanage in Croix des Bouquets. Haitian officials say the gang 400 Mawozo

is responsible. We took a ride in a helicopter today to get a better view of the area. I`ve been on many of these roads outside of Port-au-Prince

ten years ago, but it`s very different now simply because of the kidnappings. It`s not safe for a foreigner to drive on the roads. That`s

why we`re in the helicopter.

400 Mawozo is Creole for "Out in the Country", "Outside the City" and that`s where this group comes from. An armed gang that has grown larger

and larger and more powerful particularly over the last several months. Since the assassination of the president of Haiti, they control the roads

in many ways. The police need help.

There`s a real reluctance from government authorities as well as many people who are part of the electorate to have another peace keeping force
 

reluctance [rɪˋlʌktəns] n. 不情愿

electorate [ɪˋlɛktərɪt] n. 选民, 有选举权者, 选区

on the ground to restore order. But if they don`t want that to happen, the question is how can Haiti succeed without getting control of the situation

on the ground?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. The term pod can be used to describe all of these animal groups except, Sharks, Walruses, Pelicans or Whales. A group of
 

walrus [ˋwɔlrəs] n.【动】海象

pelican [ˋpɛlɪkən] n.【鸟】鹈鹕

sharks maybe called a school, frenzy or shiver but not typically a pod.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON MILLAR, OWNER OF SAPPHIRE COASTAL ADVENTURES: On Thursday we had a mass or a mega pod in like 100 plus miles in a vicinity, really tightly-knit vicinity

that was feeding on bait fish and you know, a big smell fish everywhere, whales busting up through it. This is something that was

first witnessed last year, we’ve been witnessing whales beating on the coast for maybe like 18 19 years  since I`ve been doing 19 years but we -- we`ve never witnessed them feeding in such huge

aggregations before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: One of the 14 nations that share a border with China is Laos. It`s home to about 7.5 million people. Like China, Laos is a communist country
 

Laos [laʊz] n. 寮国（东南亚国家）

but unlike China, Laos has a youthful population. More than half the people who live there are under age 25. There`s a new railway that

connects the two nations. It runs from Pun Ming (ph), a large city in southern China to the Laotian capital of Vientiane. The track currently
 

Laotian [leˋoʃən] adj. 老挝的，老挝人的

Vientiane [vjɛnˋtjɑn] n. 永珍（寮国首都）

stretches just over 620 miles, but this is part of China`s first International Railway Network.

And that nation plans to eventually connect several Asian and African countries through the railway. When the China-Laos train is fully

operational, and that`s expected to happen by the end of this year. Its top speed will be just under 100 miles per hour, and it could bring more

Chinese tourists into Laos. China is the world`s most populous country and before COVID hit in 2019, a Laotian official says 760,000 Chinese tourists

visited his nation. And that was an increase of 26 percent from the year before.

You took the part that once was my heart. You took the best, so why not take the rest. Those are some of the lyrics to a classic American jazz

song named "All of Me" popularly performed by Billie Holiday. It`s not to be confused with the song that John Legend released in 2013. Imagine

singing that one live, on the street when the "legend" himself showed up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A street performer in Boston was crooning "All of Me" when suddenly she got all of him. John Legend, the man whose
 

croon [krun] v. 低声唱，轻哼；满怀柔情地唱流行歌曲

song she was singing was standing right before her eyes, though at first --

RAHDA: I saw a man with a trench coat and a mask step forward. I thought to myself that looks quite like John Legend but that couldn`t be him.
 

trench coat 军用雨衣

MOOS: But then he took his mask off.

RAHDA: I was absolutely stunned.

MOOS: In town for a concert, Legend was outside Fanual Hall with his wife Chrissy and his kids watching. Part time singer Rahda performed Legend`s

song, never dreaming he`d be there.

RAHDA: It`s definitely a fan favorite and it`s a song that I feel so emotional about.

MOOS: She said her mind went blank. She was nervous but she kept singing as he nodded encouragement. Anyone who watches "The Voice" might expect
 

nod [nɑd] v. 点头表示

him to wheel around any moment, but when Radha finished.

RAHDA: Give it up for Mr. Legend. John Legend. That`s a surprise.

MOOS: Legend reached in his pocket for his wallet, walked over to Rahda and gave her tip and a hug, telling her the song was beautiful. But how

much of his all did he give? Could you tell us how big a tip?

RAHDA: I would love to but actually don`t know.

MOOS: She just put it in her tip box and continued her set, but the one thing she does know --

RAHDA: I did give it my all.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Easy to see how that could leave her "head spinning". I mean who knows what was going on in that "beautiful mind". If she felt like the

"world was beating her down", John Legend really was "around". The two of them in "rhythm and blues" just can`t stop singing. I`m Carl Azuz, and I`d

like to thank all of you for watching. Shout out to our viewers at Foxboro High School in Foxborough, Massachusetts for subscribing and commenting on our

You Tube channel. We`ll see you all tomorrow.

END