EZCNN 易英网

lineup [ˋlaɪn͵ʌp] n. 阵容

a lot of reporting on ISIS. It`s an acronym for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a new country, a theocracy in the Middle East based on ISIS`s strict

theocracy [θiˋɑkrəsi] n. 神权政治；僧侣政治；神权国家

interpretation of Islam.

ISIS was a violent group, known for murdering scores of people who didn`t share its beliefs. And while it existed years before 2014, that was the

year it took control of large parts of Iraq and Syria. 2014 was also when ISIS`s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared himself to be the leader over

all the world`s 1.5 billion Muslims, though that claim was rejected by many Muslims worldwide.

Between then and now, ISIS lost its territory in Iraq and Syria, as the international effort to fight it ramped up. The United States led a

ramp up 加强；增强

coalition, a group of countries in targeting ISIS fighters. And in March of this year, ISIS had fallen, with the defeat of its last stronghold in

Syria.

That doesn`t mean everyone who fought for the terrorist group is dead. In April, Islamic State released a video that it said contained a new message

from al-Baghdadi. That was the first he`d been seen in more than five years.

But on Sunday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump said al-Baghdadi had been killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A brutal killer, one who has caused so much hardship and death, has violently been eliminated. He will

never again harm another innocent man, woman or child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: The president says a U.S. Special Forces mission targeted the ISIS leader after keeping close track of him for weeks. The raid was carried

out in northwest Syria. The U.S. says several ISIS fighters and companions of al-Baghdadi were killed with him in the mission, though no American

troops died.

President Trump says al-Baghdadi killed himself after becoming trapped at the end of a tunnel. And the American leader thanked several other

countries and Kurdish fighters in Syria for their help with the mission.

While U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper called al-Baghdadi`s death a devastating blow to ISIS, America and other nations said they`d stay on

blow [blo] n.（用拳，武器等的）一击，殴打

guard against the next terrorist leaders who appear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

Who s the current U.S. Treasury secretary?

Jack Lew, Kathleen Sebelius, Wilbur Ross, or Steven Mnuchin?

The role is currently filled by Steven Mnuchin, the nation`s 77th secretary of the treasury.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: One role of Secretary Mnuchin`s department is to manage America`s public debt, the amount of money the U.S. government owes to other

governments, groups, investors or businesses. Right now, that number stands at $22.9 trillion.

The thing that makes that number grow is the deficit -- when the government spends more money than it takes in. And America has been doing that for

centuries. The only time in history it didn`t have a national debt was in 1835 under President Andrew Jackson.

On Friday, though, the gap between what the government spends and what it takes in reach $984 billion for a 12-month period ending in September.

That`s its biggest gap since 2012 when it had been exceeding a trillion dollars for several years. But if U.S. trade disputes with other countries

continue and if global growth slows down, as many analysts expect it to, the U.S. deficit could exceed $1 trillion once again next year.

Why is it so high? Secretary Mnuchin says wasteful government spending needs to be cut. Also, the tax cuts that were passed in 2017 reduced the

government`s revenue.

But when you`re looking at the debt and the deficit that causes it, the numbers are also in flux.

flux [flʌks] n. 不断的变动

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REPORTER: America lives on borrowed money. That`s why the terms "debt" and "deficit" get thrown around so much. But, of course, they`re not the

throw around 抛出/互换意见(桌上抛出议题); to share, exchange, discuss

same thing.

Let`s first start with our definitions.

If a government spends more than it takes in in a given year, the difference is called a deficit. Debt or the debt is the total sum our

government owes. So, every year with the deficit, the debt grows larger.

Looking at the chart, we see that in 1950, the debt was around $257 billion. That`s compared to now at around $22 trillion. But comparing the

debt then to comparing the debt now is a bit like comparing apples to oranges. That`s because when you talk about the deficit, you need context,

and the first thing to keep in mind, inflation.

With inflation, that $257 billion in 1950 suddenly becomes $2.8 trillion in today`s money. But you also have to look at the total size of the economy.

Our economy has grown tremendously since 1950. We have more money. We have more assets. We have more people.

That`s why when economists talk about the debt, they prefer to use this number, the debt-to-GDP ratio. It takes the total public debt and shows

debt-to-GDP ratio: 债务占GDP的比例

how big it is relative to the gross domestic product. Now, if we go back to that debt comparison and instead show the debt as a percentage of the

total economy, well, it`s a different story.

The U.S. number right now is around 100.6 percent, which is the highest it`s been since World War II. And if you`re wondering if that number is

too high, well, there`s no simple answer. Some economists say 85 percent is too high. Some say 100 percent. Some say even higher.

But regardless of which number is right, economists agree, these are the numbers you should be looking at.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: It`s been 500 years since Leonard da Vinci passed away. He was an incredibly influential Italian who died in France. And though that fact

has caused some tensions at an extraordinary exhibition that just opened in France, the show has gone on. It opened Friday.

It also contains works from other artists that are related to those of da Vinci. He was considered an ideal renaissance man because he was so gifted

-- sculpture, architecture, art, invention. Da Vinci was brilliant in multiple fields. That`s why half a millennium later, thousands are lining

up just to see some the pictures that came from his paint brush or his pencil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ten years in the making, The Louvre`s Leonardo da Vinci exhibition features more than 160 works,

including many items on loan from all over Europe and the United States.

on loan 租借; 借调

The Italian master spent his last years as court artist to France`s King Francis I. That helps explain The Louvre`s permanent collection of five of

da Vinci`s surviving works and its decision to spend so much time and resources on this exhibition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Louvre had to do something that on 2019 because Leonardo da Vinci decided to come in France in 1516 and it`s in France that

he died 500 years ago.

NEWTON: The Louvre`s decision to organize this exhibition has led to some Franco-Italian tensions. Italy`s far-right politician and a former deputy

prime minister, Matteo Salvini, is among those who has pointedly noted that da Vinci was Italian, not French.

pointedly [ˋpɔɪntɪdlɪ] adv. 强调地

And there was a public debate in Italy about sending works of art on loan to The Louvre. That hasn`t dampened the enthusiasm surrounding this event.

dampen [ˋdæmpən] v. 抑制，减轻

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leonardo is supposed to be the biggest, best exhibition on Leonardo that`s taken place in an awfully long time.

NEWTON: And according to The Louvre, a genius of the scale of da Vinci transcends nationality.

DELIEUVIN: He only spent his last year in France and that`s why we are today the institution owning the most of his paintings but Leonardo da

Vinci also is thought of as an Italian but he became a universal genius.

NEWTON: This is a remarkable collection of Leonardo da Vinci`s on display all in one place.

Da Vinci`s most famous work, of course, the "Mona Lisa," is reportedly viewed by 30,000 people at The Louvre each and every day. It isn`t part of

the special exhibition as the organizers say it would risk overcrowding the space. The ticket holders for the exhibition are free to take their place

in line and jostle with the crowds.

jostle [ˋdʒɑs!] v. 推挤[（+against/with）]

Paula Newton, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: For our "10 Out of 10", pumpkins float, but will they float your boat?

They will if you`re this man. He`s a farmer in Tennessee who took 910- pound pumpkin, carved it and set sail. His name is Justin Ownby, and this is the biggest gourd he`s ever grown. His previous record was a 220-pound

gourd [gord] n. 葫芦属植物

pumpkin. So, he`s definitely making progress, but he hopes that one day, maybe as soon as next year, he`ll achieve a thousand pounder.

We think he`s doing just vine. You can see the gourd job he`s doing, stems from a fruitful desire to pick and patch together his own record, and

hopefully his lantern will light up soon enough.

I`m Carl Azuz throwing a few pun-kins on CNN 10.

END