一、Emmanuel Macron announces tax cuts as part of reforms for France
Emmanuel Macron has promised tax cuts as part of a round of economic and political reforms aimed at rebooting his presidency and responding to the sometimes violent gilets jaunes movement that has shaken the French government.
- reboot v. 重新启动（一般来说，reboot的意思包含两个动作：先关闭再启动，比如reboot the robot)
In a wide-ranging speech that also touched on education and the environment, Mr Macron vowed to push through “deep reform” of the state administration to address the “profound sense of fiscal, social and provincial injustice” reflected in the protests.
- wide-ranging adj. （涉及内容）范围大的，广泛的
- push through 使…被通过
二、The anti-gay extremist behind America's fiercely strict abortion bans
Janet Porter won a major victory when the strictest law in the US passed in Ohio – the latest step in a fight she is taking global.
Janet Porter is a woman who believes life begins at conception and homosexuality is a choice. She has said gay marriage caused Noah’s floods, and was the architect of a 1990s gay conversion campaign. She implied US supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a Jewish woman, is a racist. Like Donald Trump, she was a proponent of the Barack Obama “birther” conspiracy theory.
- conception n. 怀孕；受孕
- Noah n. 诺亚（圣经人物）
- be a proponent of 是……的倡导者/支持者
- conspiracy theory 阴谋论
For nine years Porter lobbied on the fringes of the abortion debate. The six-week ban was not supported by mainstream anti-abortion groups, such as Ohio Right to Life. It was vetoed twice by a Republican governor, who argued it would contradict settled law on abortion. The bill, and often Porter herself, were considered too extreme.
- on the fringes of 在（…的）边缘，在（…的）外围
- contradict v. 相抵触；相矛盾；相反
But with two recently appointed supreme court justices nominated by Donald Trump and a growing number of anti-abortion federal judges, Porter’s law has now been introduced in 11 states and passed by legislatures in four more, as conservatives seek to mount a frontal challenge to Roe v Wade, the 1973 court decision which legalized abortion across America.
- mount adj. 准备；安排；组织开展
- frontal adj. （攻击或批评）正面的，劈头盖脸的，直截了当的
三、Death toll in Sri Lanka bombings revised down to 253
Sri Lankan authorities have revised the death toll from Easter Sunday’s string of bombings down to 253 people from the previous estimate of 359.
- death toll 死亡人数
- a string of 一系列；一连串；一批
The country’s director general for health services issued the correction on Thursday, citing the difficulty of identifying victims due to the nature of the bombings, some of which took place in closely confined spaces and left some bodies in pieces.
- director general 署长；局长；（尤指公共机构的）总管
Three churches and three hotels were bombed in quick succession on Sunday morning, with other bombs going off in a private home and near Colombo’s zoo.
- in succession 一连串地；连续地
- go off (炸弹) 爆炸; (枪) 开击
The downward revision means the attack is no longer the deadliest ever claimed by Islamic State. A series of coordinated bombings carried out by the group in Baghdad in 2016 killed 340 people, while a bombing and mass shooting claimed by the group at a Sufi mosque in the Sinai desert the following year killed an estimated 311.
- downward adj. 下降的
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