2006年VOA标准英语-Israel Launches Air and Ground Assault on Gaza
时间：2019-01-06 作者：英语课 分类：2006年VOA标准英语（六月）
By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
28 June 2006
Israel has launched an air and ground assault on the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip. The offensive was prompted by the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier on Sunday.
---------
One of the three bridges in Gaza, destroyed by Israeli airstrikes
Israeli tanks rumbled 1 across the border into southern Gaza, while aircraft launched a series of strikes to cripple Palestinian civilian 2 infrastructure 3. A power station was destroyed, leaving most of the more than one million Palestinian residents without electricity. Since water is pumped with electricity, there is the prospect 4 of a humanitarian 5 crisis. The air force also destroyed three bridges to prevent militants 6 holding the captive Israeli soldier from moving him.
Israel has warned that the offensive will intensify 7 if the 19-year-old corporal is not freed.
Palestinian legislator Saeb Erekat said the targeting of infrastructure is collective punishment.
"I think this is the way for extremism, chaos 8, lawlessness, violence and counter-violence because military solutions will produce no peace, no security, no sanity 9, no wisdom for anyone," he said.
Israeli spokesman Gideon Meir says the rules of engagement have changed since Israel ended its 38-year occupation of Gaza last August.
"We withdrew from the Gaza Strip, we dismantled 10 the settlements, not after 10 months to go back to Gaza," he said. "We are there to defend our people and to make sure that our serviceman will come back home safely and alive."
The Palestinian militants holding the Israeli soldier haven't budged 11. They say the soldier will not be released until hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails go free.
Militants also claim to have kidnapped a Jewish settler in the West Bank and are threatening to kill him if the Israeli offensive continues. The army is taking the threat seriously because a West Bank settler is missing.
- The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
- Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了，然而，在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声，持续不断。
- There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
- He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
- We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
- We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。
- This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
- The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
- She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
- The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。
- The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
- Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。
- We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
- They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。
- After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
- The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
- I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
- She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
- The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
- The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。