VOA标准英语2009年-London Condemns Reception Lockerbie Bomber
时间：2019-01-14 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2009年(八月)
The British government has condemned 1 the hero's welcome Libya gave to the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says it was deeply upsetting for the loved ones of the 270 victims of the Pan Am attack.
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi (top L) is escorted by Seif al-Islam el- Gadhafi, son of Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli, 20 Aug 2009
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi received a warm welcome from flag waving Libyan supporters as he stepped off the plane Thursday in Tripoli, after his release from custody 2 in Scotland on compassionate 3 grounds. Such an option exists under Scottish law, and Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill, announcing Megrahi's release Thursday, said the convicted bomber 4 and former Libyan intelligence officer is near death from prostate cancer.
The decision to release him early from prison elicited 5 a firestorm of condemnation 6 from many American family members of victims of Pan Am flight 103, which blew up over Lockerbie on December 21, 1988. In all, 270 people died.
In Washington, President Barack Obama called the release a mistake. In London, criticism was limited to the reception bestowed 7 upon Megrahi at home in Libya.
Speaking on the BBC, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband criticized Libya's handing of Megrahi's arrival.
David Miliband (File photo)
"The sight of a mass murderer getting a hero's welcome in Tripoli is deeply upsetting, deeply distressing 8, above all for the 270 families who grieve every day for the loss of their loved ones 21 years ago. But also for anyone who has got an ounce of humanity in them and I think that is the overriding 9 emotion that people will be feeling today," he said.
Libya has maintained that it was not responsible for the downing of Pan Am flight 103 and Megrahi, who was serving a life sentence, has maintained his innocence 10.
On Tuesday, Megrahi dropped his appeal, which would have opened the door to a close examination of the evidence. That might have shed more light on those responsible, and also, what warnings may have been known in the West regarding an imminent 11 attack.
According to Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, the dropping of that appeal had nothing to do with Megrahi's release.
A lone 12 protester holds up a placard as the convoy 13 with freed Libyan bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi leaves Greenock Prison, 20 Aug 2009
"In terms of how the Scottish government approached this, then everything we have done was not about any deals or understandings or negotiations 15, it was done on the basis of Scots law, what is there within our system," he said. "Our motives 16 were the right ones. Other people must speak for themselves. And, in terms of Scotland's standing 14 on the world stage, I am not ashamed in any sense of leading a government, which is prepared to put mercy at the heart of its legal system," Salmond added.
Not all of the families of the British victims are convinced that Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was responsible for the worst-ever terrorist incident on British soil. Dr. Jim Swire, who lost his daughter in the bombing, says he does not believe al-Megrahi was behind the bombing but with the appeal now gone, so too is the chance to answer the big vexing 17 questions that linger to this day.
- He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
- He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。
- She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
- The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。
- He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
- Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。
- Threats to reinstate the tax elicited jeer from the Opposition. 恢复此项征税的威胁引起了反对党的嘲笑。
- The comedian's joke elicited applause and laughter from the audience. 那位滑稽演员的笑话博得观众的掌声和笑声。
- There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
- The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。
- It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
- He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。
- All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
- It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。
- Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
- My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。
- There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
- The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。
- The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
- The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。
- A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
- She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。
- The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
- Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
- negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
- Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。