时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2009年(九月)


英语课

By Sean Maroney
Islamabad
29 September 2009



 Local officials in southern Afghanistan say a roadside bomb blasted a passenger bus Tuesday, killing 1 30 civilians 3 and wounding at least 39 others. The latest violence comes days after a U.N. report declared August the deadliest month of the year for civilians in Afghanistan. 


The Afghan government is blaming the Taliban for the latest attack outside the southern city of Kandahar.


No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed dozens of civilians, including women and children riding on the bus.


Afghan presidential spokesman Humayoon Hamedzada says authorities are investigating.


"We are deeply sorry for the loss of life, but our provincial 4 authorities and the security agencies have received instructions to complete the investigations," Hamedzada said.


Tuesday's explosion occurred just west of the city on a highway where a similar blast killed three civilians a day earlier.


Late last week, the United Nations issued a report that said it had recorded some 1,500 civilian 2 casualties between January and August. August was this year's deadliest month, as the Taliban sought to discourage people from voting in the presidential election.


The report also said almost three times as many civilian deaths were attributed to anti-government elements than to pro-government forces.


The spokesman for international forces in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Colonel Wayne Shanks, says NATO troops are working with local populations to clear the roads of Taliban bombs.


"Every time [the Taliban kills] innocent civilians, they are hurting themselves," Shanks said. "Just like if we make a mistake and we hurt innocent civilians, we are hurting ourselves. And we are trying to absolutely fix that."


Meanwhile in Pakistan, authorities say another suspected U.S. missile strike targeted militants 5 in South Waziristan. Officials believe the insurgents 6 in Pakistan's tribal 7 regions have ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida and use the area as a base of operations for strikes in Afghanistan against foreign troops.



1 killing
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
2 civilian
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
  • 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。
3 civilians
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓
  • the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
  • At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
4 provincial
adj.省的,地方的;n.外省人,乡下人
  • City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
  • Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。
5 militants
激进分子,好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )
  • 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。
6 insurgents
n.起义,暴动,造反( insurgent的名词复数 )
  • The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子,这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网
7 tribal
adj.部族的,种族的
  • He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
  • The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
学英语单词
aanm
aethioside
ametabolon
amino-ethylcysteine
an elder statesman
Antelope Mine
autoswitch centralized monitoring system
Azospirillum
B.M.Ed.
barratry
beef-wood
beered
calano
capital labor ratio
carbonators
catstail
cigarette card
close-up fault
collegiate institute
Colonia Sánchez
curvature of a conic
curved intersection
data model
disentombing
disesa
dissed
domestically made goods
dry drunk
electrically controlled birefringence lcd
embedded instrument
Eospiriferina
film wise condensation
Flamingo Bay
flats out
flow open
fourreau
fowl sarcoma virus
french-fried
frock-coats
fuse puller
geared wheels
geomorphic element
geopotential number
gilzeans
gray epoxy anticorrosive paint
heavy water plant
hexagonal pyramid of the third order
hexene diacid
highest voltage for equipment
hunkey
hyperaffective
independent candidate
lamellipodias
lipemia index
local core accident
lorentz system
macroglomerulus
medium-term multiple currency loan
Methylhexabarbital
midcolonial
minutocellus polymorphus
mole fraction
multiple chamber lock
myrtanol
Neuquinon
nigidius lewisi
noble-minded
northern shrike
not a gleam of hope
NSF
o-m
phrenoblabia
pnranoia senilis
polyacenes
portland canal
prezong
productive output
qalat dar-al-hamra (ad dar al hamra)
radar approach
recovery of shape
reservoir-face volume
sanbaoside
school districts
schroeckingerite
Schwalenberg
secretagogin
silver selenate
software simulator
solvent strength gradient
spacky
stare one up and down
subsonic acceleration
tattooing of cornea
tousle
travaux
two thousands
underwater crossing
unkinks
white fang
winefield
winking reflex
zootsuiters