万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-05-20&21, 英军方最终决定: 哈里不赴伊拉克前线

Prince Harry¹ once said he didn't drag himself through officer training school to end up not going to Iraq, but that's exactly what he did. After months of go no-go dithering about whether to deploy² him, Britain's Chief General today changes his mind again. It's no-go.

There have been a number of specific threats. These threats expose not only him, but also those around him, to a degree of risk that I now deem unacceptable.

Attacks on British troops have increased lately, and it's now thought insurgents⁴ plan to target the prince directly. Harry's worst fear has come true.

The last thing I wanna do is, have my soldiers sent away to Iraq, wherever like that, and for me to be held back home, twiddling my thumbs, thinking, well, what about David, what about Derek, you know..

But now David and Derek will go, and Prince Harry won't. Killing⁵ or capturing a prince might have been a huge insurgent³ propaganda victory. A prince not going to war at all is a victory in its own right. Bowler⁶ hats and not combat helmets now seem to be in Harry's future. And questions are being asked why one soldier's life is worth more than any other.

Mark Phillips, CBS News, London.
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twiddle (one's) thumbs : To do little or nothing; be idle.
in one's own right : because of one's own ability or effort.

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

3 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

4 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 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

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• 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。

6 bowler   

n.打保龄球的人，（板球的）投（球）手

参考例句：

• The bowler judged it well,timing the ball to perfection.投球手判断准确，对球速的掌握恰到好处。
• The captain decided to take Snow off and try a slower bowler.队长决定把斯诺撤下，换一个动作慢一点的投球手试一试。