2006年VOA标准英语-Palestinian Militants Attack Foreign Inter

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
01 January 2006
 

A Palestinian inspects the bomb damaged United Nations Club in Gaza City   
  
t was a violent New Years in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian gunmen attacked a U.N. building and carried out another kidnapping. The deteriorating¹ security situation is causing deep concern in both the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

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Masked Palestinian gunmen stormed into a club for U.N. workers in Gaza City, and blew it up. The blast shattered windows and ripped off the roof, but the building was empty and no one was hurt. Police say the club was attacked because it is the only place in conservative Muslim Gaza that serves alcohol.

The United Nations plays a vital role in assisting Palestinian refugees, but most foreign personnel have left Gaza because of a wave of violent protests and armed kidnappings.

In the latest incident, gunmen stopped a minibus carrying foreigners, and seized an Italian hostage. He was released a short time later. Last week, three British citizens were kidnapped and released after three days in captivity².

Gaza has been plunging³ deeper into lawlessness since Israel pulled out in September. In a New Year's message, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas vowed⁴ to restore law and order.

But Palestinian human rights activist⁵ Bassam Eid says Mr. Abbas has done nothing to impose the rule of law.

"And without taking any measures toward a suitable security in Gaza, Gaza will remain as a chaos⁶, as it is today," he said.

That chaos has Israeli officials worried.

"We are certainly anxious to encourage the Palestinian Authority to take charge," says Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Israel fears that the chaotic⁷ situation is strengthening the Islamic militant⁸ group Hamas, which seeks the destruction of the Jewish state. Hamas is capitalizing on the disarray⁹ in the Palestinian Authority and is posing a strong challenge to Mr. Abbas and his ruling Fatah party in parliamentary elections set for January 25. Fatah officials are so concerned about a Hamas victory, that they are urging Mr. Abbas to postpone¹⁰ the elections.

1 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

2 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

3 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• 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。

7 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

8 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

9 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

10 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。