2006年VOA标准英语-Suspected Taleban Insurgents Behead Afghan

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
04 January 2006
 

Afghan students listen to teacher at Loy Ghar secondary school in Kabul (File photo - Apr. 11, 2005)  
  
Suspected Taleban insurgents¹ beheaded a school teacher late Tuesday in central Afghanistan. The murder is the latest in an apparent terror campaign targeting teachers and schools in Afghanistan.

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Family members found Abdul Habib's decapitated body at home home, not far from his school in Zabul province.

Government spokesman Ali Khail says unknown assailants broke into the headmaster's house.

He says neighbors called the police after they heard Mr. Habib screaming. By the time officials reached the scene the popular teacher was already dead.

His murder is only the latest in a string of violent attacks on Afghan educators.

Posters threatening teachers have been distributed off and on throughout the past year and at least half a dozen schools in Southern Afghanistan have been set on fire.

In December, suspected Taleban gunmen in Kandahar dragged a teacher from his classroom, killing² him as his students watched from the nearby school.

In Zabul, where Mr. Habib was assassinated³ Tuesday, officials say security concerns have closed more than half the province's schools.

Officials say Taleban insurgents are in particular targeting schools and teachers that support girls' education.

When the Taleban controlled Afghanistan, the Islamic militants⁴ claimed women's' education was fundamentally unIslamic and banned girls from going to school.

But since the Taleban regime was ousted⁵ in 2001, hundreds of thousands of girls have flocked back to schools across the country.

Afghan education coordinator⁶ for the U.S.-based International Rescue Committee, Pilar Robledo, says new schools are filling up almost as soon as they open their doors.

"Now when you look at our schools there is no room for the children, the classrooms are overflowing⁷. We cannot meet the demand," said Ms. Robledo.

But the attacks, she says, are taking a toll⁸. Rumors⁹ of Taleban abductions are scaring off prospective¹⁰ teachers and making it hard to staff new schools, especially in southern Afghanistan where the Islamic militants are primarily based.

Government officials are vowing¹¹ to step up their anti-insurgent operations and strengthen security for vulnerable schools.

1 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

2 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。

3 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

4 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 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。

5 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

6 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

7 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

11 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。