2006年VOA标准英语-Hundreds of Thousands Turn Out for Lebanese Min

By Challiss McDonough
Beirut
23 November 2006

Hundreds of thousands of mourners attended the funeral of slain¹ Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, who was the sixth anti-Syrian politician in Lebanon to be assassinated² in the last two years. The funeral became a raucous³ political demonstration⁴ in support of the government, which has been under pressure from the pro-Syrian opposition⁵. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough was at the funeral in central Beirut, and has this report.

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The patriarch of Lebanon's Maronite Christian⁶ church presided over a solemn and traditional funeral service in St. George's Cathedral, where Pierre Gemayel's coffin⁷ was draped in the flag of his Phalange party.

 
Anti-Syrian protesters at Pierre Gemayel's funeral 
But with hundreds of thousands of people massing outside in Martyr's Square, the day quickly transformed into a defiant⁸, angry political rally in support of Lebanon's anti-Syrian ruling coalition⁹.

The crowd heaped scorn on Syria's president and his Lebanese allies, especially Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.

"Lahoud is a killer," he screamed. "We want him to get out from Baabda [the presidential palace]!"

 
Anti-Syrian protesters with a Lebanese Forces flag
A woman named Julia, with a Phalange flag draped over her shoulders, said what Lebanon needs before anything else is justice - and a new president.

"But the president needs to step down," said Julia. "I think he needs to be arrested. This is what should happen. He needs to be arrested."

Many of the mourners blame Syria and its allies, not just for Gemayel's assassination¹⁰ on Tuesday, but also for five earlier killings¹¹ of anti-Syrian politicians over the last two years. Syria has denied it had any role in those attacks.

A man named Khalil stood with a small group of friends, all wearing hats from the Christian group called the Lebanese Forces.

He says, "I wish the Lebanese people could come together for weddings and happy occasions, but unfortunately we come together on days like this, to bury people."

Martyr's Square was a sea of red, white and green Lebanese flags, waving alongside banners from several different Christian factions¹² and the main Druze party. Muslims and Christians¹³ stood side-by-side.

 
Amal Jaffan 
A woman named Amal Jaffan, wearing a black-and-white Muslim headscarf, held photos of both Pierre Gemayel and former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, two slain politicians, one Christian, the other Muslim.

"The two died for the same reason. That's why," said Amal Jaffan.

She said the assassins are trying to destroy Lebanon's sovereignty and kill off its independent leaders. And she recalled that, not too long ago, Lebanon's Christians and Muslims were mortal enemies.

"But now, we are all together, Christian, Muslim, everyone, because we have to support our country," she said.

Political representatives of pro-Syrian factions were noticeably absent. The parliamentary speaker, Nabih Berry of the Shi'ite Amal party, attended the funeral, but leaders of Hezbollah, which has broad Shi'ite support, stayed away, as did their Christian ally, General Michel Aoun.

Those pro-Syrian factions have been demanding the government's resignation, and their six Cabinet ministers have walked out. The opposition's promised street protests were delayed after Gemayel was killed. But sectarian tensions are higher now than they have been since the end of Lebanon's vicious 14-year civil war.

In a series of political speeches after the funeral service, the leaders of the anti-Syrian March 14 movement rallied supporters, and vowed¹⁴ that their government will not only survive, but thrive. The politicians, including Rafik Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Pierre Gemayel's father, former President Amin Gemayel, renewed their calls for an international court to investigate Lebanon's political assassinations¹⁵.

After the funeral, in the mountains east of Beirut, Pierre Gemayel's body was laid to rest in his home village of Bikfaya.

1 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

2 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

3 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

4 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

8 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

13 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

14 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。

15 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网