2006年VOA标准英语-East Timor Violence Eases

By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Dili
29 May 2006

Leaders of East Timor's fractured leadership agreed to continue talks Tuesday on stopping a wave of violence between rival gangs and factions¹ of the armed forces. The violence appears to be easing, as international peacekeepers spread out across the capital to restore order.

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Xanana Gusmao talks to supporters as he is escorted by East Timorese police outside Presidential palace in Dili, Monday  
  

East Timor's popular president and independence leader, Xanana Gusmao, made a public appeal for an end to the violence that has pitted those from the east of the country against those from the west.

Hundreds of Mr. Gusmao's supporters waited for hours in the scorching² sun, some singing songs urging unity³ among East Timorese, some demanding that the unpopular prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, step down.

Mr. Alkatiri is at loggerheads with Mr. Gusmao over how to handle this tiny country's worst crisis since independence in 2002.

Many people blame the prime minister for mishandling a military mutiny that led to days of violence, with rival gangs fighting in the streets, torching houses, and terrorizing the general population.

The violence has exposed old wounds, pitting those from the west of the country, who are perceived to have supported Indonesia's brutal⁴ 24-year rule of East Timor, against those from the east, who are perceived to have supported independence.

Christopher Henry Samson, who was among Mr. Gusmao's supporters Monday, says the leadership of the government must change in order to stop the bloodshed.

"This is the problem from the high," he said. "And then what we demand? Demand the resignation of the prime minister. That is all. And then let every system continue. That is the wish of the people."

The violence has caused an estimated 70,000 people to flee their homes, 50,000 in Dili. Thousands have crammed⁵ into instant tent cities with no sanitation⁶ and little food, water or medicine.

The East Timor representative for the U.N. Children's Fund, Shui-meng Ng, says a lack of security has hampered⁷ the distribution of aid.

"Right now some supplies have been able to get out to the camps, mainly water. Not a lot of food," Ng said. "The government is still trying to distribute food, but the warehouses⁸ have to secured."

Foreign peacekeepers from Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand have deployed⁹ in the country after the government appealed last week for international help.

The commander of the Australian forces, Brigadier Mick Slater, says the violence decreased considerably¹⁰ after troops confiscated¹¹ arms from the gangs.

"We have collected in the vicinity. ... I think it was about 260 odd rifles, shotguns, handguns and grenades," he said.

But most people here say it is too soon to tell if the easing of violence was due to the visible presence of the peacekeepers, or if people are merely biding¹² their time to see if the government can solve the crisis.

1 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

2 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

5 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

6 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

7 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

8 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

9 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

10 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

11 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

12 biding   

v.等待，停留( bide的现在分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待；面临

参考例句：

• He was biding his time. 他正在等待时机。 来自辞典例句
• Applications:used in carbide alloy, diamond tools, biding admixture, high-temperature alloy, rechargeable cell. 用作硬质合金，磁性材料，金刚石工具，高温合金，可充电池等。 来自互联网