2006年VOA标准英语-In Sri Lanka, Tamil Tigers Reaffirm Commitment

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
20 June 2006

People carry coffins¹ of their relatives for burial during a mass burial ceremony for victims of landmine² explosion by suspected Tiger rebels that killed at least 64 people, in Kabithigollewa village, June 16, 2006   
  
In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tiger rebels have reaffirmed their commitment to a four-year truce³ that is under threat from spiraling violence.  Clashes between rebels and government troops have intensified⁴ in recent days.

---------------------------

The Tamil Tigers say they have conveyed their commitment to the 2002 truce in a letter to Norwegian peace mediators. The rebels said they support the Norwegian-brokered cease-fire that halted an ethnic⁵ war in the country, and want to continue with a peace process to permanently⁶ end the conflict.

The Tigers were responding to Norwegian mediators who asked the rebels to reaffirm their commitment to the truce after they walked out of talks with the Sri Lankan government earlier this month in Oslo.

However, it is unclear if the Tamil Tigers have lifted their objections to the presence of monitors from the European Union who are supervising the truce. The Tigers did not want the monitors to continue after the EU labeled the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group.

The Sri Lankan government has already said it remains⁷ committed to the cease-fire and the peace process.

On Monday, the government's peace secretariat urged the rebels, known as the LTTE, to return to the negotiating table.

"We do not think this is the time to cast blame on the other, but to move forward. We call on the LTTE to give up this intransigent stand, to come for talks either through the good offices of Norway or even direct negotiations," said Ketesh Loganathan, deputy director of the peace secretariat.

The government's appeal for talks and the Tigers commitment to the truce comes as escalating⁸ violence has killed more than 100 people in the past week.

A Norwegian envoy⁹ is expected to travel to the north of the country on Wednesday to hold talks with the rebels.

The 2002 truce had raised hopes of ending an ethnic conflict that was triggered by rebel demands for a homeland for the minority Tamil community. Near daily violence in recent months has put a question mark on the peace process.

1 coffins   

n.棺材( coffin的名词复数 )；使某人早亡[死，完蛋，垮台等]之物

参考例句：

• The shop was close and hot, and the atmosphere seemed tainted with the smell of coffins. 店堂里相当闷热，空气仿佛被棺木的味儿污染了。 来自辞典例句
• Donate some coffins to the temple, equal to the number of deaths. 到寺庙里，捐赠棺材盒给这些死者吧。 来自电影对白

2 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

3 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

4 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

9 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。