2006年VOA标准英语-Pope Expresses Concern Over Violence in Mideast

By Sabina Castelfranco
Rome
02 July 2006
 

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his speech during Angelus prayer, July 2, 2006  
  
Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern Sunday about the escalating¹ violence in Iraq and the Middle East. He also made an appeal to safeguard the family. 

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During his traditional Sunday meeting with the pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI spoke² of the need to quell³ what he called "the spiral of atrocious carnage" in the Middle East and Iraq.

"There is a need for justice in the Middle East, and there is a need for a serious and credible⁴ commitment to peace." But unfortunately, Pope Benedict added, "we don't see them." The pope urged everyone to pray for peace.

Just hours before the pope spoke, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at the empty office of the Palestinian prime minister, who is a member of the Islamic militant⁵ group, Hamas, which heads the Palestinian Authority. Israel has launched an offensive in Gaza aimed at forcing militants⁶ to free a 19-year-old Israel corporal who was sized last week. In Iraq, violence continues. A car bomb Saturday in Baghdad killed more than 65 people.

Pope Benedict also made an appeal Sunday for governments to protect the traditional family structure. His call came less than a week before a visit to Valencia, in Spain, where he will attend the Catholic Church's World Meeting of Families.

The Vatican's ties with Spain have recently been strained after the government there legalized gay marriage and made it easier to obtain a divorce.

The Socialist⁷ government of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which took office in 2004, has also scrapped⁸ plans by the previous conservative government to make religion classes mandatory⁹ in schools.

Pope Benedict will spend next Saturday and Sunday in Valencia. He is scheduled to meet with the Spanish prime minister during his visit.

1 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

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

4 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

5 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。

6 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。

7 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

8 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

9 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。