2006年VOA标准英语-Ultimatum From Palestinians Holding Israeli Sol

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
04 July 2006

An ultimatum¹ from Palestinians holding an Israeli soldier has expired. The fate of the soldier, who was abducted² from an army base near the Gaza Strip nine days ago, is shrouded³ in secrecy⁴.

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The deadline expired with Israel refusing to meet the demand of Palestinian militants⁶ to release more than a 1,000 prisoners in exchange for the kidnapped soldier. Three Palestinian groups, including the military wing of the ruling Hamas party, said they would release no more information about the 19-year-old corporal, Gilad Shalit. However, they said they would not kill him because Islam requires that captives be treated well.

Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad says Israel made a grave mistake by rejecting the prisoner exchange.

Rubble⁷ of a building at the site of an Israeli missile strike at the Islamic University in Gaza City, Tuesday, July 4, 2006  
  
"You will not get the goal, you will not get the soldier alive by this way. You will increase complication in this situation," Hamad says.

Israeli aircraft and artillery⁸ continued to pound militant⁵ targets in Gaza including the Islamic university, a Hamas stronghold. Israeli spokesman Ra'anan Gissin says the aim is to pressure Hamas to release the soldier.

"It's based on graduated measures in what can be termed, I would say, full court press. Like in basketball, you know you put pressure on the full court and you apply the right pressure at the right time and you wait for a response," Gissin says.

Despite the threats, diplomatic efforts are continuing. Egypt has been mediating⁹ and militants holding the soldier say they are considering a request from Muslim leaders to resolve the crisis peacefully.

In the past, Israel has traded hundreds of Arab prisoners for a handful of soldiers, but that was widely criticized at home and seen as caving in to blackmail¹⁰. With Hamas in power, Israel has adopted a different strategy and ruled out a lopsided prisoner exchange. Israeli analyst¹¹ Mordechai Kedar.

"This will deter¹² those who plan kidnapping Israelis from their plans," Kedar says.

Israeli officials say they are determined¹³ to show the Hamas-led Palestinian government, that terrorism doesn't pay.

1 ultimatum   

n.最后通牒

参考例句：

• This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum.这一次该提议是以最后通牒的形式提出来的。
• The cabinet met today to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum.内阁今天开会商量如何应对这道最后通牒。

2 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

3 shrouded   

v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密

参考例句：

• The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
• The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

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 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

8 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

9 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

10 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。