2006年VOA标准英语-Iranian Religious Leader Urges Support for Hezb

By Gary Thomas
Tehran
14 July 2006

A senior Iranian religious leader Friday defended Hezbollah and called on Muslims and non-Muslims alike to rally to its support.  Iran has had a long and close association with Hezbollah, which the U.S. lists as a terrorist group.

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Friday prayers in Tehran are traditionally a cross between a religious revival¹ meeting and a political rally, and this Friday was no exception.

After his sermon on the piety² of the Prophet Mohammad's daughter Fatima, whose birthday is this Sunday, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, the designated leader for this Friday's prayers, turned to more current affairs for his second sermon, which is usually the political one.  

Iran's former President Mohammad Khatami, right, talks with Iran's senior cleric Emami Kashani (file photo)  
  
Kashani lashed³ out at Israel for its attacks on Lebanon and praised Hezbollah, the virulently⁴ anti-Israel Islamic militia⁵ that kidnapped two Israeli soldiers.

Kashani said Hezbollah had total legal and political justification⁶ to act as it did because Israel refused to release Palestinian prisoners.

He said it was the religious duty of Muslims to support Hezbollah, and called on Muslims and non-Muslims alike to encourage the group.

Kashani's exhortations⁷ were met with chants of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America." 

After the prayers, there was a "death to Israel' rally near the prayer site.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also had some harsh rhetoric⁸ about Israel and the West during a trip this week to northern Iran.  The Iranian Student News Agency reported that President Ahmadinejad called Syrian President Bashir Assad, and quotes the Iranian leader as saying that any attack by Israel on Syria would be considered a call to war by the Islamic world.

There are reports that Hezbollah was trying to move the two captured Israeli soldiers to Iran, but there has been no confirmation⁹ of that here or elsewhere.

Iran and Hezbollah have long been linked.  Founded in Lebanon in 1982 after the Israeli invasion, Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim organization that took its inspiration from the 1979 Iranian revolution.  Most Western analysts¹⁰ believe it gets considerable support from the Iranian government.  The United States lists Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

The organization, which also holds seats in the Lebanese parliament, has strong support among most Iranians.

Hussain Geraee, who describes himself as a "low-ranking civil servant", says Iranians are willing to fight to the death to defend Hezbollah, just as they did in the long Iran-Iraq war.

1 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

2 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

3 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 virulently   

恶毒地，狠毒地

参考例句：

• An old woman advanced a few paces to shake her fist virulently in my face. 一个老女人上前了几步，在我面前恶毒地晃动着她的拳头。
• In the wake of unrest in Tibet in March, a virulently xenophobic mood swept the country. 随着三月份的西藏骚乱，一种充满敌意的排外情绪横扫了这个国家。

5 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

6 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

7 exhortations   

n.敦促( exhortation的名词复数 )；极力推荐；（正式的）演讲；（宗教仪式中的）劝诫

参考例句：

• The monuments of men's ancestors were the most impressive exhortations. 先辈们的丰碑最能奋勉人心的。 来自辞典例句
• Men has free choice. Otherwise counsels, exhortations, commands, prohibitions, rewards and punishments would be in vain. 人具有自由意志。否则，劝告、赞扬、命令、禁规、奖赏和惩罚都将是徒劳的。 来自辞典例句

8 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

9 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。