2006年VOA标准英语-Hezbollah Offers Journalists Tour of Beirut Nei

By Challiss McDonough
Beirut
20 July 2006

VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has been reporting from Beirut since last week, but has only rarely been able to venture into the southern suburbs, which have been heavily bombed.  Hezbollah's offices are there, its radio and television stations are there, and the home of its leader Hassan Nasrallah is there, and all of them have been repeatedly struck.  Thursday Challiss and other journalists went on a bizarre guided tour of the devastation¹ led by the Hezbollah spokesman.  Challiss recorded this report from the scene.

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A baby tricycle is left behind among the rubble² of destroyed buildings in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon   
  
 "This is Challiss McDonough. I'm in a neighborhood in south Beirut. We're being taken on a tour by the spokesman for Hezbollah.  He's been showing us, a large number of journalists, the damage from recent bombing raids.  I'm now standing³ next to a building that was apparently⁴ hit quite recently. There's still smoke coming out of the pile of rubble that the building used to be.

The Hezbollah spokesman, Hussein Nabolsi, has been defending his organization against allegations that they, by their actions, have brought this upon the people of Lebanon and brought this upon this neighborhood, that Hezbollah located its headquarters in civilian⁵ neighborhoods, thus putting them at risk of this kind of retaliatory⁶ attack by the Israelis.  The Hezbollah spokesman, very adamant⁷, says that Hezbollah is defending Lebanon.

I'm sorry, I'm trying to step over piles of rubble as I'm speaking.  The street is just, it's obliterated⁸.  It's just like there are pieces of bricks and twisted metal strewn everywhere from building after building after building that's been demolished⁹.  We're seeing weird¹⁰ remnants of things that have survived intact.  Theres a plastic chair in the middle of the road, a child's teddy bear and a wicker basket.  There's a shoe.  There's a perfectly¹¹ intact envelope from the Islamic Health Society lying on the ground.  This neighborhood has been absolutely destroyed. "

1 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

7 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

8 obliterated   

v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭

参考例句：

• The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

10 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

11 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。