2006年VOA标准英语-Many Lebanese Shi'ites Skeptical of US Effort t

By Challiss McDonough
Tyre, Lebanon
25 July 2006
 
The U.S. secretary of state said she is "deeply concerned" about the plight¹ of the Lebanese people and about the humanitarian² situation in Lebanon after more than a week and a half of Israeli air strikes.

Condoleezza Rice met with the Lebanese prime minister for about two hours. On her way to the Middle East, the secretary of state told reporters "a ceasefire is urgent," but she also said she wants a "sustainable" cease-fire, not an immediate³, unconditional⁴ one.

The U.S. government has come under fierce criticism in Lebanon and elsewhere for refusing to call for an immediate end to Israeli airstrikes.

Here in the southern port city of Tyre, few of the Shi'ite residents in this Hezbollah stronghold have any faith in the U.S. secretary of state's efforts to broker⁵ a solution.

Khalil Mutara made his views clear while standing⁶ outside an apartment building that had just been hit by two Israeli rockets. "I think Miss Condoleezza, when she comes [to] Lebanon, she didn't want to stop the war, she only want to speak and that's all. America helps Israel... to kill the people in this Lebanon," he said.

A recent report in The New York Times said the U.S. government has expedited delivery to Israel of a pre-existing order of precision guided bombs.

Roughly half a million people have been forced from their homes in southern Lebanon and south Beirut, where Israeli air strikes have flattened⁷ Shi'ite neighborhoods. The Lebanese death toll⁸ stands at more than 370, almost all civilians⁹. On the Israeli side of the border, Hezbollah rockets have killed at least 17 civilians. About 20 Israeli troops have died in the fighting along the border.

The United Nations is appealing for $150 million in humanitarian aid to help the people displaced by the violence.

Another man, who gave his name only as Khalil, herded¹⁰ his and his neighbor's children into the basement of his building as several Israeli warplanes left vapor¹¹ trails in the sky high above. Speaking over the unmistakable buzz of an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, he explained why he and his family have not fled to the mountains or the north. He said, "I do not think I can afford any better security than what I have here."

Although Israeli planes have dropped leaflets warning civilians to flee for their lives, many families like Khalil's cannot afford to pay hundreds of dollars for a dangerous taxi ride out of Tyre.

At the city's port, a chartered cruise ship brought eight tons of Swiss relief supplies and then evacuated¹² several hundred people holding European and Canadian passports. Canadian sailors in camouflage¹³ ferried passengers out to the ship in little orange-and-white boats. But far more people wanted to leave than they had room for.

A Danish-Lebanese woman named Dunia Khattab and her small child leaped onto the orange-and-white dinghy, but her husband and small son, Yusuf, did not make it.

She begged them to let her stay behind with the rest of her family, but the boat pulled away from the dock, and the family was cut in half. Cradling a weeping Yusuf in his arms, her husband, Mahmoud Ahmed, said he has no idea where or when they will be reunited. "My family [is] cut now. Because now half on ship and half on land. My problem. I don't know now. My son and my wife in ship," he said.

They stood on the dock, watching the cruise ship pull away toward the horizon. Not long afterward¹⁴, the bombs started to fall again, first distant and then closer.

The shelling of Tyre and the surrounding villages continued into the night.

1 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

5 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

6 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。

7 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 herded   

群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动

参考例句：

• He herded up his goats. 他把山羊赶拢在一起。
• They herded into the corner. 他们往角落里聚集。

11 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

12 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

13 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

14 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。