2006年VOA标准英语-15 Aid Workers Found Executed as Fighting Conti

By Patricia Nunan
New Delhi
07 August 2006

Fifteen aid workers have been found executed in the eastern Sri Lankan town of Muttur - where fighting between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels has raged for nearly two weeks. Other humanitarian¹ groups are trying to reach the town to provide assistance to civilians² there, but have been prevented by an ongoing³ battle over a water reservoir.

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Aid officials say 15 Sri Lankans - all ethnic⁴ Tamils working for the French aid agency, Action Against Hunger - were found dead in their office in Muttur. All had been shot in the head, and most were laying face down, suggesting an execution.

They had been working to provide ongoing assistance to victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami⁵.  

Sri Lankan Army soldiers patrol Muttur

Muttur has been in the middle of 13 days of fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels.

Relief officials are concerned. Vignati Davide is a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"The I.C.R.C. local staff is stuck in Muttur town," Davide explained. "We lost contact with them during the weekend. We know for sure they left our offices on Friday due to the shelling that hit slightly our offices. But nobody so far could enter Muttur."

Officials from the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, an umbrella group of Sri Lankan aid organizations, are traveling to the area to investigate the deaths.

Fighting began when government troops tried to secure a reservoir, held by Tamil rebels, who cut off water supplies to villagers in government-held land.

It is the worst violence since Norway helped broker⁶ a cease-fire in 2002.

But it is hardly the first cease-fire violation⁷. An estimated 850 people have died in tit for tat incidents between the government and the rebels this year alone.

Senior Norwegian envoy⁸, Jon Hanssen Bauer, is in Sri Lanka to try to save the tattered⁹ truce¹⁰ and stop the situation in Muttur from degenerating¹¹ into all out war.

Sri Lanka endured two decades of ethnically¹² fueled civil war as the Tamil Tigers fought for a separate homeland from the majority Sinhalese.

1 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。

2 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。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

6 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。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

10 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

11 degenerating   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denied that some young people today were degenerating. 他否认现在某些青年在堕落。
• Young people of today are not degenerating. 今天的青年并没有在变坏。

12 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句