2006年VOA标准英语-Four Oil Workers Seized in Latest Nigeria Kidna

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
14 August 2006 

		Militant1 patrols creeks2 of the Niger Delta3 area of Nigeria (File photo) " src="/upimg/allimg/070416/1118030.jpg" width="153" border="0" /> Militant patrols creeks of the Niger Delta area of Nigeria (File photo)

Armed men seized four foreign oil workers Sunday in the latest kidnapping in the oil-rich Niger Delta.  It was the fifth kidnapping in the troubled region this month.

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Seven armed men stormed a crowded nightclub in Nigeria's southern oil city of Port Harcourt late Sunday and kidnapped four foreign oil workers. An American and a Briton were said to be among those abducted⁴.

Monday, three Philippine gas workers were released after 10 days in captivity⁵. Port Harcourt journalist Joe Onah witnessed the transfer of the men to Philippine embassy officials and says the ex-hostages looked well.

"The attorney general of Rivers State took the hostages on behalf of the state government," said Onah. "They were handed over to the Philippine embassy in Nigeria and they were in good condition. They said there was no ransom⁶ paid, that is the hostages were saying that as far as they were concerned there was no ransom demanded."

Hostages are usually released after a few days when a ransom has been paid.

Criminology Professor Etannibi Alemika, of Jos University in central Nigeria, says the violence that started as a protest against years of neglect and injustice⁷, has now taken a more complex dimension and could go on for a long time.

"It has assumed an economic dimension of its own where people really look forward to reaping a lot and that has broken down into many factions⁸ in that area; among traditional rulers, among politicians, among the elite⁹; all of them have their own factions of the militants¹⁰," he said. "I think that is the point we are now which is a very dangerous thing because it makes finding an end to that type of violence very difficult because there are now entrenched¹¹ interests for it to continue, to be perpetuated¹² in spite of the original grievances¹³."

Nigerian militants have launched a wave of kidnappings and attacks on oil facilities and personnel in the past seven months, leading to a 25 percent cut in oil output in Africa's largest oil producer.

1 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。

2 creeks   

n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪

参考例句：

• The prospect lies between two creeks. 矿区位于两条溪流之间。 来自辞典例句
• There was the excitement of fishing in country creeks with my grandpa on cloudy days. 有在阴雨天和姥爷一起到乡村河湾钓鱼的喜悦。 来自辞典例句

3 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

4 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。

5 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

6 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

7 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

8 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

9 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

10 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。

11 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

12 perpetuated   

vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• This system perpetuated itself for several centuries. 这一制度维持了几个世纪。
• I never before saw smile caught like that, and perpetuated. 我从来没有看见过谁的笑容陷入这样的窘况，而且持续不变。 来自辞典例句

13 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》