2006年VOA标准英语-Reporter Jill Carroll Tells Story of Her Iraq K

By Leta Hong Fincher
Washington, DC
17 August 2006
 
watch Jill Carroll report

Jill Carroll   
  
A reporter who was held hostage in Iraq for 82 days is telling her story. Jill Carroll had closer contact with Iraqi insurgents¹ than any American who has lived to talk about the experience.

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Freelance reporter Jill Carroll was working for the U.S. newspaper The Christian² Science Monitor. She was kidnapped January 7 in Baghdad by a group calling itself the Revenge Brigade. The captors killed her Iraqi translator, Alan Enwiya.

 
Jill Carroll while in captivity³  
  
"I was looking out at the crack of the door [and it] was opening. I saw Alan was there and I saw them kill Alan," she recalls.

Carroll says moments later one of her kidnappers⁴ called home to say he was bringing Carroll to meet his family.  "And then he got off the phone and said, 'Oh, my mother and my sister and my wife say they love you so much. They are so happy that you are coming.' "
 

Identification card of Carroll's translator who was killed   
  
Carroll believes the insurgents moved her among at least six different houses during her 82 days in captivity. She says she feared for her life every day.

Her captors wanted to teach her the Koran, so Carroll memorized passages as they read the Koran to her for hours at a time. Months before the terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in Iraq, the kidnappers told her they were inspired by Zarqawi and the idea of global jihad.

She says family members within the insurgency⁵ collaborated⁶ closely, including a five-year-old boy whose parents helped guard Carroll.

"A little boy, a little voice, I didn't know he was even there,” she said. “He goes, 'I'm a Mujah head, I'm a Mujah head,' which means, ‘I'm a holy warrior⁷.’ He's five years old. I got to know this kid pretty well. He was really cute."

Carroll says she was stunned⁸ to learn that the pregnant wife of one of her kidnappers wanted to become a suicide bomber⁹. "We were in the kitchen, her husband came in, that guy, you know, and he says 'Oh, you know, Um Ali, she wants to be a suicide bomber.' Um Ali's like, 'Oh yes, I do.' Obviously blushing because he was praising her, and she was really proud of it," said Carroll.

The U.S. military has arrested four Iraqi men suspected of being involved in Carroll's kidnapping. But Carroll believes families of the men will continue fighting in the insurgency.

"That wife is going to raise their kids and that son to fight and kill. That little boy is going to be on the street the next day looking for a patrol to come by and then giving the signal for someone to set off an IED. [improvised explosive device]. The whole family is an operation. What are you going to do? Arrest all of them? Kill all of them?"

On March 30, the insurgents gave Carroll new clothes and put her in a car. She believed they were going to kill her, until one of the kidnappers offered her money.

"He started taking money out of his wallet and started putting hundred dollar bills in my hand and saying, 'This $100 bill is because we are sorry for your trouble, and this one is for your computer, and this one is for your father, and tell him we're sorry, and this one is for your mother, and tell her we're sorry."

Carroll was released, but says she still feels responsible for the death of Alan Enwiya, her friend and translator.

1 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 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。

4 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

6 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。

7 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

8 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

9 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。