2006年VOA标准英语-Lebanese Soldiers Reach Border, Nations Pledge

By Robert Raffaele
Washington, D.C.
18 August 2006
 
watch UNIFIL report

Lebanese soldiers reached the country's southern border Friday, taking up positions in villages battered¹ during the war between Israel and Hezbollah.  This comes as the United Nations works to secure international pledges of more troops to enforce the ceasefire, while aid groups focus on reconstruction² efforts.

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Lebanese troops entering the town of Shebaa on Friday were greeted by cheering crowds  
  
Lebanese soldiers were given a hero's welcome in the village of Shebaa Friday, as their military convoy³ rolled into town. Beirut is deploying⁴ 15,000 soldiers south of the Litani River as called for in the U.N. resolution which ended the month-long war.

The Lebanese troops are patrolling the Lebanon-Israel border. They will join a multinational⁵, interim⁶ United Nations force known as UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon], now 2,000 strong. The U.N. is looking to boost that force to 15,000 troops.

Thursday, the U.N. received international pledges of 3500 for the force, with the largest offer of 2,000 coming from Bangladesh. 

UNIFIL troops at a location in southern Lebanon  
  
France says it will immediately send another 200 soldiers, doubling its contingent⁷ to 400 troops. That move disappointed many at the U.N. who sought a bigger commitment from France.

But France's Defense⁸ Minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, defended her country's decision Friday, saying France is doing its duty to keep the peace. France and Italy have complained that the peacekeeping mandate⁹ called for by the U.N. is not clear enough.

However, Italy's government formally agreed to contribute troops on Friday. Prime Minister Romano Prodi did not offer specifics. But he told reporters he had received assurances from U.N. officials that peacekeepers would not be charged with disarming¹⁰ Hezbollah.

UNIFIL is due to take control of posts now abandoned by Israeli soldiers, before transferring control to the Lebanese army.

Meanwhile, international aid groups are trying to help Lebanese villagers rebuild their lives. 

 
Cassandra Nelson 
  
One of those organizations is MercyCorps. Spokeswoman Cassandra Nelson spoke¹¹ about urgent needs in villages across southern Lebanon. "There is nothing on the shelves in these towns and people really don't have any money left in their pockets to buy food, if there is food in the markets. So that's our first priority: it is getting food and drinking water in."

A resident receives cash assistance from a Hezbollah representative  
  
Hezbollah continues distributing money to Lebanese families who lost their homes during the war.

Dozens of people showed up at Hezbollah offices in southern Beirut Friday. Some claimed Hezbollah is paying families up to $12,000 each, enough to rent an apartment for a year and buy furniture. Meanwhile, Lebanon's chief of reconstruction, Al-Fadl Shalaq, says the war inflicted¹² $3.6 billion dollars damage to his country.

1 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

2 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

3 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

4 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

5 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

6 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

7 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

10 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。