2006年VOA标准英语-Israeli-Dropped Cluster Bomblets Threaten South

By Margaret Besheer
Beirut
27 August 2006
  

		Lebanese Sobhi Abbas, top, comforts his son Abbas Abbas, 6-years-old, who was injured while playing with a cluster bomb in Blida, on Saturday August 26, 2006

Two weeks ago, a U.N. brokered¹ truce² ended 34 days of fighting between Hezbollah militants³ and Israel in southern Lebanon. Since then, hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese have returned to their villages and are trying to clean up the damage and rebuild their lives.  Unexploded bomblets from Israeli cluster bombs are posing a threat to these communities.

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As soon as the truce went into effect on the morning of August 14, displaced Lebanese packed up their belongings⁴ and left the many schools and public parks where they had been sheltering while the south was under siege.

In several cases, they returned to villages that were completely destroyed during Israeli air strikes and shellings intended to incapacitate Hezbollah's ability to fire rockets into northern Israel.

Although the guns are now quiet, returning residents face a new threat; this one from unexploded munitions⁵, particularly cluster bomblets.

During the last two weeks of calm, Lebanese government figures show 12 people have been killed from cluster bomblets, including two children, and 45 other people have been injured.

This past week, the U.S. State Department said it is investigating whether Israel inappropriately used the U.S.-made munitions in populated areas, in violation⁶ of agreements with the United States that restrict where they can be used.

Andy Gleeson, the program manager in Lebanon for the British-based de-mining organization, the Mine Advisory⁷ Group, explains what a cluster bomblet is:

"It is a sub-item of an overall munition," he said. "For instance, a rocket or shell or projectile⁸ would contain a series of bomblets within it and these are cluster submunitions."

On the day of the ceasefire, the U.N.'s Humanitarian⁹ Coordinator¹⁰ in Lebanon, David Shearer¹¹, warned residents returning to the south about the possibility of unexploded cluster bomblets.

"It has been estimated that around 10 percent of the shells fired from Israel into the south of Lebanon may not have not gone off. And this is obviously going to be very dangerous," said Shearer. "In addition to this we have had reports of cluster munitions being used, particularly around Nabatiyeh, and they are scattered¹² all over the road."

Dalya Farran, the spokeswoman for the U.N. Mine Action Coordination¹³ Center based in the southern city of Tyre, says so far, U.N. teams have found 380 locations that are contaminated by cluster bomblets and that number is rising daily.

"We know that now we have a huge problem with cluster bombs. We are really concerned about it and it is a big challenge and it is really urgent to deal with it now," said Farran. "On a daily basis we are locating an average of 30 new locations of cluster bomb strikes."

Farran says since August 14, U.N. teams have destroyed about 2,000 cluster bomblets, many of them found in people's gardens, on their balconies and roof tops. Some were also found on a hospital roof.

The bomblets often do not explode on impact, making them a hazard to returning civilians¹⁴, particularly children, who often mistake them for balls.

The United Nations, and non-governmental groups such as the Mine Advisory Group, are working with the Lebanese Army and the National De-Mining Office to try to raise awareness¹⁵ of this danger and to clear the south for civilians so they can get on with the business of rebuilding their lives.

1 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

2 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。

3 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。

4 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

5 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

6 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。

7 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

8 projectile   

n.投射物，发射体；adj.向前开进的；推进的；抛掷的

参考例句：

• The vertical and horizontal motions of a projectile can be treated independently.抛射体的竖直方向和水平方向的运动能够分开来处理。
• Have you altered the plans of the projectile as the telegram suggests?你已经按照电报的要求修改炮弹图样了吗?

9 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。

10 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

11 shearer   

n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机

参考例句：

• A bad shearer never had a good sickle. 拙匠无利器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Eventually, Shearer lost faith, dropping him to the bench. 最终，希勒不再信任他，把他换下场。 来自互联网

12 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

13 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

14 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。

15 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。