2006年VOA标准英语-First Major Contingent of UN Troops Begin Arriv

By Margaret Besheer
Tyre, Lebanon
02 September 2006

The first major deployment² of international forces to monitor a ceasefire between Hezbollah militants³ and Israel began arriving in Lebanon Saturday.  The Italian contingent⁴ will help keep the peace, but not try to disarm⁵ Hezbollah.

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		Italian marines arrive at the south beach of Tyre, Lebanon to secure the area for the landing of the first Italian contingent

They began arriving early Saturday by helicopter.  By mid-afternoon, 10 amphibious vehicles had come ashore⁶ on a beachfront in Tyre, while other equipment was diverted further south to the port of Naqoura. A spokesman for the Italian troops said rough seas were slowing the landing operation, and by late afternoon, many of the peacekeepers were still aboard four ships in the Mediterranean⁷.

Conditions permitting, the Italians expect to have nearly 900 troops on the ground in south Lebanon by Sunday to enhance the expanded UNIFIL force here. An additional 1,500 Italian troops will be deployed⁸ in a second phase in the next few months. 

The Italians join 200 French military engineers, who arrived late last month to bolster⁹ the 2,000 strong UNIFIL force that has been in south Lebanon for more than two decades.

U.N. Resolution 1701 authorized¹⁰ the expansion of the peacekeeping force to up to 15-thousand troops. UNIFIL spokesman Alexander Ivanov explains their mandate¹¹.

"Their mission is, a) to monitor the ceasefire; b) to provide support to humanitarian¹² aid convoys¹³ and the civilian¹⁴ population; and, c) to support the Lebanese army in taking control of the borders and redeploying in south Lebanon after the Israeli Defense¹⁵ Forces withdraw from that area," he said.

But UNIFIL force commander Major General Alain Pellegrini of France told reporters, it is not in the peacekeepers' mandate to disarm Hezbollah militants. "This job is a job to the Lebanese army, and we are here to assist the Lebanese army to do its job," he explained.

Meanwhile, in Beirut, legislators gathered at parliament, and began a sit-in to protest Israels land, sea and air blockade of the country. 

The siege has been choking the Lebanese economy and causing humanitarian suffering for more than six weeks. Israel says it will not lift the blockade until U.N. troops are deployed along the Lebanese border with Syria to prevent arms from reaching Hezbollah. Lebanon says it will deploy¹ its own soldiers there, but not UNIFIL troops.

Nabih Berri, the speaker of the parliament and an ally of Hezbollah, called the blockade an act of Israeli aggression¹⁶ on Lebanon.

He said the blockade violates Lebanon's sovereignty, as well as the U.N. resolution that ended the fighting, because it is in itself a hostile act against Lebanon.

Legislators say they will take turns remaining at the parliament until the siege is lifted.

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

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 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。

5 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

6 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

7 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

10 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

11 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。

12 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。

13 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

14 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

15 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。

16 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。