2007年VOA标准英语-Sri Lanka Military Says Rebels Forced Out of Ke

By Suzanne Presto¹
New Delhi
22 January 2007

ethnic2 Tamils at a government camp in Kiran, Sri Lanka, 21 Jan 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070517/1051050.jpg" width="209" vspace="2" border="0" />

Displaced ethnic Tamils at a government camp in Kiran, Sri Lanka, 21 Jan 2007

Sri Lanka's military says it is driving out Tamil Tiger rebels from key areas in the island's east, following intense fighting. VOA's Suzanne Presto reports from New Delhi that the military says it is working to restore such areas, so tens of thousands of civilians⁴ can return to the region.

Sri Lankan military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe says Tamil Tiger rebels who were forced from the eastern Vakarai region are near Batticaloa, following intense battles between the troops and militants⁵.

The military said about 42,000 civilians, held against their will by rebels in Vakarai before the fighting, are now much safer.

"Now 95 percent of the civilians in eastern province, of the civilian³ population, is in the government controlled areas," he said.

Samarsinghe says the military is clearing mine fields in northern Batticaloa and rebuilding a bridge he says was demolished⁶ by the rebels, known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

"Now these civilians can get back as soon as possible and the army is now facilitating these civilians to get back and resettle with the assistance of the government," added Samarsinghe.

Samarsinghe says the military found three rebel camps within 100 meters of the hospital in Vakarai, an area where thousands of civilians had gathered after they fled their homes in October. But reports that the hospital had been damaged in recent fighting were incorrect.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says it hopes to reach the area soon.

Recent clashes have not been confined to land. The military says the rebels, also known as LTTE, attacked a British civilian cargo⁷ ship Sunday, after it delivered food supplies to civilians in Jaffna, in the north.

"After unloading the foodstuffs⁸, the ship was returning and about 20 LTTE boats came, with suicide boats, to attack the ship. And navy, with the help of air force and ground troops with artillery⁹ fire were able to stop the LTTE boats attacking the ship. But one LTTE suicide boat exploded closer to the ship and the ship got damaged, the hull¹⁰ got damaged, but the navy recovered the ship," he said.

 

Sri Lanka's military says 10 troops have been killed and 42 injured in the past few days of fighting, and that at least 370 rebels have been killed since October 2006.

Fighting between Tamil separatists and Sri Lanka's government has claimed more than 67,000 lives since 1983. A ceasefire was mediated¹¹ by Norway in 2002, but it broke down completely late last year.

 

The rebel group is listed by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization.

1 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

7 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

8 foodstuffs   

食物，食品( foodstuff的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Imports of foodstuffs accounted for a small proportion of total imports. 食物进口仅占总进口额的一小部份。
• Many basic foodstuffs, such as bread and milk, are tax-free. 许多基本食物如牛奶和面包是免税的。

9 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

10 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

11 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

12 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

13 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。