2007年VOA标准英语-More Violence Wracks Iraq

By Jim Randle
Baghdad
29 January 2007

Violence continued in Iraq on Monday following a bloody¹ weekend that included a battle in Najaf that Iraqi officials say left about 200 militants² dead and more than 100 in custody³. VOA's Jim Randle reports has more from Baghdad.

 
Iraqi army moves in after clashes north of Najaf, 28 Jan 2007
Iraqi officials say U.S. and Iraqi forces fought militants in a day-long battle that began early Sunday near the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf.

Shaky images and sound from a mobile phone-camera showed Iraqi police in a furious fight. They were joined by Iraqi Army and U.S. forces, including U.S. tanks and aircraft.

The U.S. military says two Americans died when their helicopter crashed in the midst of the battle.

It is at least the third crash of an American helicopter in recent days.

Iraqi authorities say the insurgents⁴ were well organized and well trained.

 
Iraqi pilgrims bring a huge national flag inside the shrine⁵ of Imam Hussein during Muharram in Karbala, 29 Jan 2006
Iraqi sources say the fighters were planning to attack Shi'ite clerics taking part in the Ashura observance in the holy city of Karbala this week.

Thousands of Iraqi soldiers and police are in Karbala to protect Shi'ite pilgrims during the holiday.

Ashura marks the seventh-century death of the Shi'ite Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Shi'ites believe Hussein was the prophet's heir. Hussein's death solidified⁶ Islam's split into rival Sunni and Shi'ite sects⁷.

Monday violence continued elsewhere in Iraq, leaving a number of people dead and injured.

While a car bomb took another life in eastern Baghdad.

Meantime, there was a mortar⁸ attack against a Shiite neighborhood in a Sunni-dominated town, Jurf al-Sakhar, 70 kilometers south of Baghdad.

This witness said mortar rounds fell like rain.

Police said ten people died.

1 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

2 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。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 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

5 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

6 solidified   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的过去式和过去分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• Her attitudes solidified through privilege and habit. 由于特权和习惯使然，她的看法变得越来越难以改变。
• When threatened, he fires spheres of solidified air from his launcher! 当危险来临，他就会发射它的弹药！

7 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句

8 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。