VOA常速英语2007年-Two Blasts Blamed on Tamil Rebels Kill 19 in Sr

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
28 November 2007

Two separate bomb attacks in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels have killed at least 19 people, including a female suicide bomber¹. The attacks came a day after the head of the country's Tamil rebels ruled out hopes for a political settlement to the ethnic² conflict that has raged for a quarter of a century. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi.

Police say a handicapped woman blew herself up Wednesday morning after security personnel stopped her from entering the offices of Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda in Colombo. One of his staff members was killed and two others were injured. The woman, who was apparently³ wearing a bomb vest, also died.

The woman had been allowed into the complex with other people who had come for a weekly open meeting to discuss their problems with the minister - the apparent target of the attack.

 Devananda heads a party representing Sri Lanka's Tamil ethnic minority (the Eelam People's Democratic Party). He once fought alongside the Tamil Tiger rebel group, but renounced⁴ violence and joined the political mainstream⁵ in 1987.

Police have blamed Wednesday's attack on the rebels, officially known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE. The attack came just a day after the LTTE chief, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, said in an annual radio address that peace efforts with the Sinhalese-dominated government are a waste of time.

He described the government as "genocidal", and accused it of aiming to destroy the Tamil community.

 Political analyst⁶ Rohan Edresinghe of Colombo's independent Center for Policy Alternatives says the message from the rebel chief is clear: there is no hope of a political settlement between the government and the rebels.

"The LTTE will now try to show the Sri Lankan government and show the world that they have military strength, they have military prowess, and that they cannot be defeated militarily," he said.

Prabhakaran blamed the international community for fueling the conflict by giving the government economic and military aid.

The conflict has intensified⁷ since a 2002 peace agreement began to unravel⁸ three years ago. Earlier this year, the government scored a major military success against the rebels by driving them out of their eastern bases.

Observers say the Tigers are also under pressure in their northern bases. They say the government is intent on pressing its military advantage instead of pursuing peace talks.

 The Tamil Tigers launched their struggle for a Tamil homeland in 1983. The conflict has since claimed more than 60,000 lives.

1 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

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 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

7 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。