2007年VOA标准英语-Lebanese Army Keeps Up Pressure on Militants

By Margaret Besheer
Beirut
06 June 2007

The Lebanese army continued to subdue¹ Islamic militants² holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli Wednesday. From Beirut, VOA's Margaret Besheer reports fighting has become more sporadic³ amid reports some of the militants have surrendered.

Smoke rises from the heavy shelling during the Lebanese army offensive at the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared in the north, 06 Jun 2007

The heavy artillery⁴ bombardments of the last five days eased Wednesday at Nahr el-Bared camp, where the Lebanese army is pursuing a small group of militants aligned⁵ to Fatah al-Islam.

Over the past two days there have been reports that several militants have given up their weapons and turned themselves in to the mainstream⁶ Palestinian Fatah faction⁷. Army officials say they have information the reports are true, but have not yet taken custody⁸ of any of the fighters.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard throughout the day, but the lull⁹ in major combat gave aid agencies an opportunity to evacuate¹⁰ more of the remaining Nahr el-Bared residents. International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman, Virginia De La Guardia:

"Today we managed to bring assistance to 25 people," she said. "We took them out from the camp. Most of them were children, women and elderly. Since Sunday we have managed to bring out around 72 people from Nahr el-Bared Camp."

She says concern continues to grow for the approximately 3,000 residents who remain in the camp amid the fighting.

"We are very concerned, because last time we were able to bring much-needed assistance such as food, water and medication, it was in the last days," she added. "So it is already two weeks now since the fighting broke out and we are very much concerned for the people who are still remaining trapped inside the camp."

Meanwhile, in the southern coastal¹¹ city of Tyre, explosives experts dismantled¹² a bomb found near a popular public beach.

Since fighting began at Nahr el-Bared, four bombs have exploded in the Beirut area, killing¹³ one person and injuring several others, rattling¹⁴ an already anxious public.

And at Lebanon's biggest Palestinian refugee camp, Ein el-Hilweh, calm held on Wednesday.

The camp, near the southern city of Sidon, saw clashes Sunday night and into Monday between the army and Islamic militants from a group sympathetic to Fatah al-Islam. The fighting raised fears the violence could spread from Nahr el-Bared to one or more Lebanon's 11 other Palestinian refugee camps.

But at Ein al-Hilweh, a Palestinian security force patrolled two neighborhoods to prevent a renewal¹⁵ of the clashes, which left two soldiers and two militants dead.

At least 45 Lebanese soldiers and an unconfirmed number of militants have been killed since the fighting began at Nahr el-Bared last month. An estimated 20 civilians¹⁶ have also been killed in the fighting. 

1 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

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 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

4 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。

5 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

6 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。

7 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

8 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。

9 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

10 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

11 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

12 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。

13 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

14 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

15 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

16 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。