2007年VOA标准英语-US Embassy Resumes Some Travel With Help of Bla

By Jim Randle
Baghdad
21 September 2007

The U.S. Embassy resumed limited travel by road with Blackwater USA protection in Baghdad on Friday. As VOA's Jim Randle reports, the move came just days after all travel by land by U.S. officials was suspended amid public outrage¹ over the killing² of civilians³ by private guards from the American company.

An Embassy spokeswoman says U.S. officials consulted Iraq's government before resuming limited ground travel with security guards from Blackwater USA. The security firm provides protection for U.S. diplomats⁴ in Iraq.

Iraqi authorities had suspended Blackwater's license⁵ after a shooting incident Sunday that left 11 Iraqi civilians dead. The ban, announced Tuesday, had confined most American officials to the Green Zone, a 9-square-kilometer area in the center of the city that houses the American Embassy and thousands of U.S. soldiers and contractors⁶.

Blackwater has said its employees acted "lawfully⁷ and appropriately" in response to an armed attack against a U.S. State Department convoy⁸.

But Iraqi officials and witnesses have offered conflicting accounts.

At a news conference in Moscow Friday, Iraq's Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, says the United States should replace Blackwater with another security firm.

Meantime, the U.S. military says coalition⁹ forces killed one terrorist Friday and detained eight suspects in operations in Baghdad, northern and central Iraq.

U.S. officials say one of the suspects arrested in a security sweep is an prominent member of al-Qaida-in-Iraq.

"The individual is believed to build bombs for the Baghdad car-bombing network and has oversight¹⁰ of their past and future attacks. This individual is also believed to facilitate the movement and training of foreign terrorists in the region, army specialist Megan Burmeister read the military statement to reporters.

Officials also announced the deaths of two American soldiers on Thursday. And, on Friday, a roadside bomb blast killed a Romanian soldier and wounded five others in southern Iraq.

1 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

2 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。

3 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。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lawfully   

adv.守法地，合法地；合理地

参考例句：

• Lawfully established contracts shall be protected by law. 依法成立的合同应受法律保护。 来自口语例句
• As my lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death parts us. 当成是我的合法丈夫，无论疾病灾难，直到死亡把我们分开。 来自电影对白

8 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。