2007年VOA标准英语-EU Concerned As Kosovo Blast Kills Two

By Stefan Bos
Budapest
24 September 2007

The European Union has condemned¹ a bomb blast that killed at least two people and injured nearly a dozen others in Serbia's Kosovo Province. Stefan Bos reports for VOA from Budapest there is rising tension in the region before EU-backed international negotiations² between independence-seeking ethnic³ Albanians and Serbia, which wants to retain sovereignty over the troubled province.

 

Police investigators⁴ and witnesses said the blast was so powerful that it scattered⁵ chairs and glass across what is known as the Bill Clinton Boulevard in Kosovo's capital, Pristina. Part of a building collapsed⁶ and at least a dozen shops, cafes and restaurants were destroyed.

 

Bertrand Bonneau, a spokesman of the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo, KFOR, told VOA news that while rescue work was underway, international peacekeepers sealed off the area, amid fears of another attack.

 

"We have people who are trained in de-mining and things like that," he said. "That is why KFOR was involved. Just to secure the area from any remaining bombs or things like that."

 

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and investigators have not ruled out that the bombing was part of a war between the Serbian province's mushrooming criminal gangs.

 

The European Union has expressed concerns about the blast at a time of rising tension between Kosovo's independence seeking ethnic Albanian majority, and minority Serbs who want to remain part of Serbia.

 

Spokeswoman Krisztina Nagy of the European Commission, the EU executive, made clear that it is crucial that the U.N. mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, take part in investigating the reasons behind the attack.

 

"About this tragic⁷ explosion that happened in Pristina," she said. "We deplore⁸ the loss of all human lives. And our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims and with the injured . We wish them a speedy recovery. We trust that UNMIK police will carry out the investigation⁹ into the reasons of this blast. And that the perpetrators will be brought to justice."

Kosovo has been under United Nations administration since 1999, after a NATO bombing campaign forced Serb troops to withdraw and end their bloody¹⁰ crackdown on ethnic Albanians.

 

Representatives of Serbia and ethnic Albanians, who comprise 90 percent of Kosovo's two million population, are to hold negotiations on the territory's future Friday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 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。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

8 deplore   

vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾

参考例句：

• I deplore what has happened.我为所发生的事深感愤慨。
• There are many of us who deplore this lack of responsibility.我们中有许多人谴责这种不负责任的做法。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 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。