2007年VOA标准英语-Afghan President Condemns Suicide Bombing, Offe

By Daniel Schearf
Islamabad
29 September 2007

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has condemned² a suicide bombing in Kabul that killed 30 people and wounded many others. Mr. Karzai also offered to personally meet with Taleban and insurgent³ leaders and to give militants⁴ government posts in return for peace. Daniel Schearf reports for VOA from Islamabad.

Mr. Karzai told journalists Saturday the bombing early that morning was a terrible tragedy, an act of extreme cowardice⁵, and against Islam.

"A man that calls himself Muslim would not blow up innocent people in the middle of Ramadan, an enemy of all of us, an enemy of Afghanistan, an enemy of humanity, something that we condemn¹ in strongest possible terms," he said.

The suicide attack occurred in the Afghan capital on a crowded Afghan National Army bus. The bomber⁶, dressed in an Afghan army uniform, detonated explosives after trying to board the bus.

Mr. Karzai said the explosion killed 28 soldiers and two civilians⁷. At least 21 people were wounded in the blast as it ripped the bus to pieces and damaged nearby shops.

A purported⁸ Taleban spokesman has said the group was responsible for the attack.

Despite the deadly bombing, Mr. Karzai said he was still willing to meet personally with Taleban leader Mullah Omar and another top insurgent, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, for peace talks.

He said he would even offer positions in the government to insurgent leaders willing to put down their weapons and join the political establishment.

Mr. Karzai says if he had their addresses, there would be no need for them to contact him. He would go to them directly and ask why they are destroying the country.

However, Mr. Karzai rejected insurgents⁹' demands that foreign troops first leave the country.

Attacks inside the Afghan capital used to be rare, but this year there have been several, and suicide bombings are on the rise throughout the country. There have already been more than 100 this year, compared with only 17 in 2005.

In June, a police academy bus in Kabul was bombed, killing¹⁰ 35 people. That was the deadliest bombing in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led overthrow¹¹ of the Taleban government in 2001.

U.S. officials say Taleban militants have resorted to terror tactics out of desperation as coalition¹² forces have stepped-up operations against the them.

Taleban insurgents Saturday released four Red Cross employees after holding them for three days. The Red Cross was trying to negotiate the release of a German hostage held by the insurgents since July. The kidnappers¹³ had already executed a second German hostage.

1 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

2 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。

3 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

4 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。

5 cowardice   

n.胆小，怯懦

参考例句：

• His cowardice reflects on his character.他的胆怯对他的性格带来不良影响。
• His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice.他拒绝帮助正显示他的胆小。

6 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。

7 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。

8 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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

10 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。

11 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

12 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。

13 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》