VOA标准英语2008年-Motive Unclear in Shooting of US Diplomat in Su

By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
01 January 2008

The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum says it is unclear why an American diplomat¹ and his driver were shot and killed early Tuesday in the Sudanese capital. The diplomat was identified as 33-year-old John Granville, his driver was a 40-year-old Sudanese national Abdel Rahman Abbas. VOA correspondent Alisha Ryu in our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi reports on the shooting that has shocked the diplomatic community in Khartoum.

The spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, Walter Braunohler, tells VOA that the diplomat, an official working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, died while being treated for his wounds.

"Unfortunately, he succumbed² to them and passed away," he said. "It is too early to tell why, exactly what happened, etc. There is an investigation³ on-going, and we are working closely with local authorities."

Braunohler declined to comment on a Sudanese Foreign Ministry⁴ statement, which said the American diplomat was in his car when he was shot five times in the hand, shoulder and stomach. The Sudanese statement said the car was heading toward a suburb west of Khartoum.

The driver, a 40-year-old Sudanese national working for the embassy, was killed instantly.

American and Sudanese officials say they do not know whether the attack was a random⁵ criminal act or had a political motive⁶.

U.S.-Sudanese relations have been tense because of the violence in Sudan's Darfur region.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

3 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。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

6 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。