VOA标准英语2008年-4 Killed in Latest Bombing in Sri Lanka

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
02 January 2008

At least four people have been killed and more than 20 wounded in a bombing by suspected Tamil rebels in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. The bomb attack came a day after a prominent Tamil lawmaker was shot to death. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the separatist conflict raging in the north of the country is increasingly being felt in the capital.

 

Officials say an army bus carrying wounded soldiers to a hospital was the target of the powerful roadside bomb that exploded Wednesday morning in a busy commercial district of Colombo.

At least one soldier died as the explosion shattered the bus and others were wounded. Several civilians¹ in the vicinity were also killed or wounded in the attack.

Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara blamed the explosion on Tamil rebels, whose official name is the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE.

"The LTTE, due to the desperation and due to the pressure applied² to them in the north, they are trying to resort to this kind of terrorist activities in Colombo," he said.

Just a day earlier, a lawmaker from the ethnic³ Tamil community, T. Maheswaran, was shot dead by a gunman as he attended a New Year service in a Hindu temple in Colombo.

His party says the government is responsible because it had lowered his security protection. Maheswaran was highly critical of the government's military campaign against the rebels, and had blamed paramilitary troops for a spate⁴ of abductions and unlawful killings⁵ in the north, where the rebels are based.

The latest incidents of violence in Colombo came as fighting intensifies⁶ between the military and the rebels.

Human rights groups say political killings, abductions and bomb attacks have been on the rise in the past two years, since a cease-fire collapsed⁷ and the two sides resumed armed hostilities⁸.

The director of Colombo's Center for Policy Alternatives, Paikiasothy Saravanmuttu, says all sides share the blame for the rising violence in the country.

"This is reflective of the total breakdown⁹ of the rule of law as far as the country is concerned and the viciousness with which the ethnic conflict is being carried out," said Saravanmuttu. "Invariably the finger points at the LTTE, or any of the other armed Tamil groups, and indeed allegations also are made against the government and its security apparatus¹⁰."

The rebels are fighting for an autonomous¹¹ homeland for the ethnic Tamil community. The government has vowed¹² to crush the rebels on the battlefield, and clashes in the north are reported daily.

1 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。

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

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 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 intensifies   

n.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的名词复数 )v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A clear atmosphere intensifies the blue of the sky. 纯净的空气使天空变得更蓝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Blowing on fire intensifies the heat. 吹火使热度加强。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

9 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

10 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

11 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。