VOA标准英语2008年-Rockets Fired from Lebanon Strike Israel Amid H

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
08 January 2008

Two rockets fired from Lebanese territory struck northern Israel Tuesday, raising tensions before the Mideast visit of President George Bush. VOA's Jim Teeple reports Israeli police say they have mobilized a massive police force for the visit.

The surprise rocket attack is the first in months on Israel's northern border. It was the second such attack since Israel's war in Lebanon in 2006, when thousands of rockets landed in the area. This time, Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld says two rockets struck a road in northern Israel and caused no injuries.

 

"Two rockets were, in fact, fired from Lebanon into northern Israel - both of them striking a road near the northern city of Shlomi," he said. "Our bomb disposal experts arrived at the scene and dealt with the leftovers¹ of those Katyusha rockets."

The rocket attack raised tensions just hours before President Bush is to arrive in Israel and the Palestinian territories for three days of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel has mobilized more than 10,000 police officers for the visit - more than a third of the entire national force. Rosenfeld says the police are prepared.

"As far as the Israeli police are concerned, we are ready for the visit," he said. "We have completed our operations, both on the operational and intelligence level. We have received no specific warnings with Mr. Bush's three-day visit - however we continue to deal with regular general alerts that we deal with all year round."

Mr. Bush and his entourage will stay in Jerusalem's historic King David Hotel, which has been fully² taken over by the White House for the visit. Journalists traveling with Mr. Bush will stay at nearby hotels. Major streets in central Jerusalem have been blocked off for the visit. Thousands of protesters - mostly right-wing activists³ opposed to any dismantling⁴ of Israeli settlements - have threatened large demonstrations⁵.

Mr. Bush's trip to the West Bank is under even tighter security wraps, with no itinerary⁶ published beyond a general statement saying he will visit the West Bank city, Ramallah, to meet with Mr. Abbas.

Meanwhile, violence continues in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Tuesday, with clashes reported between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants⁷, including a rare exchange of fire between Israeli navy vessels⁸ and Hamas militants along the Gaza shore.

1 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

5 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

6 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

7 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。

8 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》