voa标准英语2008年-Sri Lanka Rebels Urged to Lay Down Arms Before

The Sri Lankan government has turned down a truce¹ offered by Tamil Tiger rebels as the military presses on with an offensive to capture a key rebel stronghold. From New Delhi, Anjana Pasricha reports the government hopes to crush the rebels, who have been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland for a quarter century.
　

Rebels examine their weapons in this handout2 picture released by The Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) website Tamilnet (file photo)

Sri Lankan government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella says the rebels must lay down their weapons before any negotiations³ can begin. He says the government cannot trust Tamil Tiger rebels "with arms in their hands."

Rambukwella was responding to reports that the rebels are ready for a truce. Over the weekend, a pro⁴ rebel website said that "there is no hesitation⁵ on our side to reiterate⁶ our position that we have always wanted a ceasefire." The Tamil Tigers say they have been forced into a "defensive⁷ war" by the government.

But Minister Rambukwella says the guerrillas call for a ceasefire each time they get weakened militarily.

The head of Colombo's National Peace Council, Jehan Perera, says the government fears that the Tamil Tigers, also known as the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) could use a ceasefire to rearm.

"They [the government] want to make sure that the LTTE does not use any opportunity of a ceasefire to replenish⁸ its arms, to regain⁹ its strength when it is weak," Perera said, "so if the LTTE is serious about talks then they must prove their bonafides by laying down their arms."

Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels have lost considerable territory in the north to the army. The government says troops are now closing in on the political and administrative¹⁰ headquarters of the Tamil Tigers - Killinochi.

The government launched an offensive against the Tamil Tigers in the north earlier in the year after evicting¹¹ them from their eastern bases.

Political observers say the military has made dramatic progress in its bid to crush the guerrillas. But Jehan Perera of the National Peace Council says the government has made little progress in addressing the political issues which ignited the ethnic¹² conflict.

"It is also very slow in coming up with a political package that could address long standing¹³ Tamil grievances," Perera said. "This is the major weakness that we see in the government position and its own sincerity¹⁴ with regard to ending this conflict."

The Tamil Tigers began fighting for an independent Tamil homeland in the 1980's, after complaints of discrimination against the minority Tamil community by the majority Sinhalese. The violent civil war has claimed more than 70,000 lives.

1 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

2 handout   

n.散发的文字材料；救济品

参考例句：

• I read the handout carefully.我仔细看了这份分发的资料。
• His job was distributing handout at the street-corner.他的工作是在街头发传单。

3 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。

4 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

5 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

6 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。

7 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

8 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。

9 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

10 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

11 evicting   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. 花在打击性侵犯者上的钱并不能花在治疗这一社会问题上。 来自互联网
• Money spent on evicting sex offenders cannot be spent on treating them. Does this matter? 钱被花费在驱逐性犯罪者而不是用做教育他们，这样做真的好么？ 来自互联网

12 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。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。