voa标准英语2008年-Thousands of Christians Return To Mosul

The U.N. refugee agency says about one third of the Christian¹ families that fled the Iraqi city of Mosul in early October have returned to their homes. About 10,000 people or half of Mosul's Christian population fled the city for fear of violence. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.
　

An Iraqi Christian woman kisses a cross inside a church in Dora, a neighborhood of Baghdad, 07 Nov 2008

A majority of the Christians² who fled went to the al Hamdaniya area, which is about 40 or 50 kilometers from Mosul. The U.N. refugee agency says they have been staying with family and friends or in churches and public buildings.

UNHCR Spokesman Ron Redmond says displaced families began returning to Mosul a little more than a week ago. He tells VOA many of the Christians received assurances from their Arab neighbors that security in the city had improved, with increased presence by Iraqi security forces.

"Currently, there are some 35,000 army and police in Mosul city alone," Redmond said. "The number of explosions and arbitrary killings³ has declined in recent weeks. So that obviously contributes to the sense of growing security that people do feel now."

Thousands of Christians fled Mosul after nearly one dozen people reportedly were killed. Many Christians said they had received threatening notes pinned to their doors. Others said their Arab neighbors warned them of plots against them.

Redmond says it still is not clear who is behind these intimidating⁴ tactics.

Just this week, two Christian sisters were shot and killed by Iraqi gunmen while rigging their house with explosives. Police have identified them as Islamic extremists.

Redmond says many of the displaced say they are still too frightened to return. And, he says people who are returning are doing so for a variety of reasons.

"Not everyone is moving back and staying. Some are going into the city to go to work," Redmond said. "They go in there to go to university, to go to school and then return to outlying areas at night. But, others have moved back into their homes and are staying in the city. And, we hope, that indeed it stabilizes⁵ and they can stay there."

Redmond says the government is giving each Christian family that returns a cash grant of up to $800. He notes many families do not register for the money because they fear exposure or are uncertain as to whether they will stay.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 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。

4 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

5 stabilizes   

n.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的名词复数 )v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The broadbased attachment of the mesenteric root stabilizes the small bowel. 肠系膜根部基底宽阔的附着面使小肠得以稳定。 来自辞典例句
• The available supply of industrial product and produce stabilizes growth. 工业品与农产品的有效供给稳定增长。 来自互联网