voa标准英语2008-Widespread Protests Continue in Greece

Demonstrations¹ and protests over the death of a Greek teenager, who was shot by a police officer on Saturday, have continued throughout Greece and even spread to foreign capitals like London, Nicosia and Berlin.

Four days after the shooting, the protests show no sign of abating².

Angry crowds gathered outside the parliament in the center of Athens - the gathering³ climaxed⁴ as the funeral was held for the teenager whose death has sparked the nationwide rioting.
　

Mourners attend the funeral of 15- year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in suburban5 Athens, 09 Dec 2008

Thousands of mourners also attended his funeral in the south of Athens, with police officers having to be brought in from cities from across the region to help control the crowds.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse⁶ the stone-throwing protesters, many of whom vowed⁷ to continue their protests.

All television and radio networks broadcast the funeral and many commentators⁸ said they anticipated more violence in the coming days.

Harris Tzanis, a reporter with the Athens News Agency, told VOA News that such incidents had not been seen in Greece for decades and were a source of major concern.

"People are really uneasy, there is queasiness⁹ in the air - if that makes any sense. This caused unprecedented¹⁰ - you know we keep using this word, but there is really no way around it, unprecedented violence - street violence, urban violence in the country. We have never seen that before," he said.

The prime minister earlier held emergency talks with the president, while the main opposition¹¹ party has demanded that the government resign.

Socialist¹² opposition leader George Papandreou said the government has lost the Greek people's trust and called for snap elections to be held.

This woman summed up the feelings of many Greeks who have lost all confidence in the government.

"I do not expect anything - I want change," she said.

Tzanis said what had shocked most citizens in Greece, a country which is no stranger to violence, was the level of unrest and the uncertainty¹³ about the future.

"The violence here in Athens is actually 10 times worse than we have seen it before," said Tzanis.

Scuffles and minor¹⁴ demonstrations were also reported across Europe. In Cyprus, hundreds of students gathered to protest, with police saying they arrested four people.

Greece's ongoing¹⁵ instability has sparked public discontent at the country's recent economic slump¹⁶ and rising unemployment levels.

1 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。

2 abating   

减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The storm showed no signs of abating. 暴风雨没有减弱的迹象。
• The recent public anxiety about this issue may now be abating. 近来公众对这个问题的焦虑心情现在也许正在缓和下来。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 climaxed   

vt.& vi.达到顶点（climax的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The demonstration climaxed two weeks of strikes. 游行示威将持续了两周的罢工推向了高潮。 来自辞典例句
• His election to the presidency climaxed his political career. 他的当选为总统使他的政治生涯达到最高峰。 来自辞典例句

5 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

6 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

7 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。

8 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 queasiness   

n.恶心

参考例句：

• This medicine will counteract the queasiness caused by the antibiotics. 这种药会抑制抗生素引起的反胃。 来自辞典例句
• Perhaps his queasiness is just a sign's coming down with bird flu. 它确定不了，也许，感觉恶心只是得了禽流感的征兆。 来自互联网

10 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

12 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

13 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

14 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

15 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

16 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。