VOA常速英语2008年-East Timor President Wounded in Rebel Attack

By Phil Mercer
Sydney
11 February 2008

The President of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta, has been shot and wounded in attack by rebel soldiers at his home in the capital Dili, an army spokesman said. A fugitive¹ renegade soldier who has been blamed for recent unrest in the fledgling nation was killed in the raid on the president's home. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports for VOA.

Reports from Dili say Jose Ramos-Horta was shot in the stomach during the shoot-out. He's undergone emergency surgery at an Australian hospital in Dili.

The president is said to be in a stable condition and is expected to be flown to Darwin in northern Australia for further treatment.

East Timor television reported that the home of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao also came under fire, but that no one was hurt. There is speculation² that the rebel soldiers may have been staging a coup³ attempt.

The attack on Mr. Ramos Horta happened at around 7:00 am local time Monday, when two cars drove past the president's house and their occupants began shooting.

Fugitive rebel commander Alfredo Reinado was killed. The former military police chief had led a revolt against East Timor's government and had been indicted⁴ for his alleged⁵ role in fighting between rebel troops and police in 2006. The fighting forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. It prompted the intervention⁶ of peacekeepers from Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Malaysia, which make up the International Stabilization⁷ Force in East Timor.

Dili businessman, Alchino da Silva, says the apparent assassination⁸ attempt o the president has come as a shock.

"This is definitely a surprise," he said. "No-one expected that anything like this could happen here in Dili given that there's a lot of ISF [International Stabilization Force] here and a lot of UN police."

East Timor, a former Portuguese⁹ colony, voted to break away from Indonesia in a violence-marred vote in 1999. It became independent in 2002 after a period of U.N. administration, but remains¹⁰ one of the world's poorest nations.

Jose Ramos-Horta was prominent in the campaign against Indonesia rule, after the Portuguese withdrew from their former colony in 1975. A decade later he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

2 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

3 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

4 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

7 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

8 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

9 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。