VOA标准英语2008年-Eastern Sri Lanka Struggles to Recover From Tsu

Sri Lanka's government and the international community have been pouring tens of millions of dollars into the country's Eastern Province. The area was liberated¹ by the army from rebel Tamil separatists a year ago during the country's on-going civil war. Much of the coast was devastated² by the December 2005 tsunami³. VOA correspondent Steve Herman traveled to the province to take a look at the reconstruction⁴ efforts and gauge⁵ the mood of the area with a tense ethnic⁶ mix of Muslims, Tamils and Sinhalese.

Over the village of Irrakkakandy in eastern Sri Lanka the sound of an incoming military helicopter drowns out the call to prayer from the mosque⁷.
　

Sayed Mohammed says government is doing its best

The noise interrupts the mid-day nap of 78-year-old Seyed Mohammed, who has been resting in the makeshift thatched-roof structure where he has lived since rioting destroyed his house a decade ago. He says while the government is doing its best since the area was liberated last year, vital goods, such as medicines, are still not reaching the people.

Mohammed predicts that as long as there are soldiers in his community there cannot be peace.

Mohammed says that the military's only targets are the Tamil Tiger terrorists and that will cause the terrorists to come around to attack the military. So, he says, the people caught in between will continue to suffer.

The village's fishermen complain that the navy restricts the days and time they can go to sea, severely⁸ limiting their catch. But the village shopkeepers say the military presence prevents rebels hiding out in the jungle from extorting⁹ food and money.

The government regained¹⁰ control of the province one year ago. The fighting between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam continues in the north. The Tamil Tigers want to create an independent homeland for the ethnic minority.

Sri Lanka's military took the East in a campaign in which it gave covert¹¹ backing to thousands of fighters of a breakaway Tamil faction¹². The Karuna faction has re-branded itself as the TMVP party. It allied¹³ with the party of the Sri Lankan president and the national Muslim Congress this year to form a political coalition¹⁴ which won the provincial¹⁵ elections.

　

Former Tamil Tiger and current Eastern Province chief minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan

One of the TMVP leaders, a former Tamil Tiger, is now the province's chief minister.

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, better known by his fighting name, Pillayan, says taking up arms against the government is no longer viable¹⁶.

He says his followers¹⁷ now firmly believe nothing can be achieved through armed struggle so that is why they came into the democratic process.

Tamil Tiger commanders disagree. They consider the chief minister a traitor¹⁸ to the liberation struggle and have tried to assassinate¹⁹ him numerous times.

The chief minister's performance will be closely watched to see if he can keep his still-armed followers in check. Chandrakanthan says the former rebels need to protect themselves from the Tamil Tigers, who are bent²⁰ on revenge and still lurking²¹ in the region.
　

Center for Policy Alternatives Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu

The executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu, foresees a sensitive situation with regard to the province's majority Muslims, who view both the Sinhalese-dominated military and the TMVP with suspicion.

"If the government does give police powers to the province and the TMVP dominates the police force you have a knock-on effect on Tamil-Muslim relationships," said Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu. "If the government doesn't, you still have TMVP roaming around carrying arms. Then you have a parallel law and order situation."

United Nations officials have accused the TMVP of aiding the Sri Lankan military in recruiting under-aged combatants.

Chief minister Chandrakanthan, himself a former child soldier of the Tamil Tigers, vows²² to end the practice in his province.

The rebel-turned-politician promises to personally take all measures to stop the recruitment of child soldiers for armed struggle. He says his faction has released all of its under-aged fighters.

His fellow Tamils have long complained of being arrested and jailed by Sri Lankan authorities without any evidence for allegedly aiding the rebels.
　

US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Richard Boucher

The U.S. assistant secretary of state for the region, Richard Boucher, says these and other issues need to be addressed.

"We've been concerned about the continuing reports of abductions, disappearances²³, some of the detentions²⁴ of individuals, reports of intimidation²⁵ against the media. All these things need to be stopped," said Boucher.

Analyst²⁶ Saravanamuttu says how the east fares will not be determined²⁷ until armed conflict ends in the north and a civil administration is put in place there, as well.

"There is a sense in which their fate is linked. So the long-term prognosis must await developments in the north as well in terms of an overall settlement and solution to the ethnic conflict," said Saravanamuttu.
　

Lakshman Hulugalle of the Meda Center for National Security (Sri Lankan Defense28 Ministry)

In the mean time, the director general of the Defense Ministry's Media Center for National Security, Lakshman Hulugalle, argues that much has already been achieved since the Eastern Province was liberated.

"Today people have water. They have got the civil rights. They have elected their own members. So people are happy now. Electricity is given for more than half of Eastern Province," said Hulugalle.

There is still much to be done. The war created many refugees. Former child soldiers who did not complete their education and have few skills besides fighting lack employment. Most of the homes destroyed by decades of war and the 2005 tsunami have yet to be rebuilt.

People in the province say what they want most is peace of mind, a guarantee that civil war will not return here.

The Tamil Tigers are fighting a desperate last stand against soldiers in the north. But the remaining rebels continue to demonstrate their capability²⁹ to carry out bombings and assassinations³⁰ as far as away as the capital, Colombo.

1 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

2 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

4 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

5 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

6 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。

7 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

8 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

9 extorting   

v.敲诈( extort的现在分词 )；曲解

参考例句：

• Corrupt government officials were extorting money from him. 腐败的政府官员向他敲诈钱财。 来自辞典例句
• He's been charged with extorting protection money from the shopkeepers. 他被指控对店主敲诈勒索保护费。 来自互联网

10 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

11 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

12 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

13 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

15 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

16 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

17 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

18 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

19 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

20 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

21 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

22 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

23 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

24 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

25 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

26 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

27 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

28 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

29 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

30 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网