VOA标准英语2008年-US State Department Marks 10th Anniversary of K

The State Department Thursday observed the 10th anniversary of the al-Qaida bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam¹. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the twin attacks, which killed 229 people, destroyed buildings but not the ties that bind² the United States, Kenya and Tanzania. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
　

Kenyan's look at the names of victims at a memorial of the USembassy bombing in Nairobi, 07 Aug 2008

Hundreds of people filled the State Department's main auditorium³ for the observance. There were also ceremonies in the Kenyan and Tanzanian capitals, with moments of silence at the mid-morning time of the nearly-simultaneous blasts.

The truck bombings wrecked⁴ both U.S. missions but the damage and casualties were much higher in Nairobi, where the blast brought down parts of the embassy and neighboring buildings in the crowded center of downtown.

In all, 218 people were killed in Nairobi including 12 Americans, and some 5,000 were injured. The Dar es Salaam blast killed 11 people - nine Tanzanians, one Kenyan and one Somali national - and wounded 85 others.
　

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during a ceremony at the State Department in Washington DC, 07 Aug 2008

At the State Department event, attended by the Kenyan and Tanzanian chiefs of mission in Washington, Secretary Rice mourned the loss of innocent life and said the United States is eternally grateful for the sacrifice of the American and foreign national employees killed in what she termed the "unspeakable" attacks.

She said while the bombings appeared at the time to have been almost random⁵ crimes, they are seen differently now in hindsight and in the context of other al-Qaida operations including the September 2001 attacks on the United States.

"We see then as they were: as the opening of a new twilight⁶ struggle between hope and fear, peace and hatred⁷, freedom and tyranny - a struggle that has now finally, fully⁸ been joined," said Rice. "And on that day, we saw in response - from our diplomats⁹ and development workers, our soldiers and our citizens, our friends and our allies - what is best in humankind, and why our shared values will prevail."

Rice said while the al-Qaida attacks wrecked two embassies, they did not destroy the ties that bind the American, Kenyan and Tanzanian people - which she said have emerged even stronger as exemplified by the new U.S. missions in both countries.

The State Department event also included emotional remarks by survivors¹⁰ of the attacks, including Dudley Sims, a former public affairs officer at the Dar es Salaam embassy. He said the terrorist attacks, however devastating¹¹, did not succeed, in that they did not break the spirit of their many victims.

"That vicious assault could not break our resolve," said Sims. "They could not destroy our morale¹². They could not change our focus. They are the ones who are running. And we will catch them all and bring them to justice."

President Bush, in a statement on tour in Asia, said the embassy strikes were brutal¹³ examples of the indiscriminate nature of al-Qaida's tactics. He said the anniversary underscores the need to confront terrorists, to work with allies to bring them to justice, and to prevent such attacks from happening again.

There has been criticism, renewed on the anniversary, that U.S. compensation for victims of the twin attacks has been inadequate¹⁴.

The State Department said before the memorial event asserting that families of the American victims have received all benefits they are eligible¹⁵ for under current law. It said more than $40 million has been spent on medical care, rehabilitation¹⁶ and other help for African victims, survivors and their families.

1 salaam   

n.额手之礼，问安，敬礼；v.行额手礼

参考例句：

• And the people were so very friendly:full of huge beaming smiles,calling out "hello" and "salaam".这里的人民都很友好，灿然微笑着和我打招呼，说“哈罗”和“萨拉姆”。
• Salaam is a Muslim form of salutation.额手礼是穆斯林的问候方式。

2 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

3 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

4 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

5 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

6 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

7 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

11 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

12 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

13 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

14 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

15 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

16 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。