VOA标准英语2008年-90,000 Palestinians Attend Ramadan Prayers in J

There was tight security in Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Robert Berger filed this VOA report from the Old City of Jerusalem.
　
Palestinian Muslim worshippers pray during the first Friday prayers of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the Al-Aqsa Mosque¹ compound in Jerusalem's Old City, 05 Sep 2008

About 90,000 Palestinians attended Ramadan prayers at the Mosque of al-Aksa in Jerusalem-the third holiest place in Islam. The site is a focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For Jews it is the Temple Mount, the site of the two biblical Temples and the holiest place in Judaism.

Thousands of Israeli police deployed² in and around Jerusalem's walled Old City to keep order. Fearing a repeat of riots that have taken place there in the past, police barred Palestinian men under the age of 45 from entering the mosque compound.

Mahmoud Abu Ali, a Palestinian shopkeeper in the Old City, said Israel is offending Muslims by imposing³ restrictions⁴ at the Mosque of al-Aksa. "Every Moslem⁵ person in Jerusalem, he is against the idea," he said.

Abu Ali told VOA that Israel is denying Muslims freedom of worship even though there haven't been riots at the site in years. "This is ridiculous," he said. "The Israeli government create problems. It's killing⁶ Jerusalem."

Israel says its security measures prevent Palestinian militants⁷ from stoking violence at a place that is holy to both Jews and Arabs. And on the first Friday of Ramadan, Muslim prayers passed quietly.

 

1 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。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 Moslem   

n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的

参考例句：

• Moslem women used to veil their faces before going into public.信回教的妇女出门之前往往用面纱把脸遮起来。
• If possible every Moslem must make the pilgrimage to Mecca once in his life.如有可能，每个回教徒一生中必须去麦加朝觐一次。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。