VOA标准英语2008年-Nigeria's Fragile Oil Truce Holds Little Promis

Despite a cease-fire declaration by the main rebel group in the Niger Delta¹, the Movement for the Emancipation² of the Niger Delta (MEND), the violence in Nigeria's oil-rich southern region looks far from over. The Nigerian army says it would continue to fight criminal gangs in the oil-producing region, setting the stage for a possible clash with oil rebels who are threatening massive retaliation³ if attacked. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa in Abuja reports.
　
A fighter of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) holds his weapons at the militia's creek⁴ camp in the Niger Delta, 17 Sep 2008

The unilateral cease-fire is conditional⁵ with MEND which states that it would attack again if the Nigerian army struck any of its positions. The army's declaration that it would continue its crackdown on criminal gangs in the Niger Delta appears to put it on a collision course with the militants⁷ again.

The military authorities are said to be beefing up security around oil installations to reduce their vulnerability to militant⁶ attacks. Armed groups say their goal is to shut-in all of Nigeria's oil exports.

The government is not close to responding to the demands of the rebels, which include a more equitable⁸ distribution of the country's oil wealth, compensation for decades of oil pollution and the release of a top militant.

Some militants are also pushing for autonomy for the oil-rich region, or possibly an outright⁹ secession.

Tom Polo is a rebel commander in the Niger Delta. Polo says the rebels are sick and tired of the current state of affairs and would like to control the region's resources. We see that they call us militants, he said, and adds that he and his forces are soldiers of Gbaramatu Republic.

The government says MEND and its affiliates¹⁰ are criminal gangs, motivated by profits such as ransoms¹¹ and the stealing of crude.

The lines between militancy¹² and crime are blurred¹³ in the Delta, a vast wetlands in the south of Nigeria that is home to the entire OPEC member nation's oil wealth.

The region witnessed a string of attacks on oil facilities by militant groups last week.

Nigeria's state oil company has reported a drop in production of 280,000 barrels per day since MEND launched what it described as an oil war in the Delta. The group declared a conditional cease-fire on Sunday.

 

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

5 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

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。

8 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

9 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

10 affiliates   

附属企业( affiliate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She affiliates with an academic society. 她是某学术团体的成员。
• For example, these security affiliates participated in the floating of 19,000,000,000 of issues in 1927. 例如，这些证券发行机构在1927年的流通证券中，就提供了一百九十亿美元的证券。

11 ransoms   

付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The kidnappers exacted ransoms for their hostages. 绑匪勒索人质的赎金。
• Hotel:Wealthy captives sleep at the hotel for an increase in their ransoms. 酒店：富有的俘虏们要住在酒店等待足够的赎金以回家。

12 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

13 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》