VOA标准英语2009年-Bombings in Baghdad, Mosul Kill 8; Man

The attacks occurred near the Iranian Embassy, the Foreign Ministry¹ and the Immigration Ministry.

Edward Yeranian | Cairo 15 December 2009

 

An Iraqi man reacts at the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad, Iraq, 15 Dec 2009

 Iraq police say three blasts in Baghdad have killed four people and wounded 14 others. The explosions came as politicians continue to wrangle² over who was responsible for the last wave of bombings, exactly one week ago.

The explosions struck the heart of the Iraqi government's nerve center, near the heavily fortified³ Green Zone.

Baghdad's security chief, General Qassem Mohammed Atta, described what took place.

He says three explosive devices hidden in civilian⁴ vehicles blew up in parking lots in the Karrada District, near Baghdad's Green Zone.  He says that a fourth explosive device, hidden in a parked vehicle near the Iranian Embassy, was found and disabled.

An old woman dressed in black and spattered with blood sat on the ground screaming, as burned out vehicles, some still smoking, lined the parking lot behind her.  Sirens wailed⁵ and security forces fired into the air, adding to the sense of chaos⁶.

The explosions were in the immediate⁷ vicinity of Iraq's Foreign Ministry building, which is covered by a gigantic Iraqi flag on one side as repairs continue on the structure that was gutted⁸ by a massive car-bomb explosion on August 16.

Mortar⁹ attacks and assassination¹⁰ attempts against several Iraqi politicians were also reported, elsewhere in Baghdad.

Three midday blasts also rocked the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing¹¹ and wounding several dozen people.

Tahsin al-Sheikhly, who belongs to Iraq's security commission, said security is still not back to normal after the last week's series of explosions, and his commission has sent its report to parliament.

He says the atmosphere inside the security forces is not normal, either, and says the commission report proposes what parliament should examine and what needs to be done, so these explosions do not happen again.

Parliament member Wa'el Abdel Latif, who is an independent Shi'ite lawmaker, says the prime minister had "done nothing since last Tuesday's bloody¹² explosions" and that Iraq's security forces are a "complete failure."

Iraqi lawmakers have questioned officials about security lapses¹³ in the capital, where there have been three massive attacks since the beginning of August.

U.S. commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, has warned of a new wave of violence before parliamentary elections set for March 7.  He also indicated he could request a slow-down in the pace of U.S. troop withdrawals¹⁴ from Iraq if the situation were to warrant it.

 

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 wrangle   

vi.争吵

参考例句：

• I don't want to get into a wrangle with the committee.我不想同委员会发生争执。
• The two countries fell out in a bitter wrangle over imports.这两个国家在有关进口问题的激烈争吵中闹翻了。

3 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

10 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。

11 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。

12 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

13 lapses   

n.失误，过失( lapse的名词复数 )；小毛病；行为失检；偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He sometimes lapses from good behavior. 他有时行为失检。 来自辞典例句
• He could forgive attacks of nerves, panic, bad unexplainable actions, all sorts of lapses. 他可以宽恕突然发作的歇斯底里，惊慌失措，恶劣的莫名其妙的动作，各种各样的失误。 来自辞典例句

14 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句