VOA标准英语2009年-Four UN Employees Abducted in Somalia

The United Nations has confirmed that four of its workers were abducted¹ early Monday in Waajid, in south-central Somalia. According to the U.N., the workers include three foreigners and one Somali.

U.N. spokesperson Dawn Blalock said the staff members were traveling to the airport when they were hijacked².

"While there were armed men, there was no violence or shooting reported to have occurred during the incident. At the moment we know the general location of the staff members but we are not in contact with the abductors themselves. Our main priority right now is to work with the local authorities in Wajid to secure the unconditional³ release of the staff," she said.

Reports from the region have suggested the staff members worked for the World Food Program and the U.N. Development Program. There was no immediate⁴ word on the nationalities of the three foreign workers.

While the United Nations has not identified the gunmen, some local media reports from Somalia said the attackers were members of the Islamist al-Shabab militia⁵, which controls much of southern and central Somalia.

Kidnapping of aid workers by bandits is also common in Somalia. In 2008, 26 aid workers were abducted, and 35 killed in the country. Abducted workers are often released in exchange for a ransom⁶ payment.

Somalia's new president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a moderate Islamist and a former insurgent⁷ leader, is attempting to establish government control in the country and to gain the support of Islamist insurgents⁸. Last week, his government announced plans to implement⁹ Islamic law in the country.

The move has been embraced by some insurgents, but rejected by the hard-line Shabab. In the past three days at least a dozen people have been killed in clashes between the Shabab and a Sufi Islam militia in central Somalia.

President Ahmed is also trying to rally support for his government overseas. He has been touring the East Africa region for the past week.

1 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

2 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

3 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

4 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。

5 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

6 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

7 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

8 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。