VOA标准英语2009年-Bombers Kill 35 Shi'ites in Iraq

A series of bomb attacks in the Iraqi city of Mosul and the capital Baghdad killed at least 35 people Friday. Shi'ite pilgrims were marking the birthday of the 12th Imam, a revered¹ figure in Shi'ite Islam.
　
The scene of a road side bomb blast that hit a mini bus carrying Shiite pilgrims in Sadr City, in Baghdad, Iraq, 07 Aug 2009

The worst explosion occurred near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where eyewitnesses³ say a car-bomb packed with explosives killed more than two dozen worshippers at a mosque⁴.

Many of the victims were reportedly leaving the mosque when the blast occurred.

Mohammed Musalli, who lives in the area, explains what happened. He says the explosion was powerful and took place in a small area, where the houses were close together. The neighborhood, he says, is inhabited by the Turkmen minority, but representatives of their community are not saying who they think was behind the explosion.

Attacks elsewhere in Iraq Friday struck mainly Shi'ite targets, as Shi'ite pilgrims and worshippers marked the birthday of the Imam al Mehdi, or the 12th Imam, a holy and revered figure, whom many expect to return, one day.

Two bombings hit separate targets in Baghdad's Shi'ite suburb of Sadr City, with one ripping through a bus packed with Shi'ite worshippers returning from the holy city of Karbala.

Iraqi TV showed pictures of the bus, torn apart by shrapnel. An eyewitness² standing⁵ next to the bus, describes what he saw.

He says some of the people in surrounding cars were hurt badly, but it was mostly the bus that took the brunt of the explosion.

A minibus carrying Shi'ite pilgrims was also targeted in Sadr City about an hour later, wounding a handful of people.

The security situation in Iraq remains⁶ tense, but the general level of violence has dropped in recent months. There has, nevertheless, been a rise in attacks in recent weeks.

1 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

2 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

3 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

4 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。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。