VOA标准英语2009年-Government Says August Was Bloodiest Month

Iraqi government figures indicate August was the bloodiest¹ month in the last 13 for Iraqi citizens. More than 450 Iraqi people were killed and more than 1,500 were wounded, giving rise to fresh worries over the security situation.
　
Iraqi officers inspect the scene following a car bomb in Shirqat, 100 kms north of the city of Tikrit, 29 Aug 2009

August was an extremely bloody² month in Iraq, according to an Iraqi government report, with casualties from violence among Iraqi civilians³, police and Iraqi soldiers hitting a 13-month high.

The toll⁴ in August contrasts with a relative lull⁵ in July, when 275 Iraqis were killed in the weeks immediately following the withdrawal⁶ by U.S. forces from Iraqi towns and cities.

A catastrophic pair of back-to-back truck bombings in the center of Baghdad on August 19 were responsible, in part, for the dramatic increase in casualty figures.

Those bombings also set off a political firestorm, with the Iraqi government accusing neighboring Syria of facilitating the entry of terrorists.

Political Science Professor Khattar Abu Diab, of the University of Paris III, says the bombings and accusations⁷ of Syrian involvement came just after an attempt by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to begin a rapprochement with Damascus.

He says that the big surprise is that the bloody bombings on August 19 in Baghdad took place just several days after a visit by Prime Minister Maliki to Syria and the signing of a strategic agreement between Baghdad and Damascus.

He says following the blasts the Iraqi government went on to accuse Syria of funneling⁸ terrorists into the country since 2004. It is not clear, he underlines, if Syria and ally Iran are both trying to destabilize Iraq or if the two allies are following different policies. He says some analysts⁹ are also accusing Saudi Arabia, Egypt and even Jordan of responsibility for the violence.

Khadido Khalaf Aido, who is a member of the security commission for Nineveh Province that includes the violence-prone city of Mosul, says Iraqi security forces need better equipment to put a stop to all the bombings.

He says the security situation is worse than we had hoped it to be, with frequent violence and bombings in small towns and villages. He argues that more sophisticated equipment is needed along key roads, so security forces can detect car-bombs and other explosives.

Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki decried¹⁰ the massive August 19 bombings in Baghdad, calling them "a desperate attempt to derail the political process and influence parliamentary elections," set to be held in January 2010.

Khattar Abu Diab argues that both the Iraqi government and the prime minister have found themselves in a difficult position since the U.S. withdrawal from Iraqi cities on June 30, and adversaries¹¹ of Mr. Maliki from within his own party are trying to unseat him as prime minister.

1 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

5 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

6 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 funneling   

[医]成漏斗形：描述膀胱底及膀胱尿道交接区

参考例句：

9 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

10 decried   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The measures were decried as useless. 这些措施受到指责，说是不起作用。
• The old poet decried the mediocrity of today's writing. 老诗人抨击了现代文体的平庸无奇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句