VOA标准英语2010年-Plotters Jailed for Australian Terror

New South Wales Supreme¹ Court judge Justice Anthony Whealy in Parramatta Court, west of Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008. (file)

Five men convicted of a terrorist conspiracy² in Australia's biggest city, Sydney, have been given jail sentences of 23 to 28 years. The men were found guilty late last year of charges that included possessing bomb-making instructions and explosive chemicals. 
 
Prosecutors³ argued the five men were planning terrorist attacks to protest Australia's military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The New South Wales Supreme Court heard evidence that the group had stockpiled chemicals, weapons and ammunition⁴. The men, all Australian Muslims, were convicted of conspiring⁵ to commit a terrorist act last October at the end of the country's longest terrorism trial. Hundreds of witnesses testified.
 
In handing down the sentence Monday, Justice Anthony Whealy said the men were motivated by an "intolerant, inflexible⁶ religious conviction", and had hoarded⁷ documents that glorified⁸ Osama Bin⁹ Laden¹⁰ and promoted violent jihad.
 
"Each offender¹¹ had at his home, in one form or another, a vast quantity of extremist or fundamentalist material,” said the judge. “There are images showing injured or deceased Muslim civilians¹² and/or soldiers. The images were clearly designed to evoke¹³ sympathy and distress¹⁴ from Muslim viewers."
 
The group's alleged¹⁵ target has never been made public, although court documents suggested they had discussed killing¹⁶ former Australian Prime Minister John Howard or bombing a major sporting event.
 
Investigators¹⁷ say one defendant¹⁸ attended a militant¹⁹ training camp in Pakistan, while three others set up a paramilitary hideaway in the Australian outback.
 
The men had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Under a court order, their names cannot be released.
 
Outside the court, one of the men's sisters said the group had been unfairly victimized by Australia's security services. "You know that the only judge that matters is God and he knows of your innocence²⁰ and one day they will meet him face to face knowing the treatment of him is a disgrace," she said.
 
The five were arrested in 2005 followed tip-offs from hardware store and gun shop owners. Their lawyers have yet to decide whether to file an appeal. Under Australian law, the men could be freed on parole in 17 to 21 years.

 

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

5 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

6 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

7 hoarded   

v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It owned great properties and often hoarded huge treasures. 它拥有庞大的财产，同时往往窖藏巨额的财宝。 来自辞典例句
• Sylvia among them, good-naturedly applaud so much long-hoarded treasure of useless knowing. 西尔维亚也在他们中间，为那些长期珍藏的无用知识，友好地、起劲地鼓掌。 来自互联网

8 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

11 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

12 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。

13 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

14 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

15 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

16 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。

17 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

19 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。

20 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。