VOA标准英语2011-Somali Man Tried for Muhammad Cartoon Att

A Somali man accused of trying to kill a Danish cartoonist who caricatured the Prophet Muhammad has gone on trial Wednesday in Denmark. Danish intelligence police say they believe he is close to the Islamist movement al-Shabaab.

The prosecutor¹ in the case, Kirsten Dyrman, spoke² outside the court on Wednesday.

She said the defendant³ is accused of an attempted terror attack and attempted murder.

The defendant, 29-year-old Mohamed Geele, allegedly broke into the house of a Danish cartoonist in January last year.

The cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard, drew caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005, which sparked protests around the world.

Prosecutors⁴ say Geele broke into Westergaard's home carrying an axe⁵. Westergaard locked himself in a panic room and was unharmed.

The defendant admits breaking into the house, carrying a weapon but says his aim was only to frighten Westergaard, not to kill him.

Danish investigators⁶ say they believe Geele has ties to the Somali-based militia⁷ group al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaida.

Anoush Ehteshami is from the Center for the Advanced Study of the Arab world at Britain's Durham University.

He says Al-Shabaab may be spreading its reach beyond East Africa.

"It has expressed disdain⁸ for western and U.N. values in Somalia, in Africa, and in the Muslim world but has very lately, very lately, began to articulate a position more consistent with al-Qaida's world view of confronting the West on its own territory and on its own terms," Ehteshami said.

But he says he doesn't believe the militia is powerful enough to organize a major attack in the West.

"I don't think myself that it has the sustainable basis for carrying organized violence against western targets in Europe and in other western countries," he added. "But nevertheless given that individuals mobilized and indoctrinated by al-Shabaab can inflict⁹ or try to inflict harm is a serious concern."

Ehteshami says the cartoons published half a decade ago will continue to stir resentment¹⁰. Last month European authorities arrested five people suspected of planning an attack on the Danish newspaper that originally published the controversial images.

1 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 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。

4 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。

5 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

6 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》

7 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。

8 disdain   

n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑

参考例句：

• Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
• A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

9 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

10 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。