VOA标准英语2011--Israeli Soldier, 477 Palestinians Freed in Prisoner Swap

Israeli Soldier, 477 Palestinians Freed in Prisoner Swap¹

An Israeli soldier held more than five years by Palestinian captors has returned home, and Israel has freed more than 400 Palestinians, in one of the largest prisoner swaps² between the two sides.
Israeli army Sergeant³ Gilad Shalit returned to his family in Israel amid an outpouring of national joy, as 477 Palestinian prisoners, 27 of them women, regained⁴ their freedom amid celebrations across the Palestinian territories.
The spokesman for the Israeli military General Yoav Mordechai, announced Shalit's release shortly after midday on Tuesday. He said Gilad Shalit has returned home, back from the military operation he left for on June 25, 2006.
That is the day Shalit was captured by forces of the Hamas Palestinian group during a clash in southern Israel.
In subsequent years, there were intensive diplomatic efforts to gain the soldier's release, along with flare-ups of fighting that inflicted⁵ considerable damage on Palestinian installations in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Hamas transferred Shalit to Egypt Tuesday morning under a deal mediated⁶ by the Egyptian government. Egyptian authorities quickly handed him over to the Israelis.
Shalit told Egypt's Nile TV that he had been informed of his impending⁷ release about one week ago.
He says he missed his family and missed talking to people. He says he was afraid he would be a prisoner for years to come.
In the Palestinian territories, the mood was jubilant as hundreds of prisoners, including some who had been jailed by Israel for decades, regained their freedom in the swap and rejoined their families.
But some released Palestinians were not able to go home. Dozens who were from the West Bank were instead deported⁸ to Gaza or elsewhere. One of them, Halal Jarad, told al-Jazeera TV he is sad he will not see his family but that he would seek to live a normal life.
"I plan to open a house and marry. And I look for peace. It's very difficult in the war. It's very ugly from all the conditions," said Jarad.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the prisoner release.
Abbas said there is an agreement with the Israeli government for the release of another larger group of Palestinians soon. "We are asking the Israelis to respect their promises," said Abbas.
Under the deal, Israel is to release an additional 550 Palestinian prisoners within two months. An estimated 6,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails. Hamas leaders have vowed⁹ to see them all released.
The deal was controversial. Families of some of the Israeli victims of Palestinian attacks were angry to see the attackers go free. Other Israelis feared the prisoner release would lead to an increase in violence.
Palestinians were upset that some of their most prominent figures in Israeli custody¹⁰ were excluded from the deal.

1 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

2 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

4 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

5 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

6 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

7 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

8 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

10 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。