VOA标准英语2011--Anti-Government Protests Continue in Bah

Opposition¹ supporters in Bahrain have held protests for a third straight day, calling for more rights and for the prime minister to step down.
Wednesday's demonstrations² passed without incident, in contrast to earlier in the week when two people were killed during crackdowns by riot police.
Bahrain's interior minister said those involved in the killings³ have been arrested.
In a television address on Tuesday, King Hamad bin⁴ Issa al-Khalifa vowed⁵ to investigate the deaths.
Some demonstrators are calling for the ouster of the king, while all are demanding the immediate⁶ resignation of Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, who has been in power for nearly 40 years.
Protesters also want a new constitution, more representation in parliament, more jobs and housing and for political prisoners to be released.
Most of the people participating in Bahrain's demonstrations have been Shi'ite Muslims, who represent about 70 percent of the country's population, but say they are treated like second-class citizens by the ruling Sunni minority.
A Bahraini national who only wanted to be known as S.Y. says many Bahrainis are aggravated⁷ by the division of wealth in the country.
"This divide that we have between the people that live in the villages and the people who live in these villas⁸, these beautiful villas, and work in banks and studied in England and America, this has got to stop," said S.Y. "This has got to end. We are a quarter of a million people and you don't know what's happening down the road from you. It's absolutely disgusting."
Bahrain is one of several Middle Eastern nations experiencing unrest in the wake of the recent uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
Director of Research and Development at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf⁹ Military Analysis, Theodore Karasik, says it is impossible to predict when the regional tensions will begin to ease.
"I liken this to a tsunami¹⁰ sweeping¹¹ the region and it is of historical proportions," said Karasik. "I don't think it is going to go away anytime soon. And as Egypt progresses in the coming weeks and months, that will have reverberations across the region too. We're in a new order now."
Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, and Washington has expressed concern over the recent violence in the Gulf kingdom.
A U.S. State Department spokesman urged Bahraini authorities to follow through on promises to investigate the two killings as soon as possible.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 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。

5 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。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

8 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

11 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？