Anti-Government Protests Spread Across Middle East, North Af

Demonstrations¹ against long-serving governments continue to roil² the Middle East and North Africa Friday from Libya eastward³ to Bahrain.
In Libya, more protests as well as funerals for those killed in recent unrest were held after midday prayers, and witnesses said demonstrators gathered in the port city Benghazi, a bastion of resentment⁴ against the government.
Human Rights Watch said Friday that 24 people have been killed in recent violence in Libya, many of them in Benghazi.? Graphic⁵ videos posted on the Internet have shown shootings described as being inflicted⁶ by armed forces against protesters.
Libyan media are tightly controlled, and the contents of the amateur videos could not be independently confirmed.
Another video purports⁷ to show protesters in Tobruk cheering as crowds knock down a government statue.
Libya
In Tripoli, so far largely untouched by the turmoil⁸, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been at the center of pro-government demonstrations - an apparent attempt to place himself within the context of change demanded in nations across the region.? He recently doubled the salaries of state employees and released 110 people accused of being Islamic militants⁹.
But from the perspective of having the world's longest-serving leader, protesters view his gestures as missing the point.? The oil-rich nation has a more equitable¹⁰ standard of living than neighboring countries, but it is Mr. Ghadafi's crushing, often arbitrary, political system in place more than 41 years that protesters want changed.
Protests began Tuesday, with Thursday's demonstrations called a "Day of Rage," an echo of protests in Egypt and Tunisia that ended with their leaders stepping down.
Yemen
In Yemen, anti-government rallies were being held for an eighth day Friday. Stephen Steinbeiser, director of the American Institute for Yemeni Studies in the capital, Sana'a, says the demonstrators show no signs of stopping.
"It certainly hasn't gotten to the point that Cairo was at a couple of weeks ago, where everything has come to a standstill," said Steinbeiser. "But it also doesn't seem that it is unfolding in the same way that Cairo unfolded, in the sense of a kind of peaceful - relatively¹¹ peaceful - positive, people-led movement. And that's a bit disconcerting."
Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh is accused by protesters of running a repressive regime. But his authority is far from absolute.? Tribal¹² allegiances, a bid for independence in the south, a sporadic¹³ revolt in the north and al Qaida forces in the east complicate¹⁴ any demands for change in the Arab world's poorest nation.

1 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。

2 roil   

v.搅浑，激怒

参考例句：

• Times of national turmoil generally roil a country's financial markets.在国家动荡不安的时代，该国的金融市场一般都会出现混乱。
• Some of her habits are off-putting but don't let them roil you.她的一些习惯让人恶心，但最好别烦你。

3 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

4 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。

5 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

6 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。

7 purports   

v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She purports to represent the whole group. 她自称代表整个团体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The document purports to be official but is really private. 那份文件据称是官方的，但实际上是私人的。 来自辞典例句

8 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

9 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

10 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

13 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

14 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。