VOA标准英语--Afghans Protest Quran Burning for Fifth Day

For the fifth day, Afghans have taken to the streets to protest the burning of a Quran by Florida pastor¹ Terry Jones. Since the initial eruption² of violence in Mazar-i-Sharif on Friday, about 20 people are estimated to have died.
The burning of the Muslim holy book by the pastor in southern U.S. state of Florida has evoked³ angry and sometimes violent protests across Afghanistan for a fifth day. The reasons for the outrage⁴ are complex and, for many, go well beyond the incident.
An estimated 1,000 demonstrators gathered in the Afghan capital, Kabul, to show their anger as well as their grievances⁵.
Some reports indicate the anger has been fanned by elements who want to see failure in the upcoming transition to Afghan security control of the provinces.
But many critics of the government and the international security forces say the situation was badly mismanaged and could have been avoided. Some point to the fact that President Hamid Karzai escalated⁶ the situation by publicly condemning⁸ the burning a few days after the Florida incident. Since then, Karzai has been outspoken⁹ in his demands for punishment for Jones, with no mention of any legal process.
The director of the American Institute for Afghan Studies in Kabul, Mohammed Omar Sharifi, says perception is also a key problem. "The way the whole Terry Jones case was projected in Afghanistan was, 'We did not hear much about the condemnation¹⁰, the huge condemnation of his action in the American society.' If the Afghans hear that I think they will react differently," he said.
On Sunday, General David Petraeus, Commander of the International Forces, made this statement regarding the Quran burning.
"We condemn⁷ the action of an individual in the United States who burned a Holy Quran. That action was hateful, it was intolerant and it was extremely disrespectful," Petraeus states. "We condemn it in the strongest manner possible."
U.S. President Barack Obama also came out against the Quran burning, but said nothing justified¹¹ the violence and the deaths caused by the attack on a U.N. compound during protests in Mazar-i-Sharif.
That is a sentiment many Afghans share. The unexpected violence in Mazar-i-Shariff took many in the country by shock. For many years, the multi-ethnic town has been comparatively calm and quiet.
Since the attack on Friday, violence and the provocation¹² that has caused it have come under equal condemnation in the Afghan media and others.
For Mohammed Omar Sharifi this is an indication that many Afghans understand the response was disproportionate. "There was a huge condemnation of this violence throughout the country. For a lot of people, especially if you look at Afghan Media and Afghan Debates, around the country. It was seen as absolutely inappropriate and misguided," Sharifi said.
Sharifi also says a clearer dialogue on both sides could come from these incidents so that such emotional responses might be avoided in the future.

1 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

2 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

3 evoked   

[医]诱发的

参考例句：

• The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
• Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

7 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

8 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

10 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

11 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

12 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。