VOA标准英语2011--African Union Honors Rwanda Genocide Vic

African Union Honors Rwanda Genocide Victims

The African Union held a moment of silence Thursday to mark the 17th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda.
A lone¹ candle wrapped in purple ribbon burned in the center of the African Union plenary hall as diplomats² and dignitaries stood in silence to honor the nearly one million, mostly ethnic³ Tutsis, who died in 100 days of carnage in Rwanda in 1994.
Rwanda's AU ambassador Joseph Nsengimana said the ceremony has become an annual tradition in this diplomatic capital to signify that the slaughter⁴ was an offense⁵ against all Africans.
"The AU is the African organization, and the genocide in Rwanda is not only a crime against Rwanda, it is a crime against humanity Africa comprised," he said. "So afer the genocide, AU like U.N., decided⁶ to organize every year a ceremony to remember what happened in Rwanda in a way to take lesson and learn from the experience of Rwanda, to realize, never again.
The killing⁷ began April 7, when ethnic Hutus went on a rampage, outraged⁸ by the death of Rwanda's president Juvenal Habyiramana when his plane was shot down over Kigali airport the previous day. During the next three months, an average of 10,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus a day were brutally⁹ killed, many hacked¹⁰ to death with machetes.
A French judge blamed the current Rwandan President Paul Kagame and some of his associates for carrying out the attack on President Habyiramana's plane. At the time, Kagame was leader of a Tutsi rebel group.
Kagame strongly denies the charge, and blames Hutu extremists for the attack.

1 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

5 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

9 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

10 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。