VOA标准英语2011--NATO Airstrikes on Libya Intensify

NATO Airstrikes on Libya Intensify¹

NATO planes stepped up their bombing of Tripoli early Tuesday.
A series of powerful explosions shook the Libyan capital Tripoli overnight after NATO warplanes carried out close to 20 bombing raids. Witnesses say many of the raids appeared to be close to a military compound where Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi may be hiding.
A NATO spokesman indicated that a vehicle storage facility next to the Bab al-Aziziya camp had been hit in the bombing raids.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, however, claimed that NATO warplanes missed their target, instead striking civilian² houses nearby.
"Dozens of people have been injured and we have three martyrs³, so far," he said. "The injured have been taken to two different hospitals. Some of them were treated and they have gone home already because of their light injuries. Some of them have bigger, more serious injuries."
Libyan government television showed three bodies at a hospital. Hospital workers claimed the victims were civilians⁴ who were killed by "NATO crusaders."
Supporters of Mr. Gadhafi chanted slogans in favor of their leader. Some denounced NATO, the United States and President Barack Obama. One man claimed NATO warplanes bombed a mosque⁵, showing shards⁶ of glass on top of a Quran.
Delegates from several African countries gathered in Tripoli to hear Libyan officials slam NATO's intervention⁷.
Both France and Britain, meanwhile, announced plans to step up attacks on Libya. "We're very much behind the intensification⁸ of the military campaign and ... so is France," said British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
The buildup comes after U.S. envoy⁹ Jeffrey Feltman told a news conference in Benghazi Monday that the U.S. is no longer talking to officials from Gadhafi's government, and that President Obama has invited the rebels to open a representative office in Washington.

1 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 shards   

n.（玻璃、金属或其他硬物的）尖利的碎片( shard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyewitnesses spoke of rocks and shards of glass flying in the air. 目击者称空中石块和玻璃碎片四溅。 来自辞典例句
• Ward, Josh Billings, and a host of others have survived only in scattered shards of humour. 沃德、比林斯和许多别的作家能够留传下来的只是些幽默的残章断简。 来自辞典例句

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 intensification   

n.激烈化，增强明暗度；加厚

参考例句：

• The intensification of the immunological response represents the body's natural defense. 增强免疫反应代表身体的自然保卫。 来自辞典例句
• Agriculture in the developing nations is not irreversibly committed, to a particular pattern of intensification. 发展中国家的农业并没有完全为某种集约化形式所束缚。 来自辞典例句

9 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。