VOA标准英语2012--Newspaper Office Bombings Kill 7 in Nigeria

Newspaper Office Bombings Kill 7 in Nigeria

After the explosion, the crowd that gathers around the gutted¹ This Day newspaper office in Abuja quickly become angry. They shouted at soldiers and police, saying there is no security in Nigeria. 

Among the dead in Abuja was the bomber², who drove a jeep and killed at least two security guards. Security officers say the bomb most likely was set to go off upon impact and detonated as the jeep rammed³ into the door. Windows in the surrounding buildings were shattered. 

"The suicide bomber came in a jeep and the security opened the gate. We can’t ask them now because they are dead. We can’t find out why they opened the gate for them," said Olusegun Adeniya, chairman of the newspaper's editorial board.

Adeniya said the blast did not reach the news and editorial departments in the back of the building.

Meanwhile, in Kaduna, an eyewitness⁴ to the deadly attack there told VOA the bomb exploded just outside the This Day compound, which also houses two other newspapers: The Moment and The Sun.

President of the National Union of Journalists, Mohammad Gaber, did not comment when asked if the Islamist militant⁵ sect⁶ Boko Haram was behind the attack, but said it was clear the media in Nigeria is under siege. 

"This has further confirmed our fear that journalists are not safe, media houses are not safe, so that there is need for the security agencies to be more proactive," Gaber said.

Some locals say they suspect the attacks are the work of the radical⁷ Islamist sect Boko Haram, which has been blamed for hundreds of deaths this year alone. 

The group claimed responsibility for two suicide car bombings in Abuja last year; one at police headquarters and the other at the local U.N. headquarters. In Kaduna, a car bomb exploded on a busy street on Easter Sunday earlier this month, killing⁸ at least 40 people. No one claimed responsibility for that attack.

In the crowds surrounding the bombsite, however, others say the attack was a political move to distract the public’s attention from recent charges of high-level corruption⁹.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan called the attack “misguided, horrendous¹⁰ and wicked."

1 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

3 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 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。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。