VOA标准英语2012--Syrian Rebels Claim Advances

 

Syrian Rebels Claim Advances

On a cross-border visit to the Turkish city of Antakya, Ahmad al-Kanatre Abu Hamza, commander of the Omar al-Mukhtar battalion¹ of the Free Syrian Army, said the FSA is making big gains in territory and manpower. The commander said he sees increasing defections by Syrian soldiers.

“The number of defectors is now 100,000 and now they are defecting in bigger groups - this is a new phenomenon," Abu Hamza said. "The reason for the higher number of defections is that the regime is carrying out so many massacres² every day. And the soldiers realize this regime must fall.”

Videos given to VOA by activists³ claim to show stockpiles of weapons amassed⁴ by the FSA. But Abu Hamza denied Syrian government claims that foreign powers are arming what it calls the FSA "terrorists." He said the FSA needs more foreign protection.

The rebel commander said, “We need a no-fly zone, it’s so important the world does this, because Assad’s jets are firing on unarmed people and targeting anything that moves. We have no way to protect ourselves.”

Many FSA fighters are based at Turkish refugee camps like Yayladagi. One fighter - an ethnic⁵ Turkman - who did not want to give his name, said he recently returned from fighting in Syria's Idlib province. His account cannot be verified.

“The FSA controls big parts of Syria,” he said. “Actually the Syrian government is really only in control in the center of big cities like Damascus, Aleppo and inside Latakia. All around the cities, almost everywhere is under the control of the FSA.”

On Tuesday, fierce fighting continued for a third day in the Syrian capital. The FSA claimed the "battle for the liberation of Damascus" has begun. But analysts⁶ question whether rebels have the manpower and arsenal⁷ to defeat Syrian armed forces.

Still, at the Yayladagi outpost, buoyed⁸ by recent FSA advances, rebel fighters and refugees gathered for an anti-Assad protest. 

1 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

2 massacres   

大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败

参考例句：

• The time is past for guns and killings and massacres. 动不动就用枪、动不动就杀、大规模屠杀的时代已经过去了。 来自教父部分
• Numberless recent massacres were still vivid in their recollection. 近来那些不可胜数的屠杀，在他们的头脑中记忆犹新。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

8 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》