VOA标准英语2013--Nigeria's Boko Haram Remains Persistent, Mysterious Threat

 

Nigeria's Boko Haram Remains¹ Persistent², Mysterious Threat

DAKAR — The United States has formally designated the Nigerian militant³ sect⁴, Boko Haram, and a splinter group, Ansaru, as foreign terrorist organizations. 

Boko Haram's propaganda videos have been some of the public's only windows into the shadowy militant sect. Sect leader Abubakar Shekau appears in them routinely. He boasts about attacks and threatens enemies ranging from the Nigerian government to Christians⁵ to the United States.

A man in recent videos who experts say appears to be Shekau taunts⁶ the Nigerian military, which has declared him dead twice.

In a video distributed on DVD to journalists in Maiduguri in early October, the sect shows off large stocks of weapons it says it seized from Nigerian soldiers.  Shekau says "a big war" is coming.  He says "This war is not about the Nigerian government; it is a war to uplift Islam and get all non-Muslims to repent⁷ their ways and embrace Islam.  This war is a task that will bring peace, tranquility, equality and fairness in Nigeria."A charismatic imam named Mohammed Yusuf founded Boko Haram in the northeast in 2002.

People nicknamed the sect Boko Haram after Yusuf's preaching.  It means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language.

The sect wants to establish an Islamic state in Nigeria's Muslim-majority north.  Its war with the Nigerian state has killed thousands of people since the insurgency⁸ began in 2009.

Yusuf was murdered that same year during a crackdown against the sect.  His deputy, Shekau, resurrected what remained of the sect.  It reemerged in 2010 more violent than ever. "He [Shekau] really transformed an organization that was sympathetic to the Taliban and al-Qaida to an organization that operated like the Taliban and al-Qaida.  Whereas for Yusuf, it was mostly just preaching and preparing for jihad, but he [Shekau] transformed it from a preaching group about jihad to an actual jihadist group,"said Jacob Zenn, Nigeria analyst⁹ for the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation.

Militants¹⁰ have attacked police and military installations, schools, churches, mosques¹¹ and the U.N. headquarters in the capital, Abuja.  There have been dozens of raids, suicide bombings and drive-by shootings.

Security experts say Boko Haram militants have trained with al-Qaida linked groups in Africa, like al-Shabab and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

Experts say what people call Boko Haram is actually several distinct factions¹².   Moderates have split off - some wanting dialogue with the government, others forming new militant groups, like Ansaru, which took issue with the sect's killing¹³ of Muslims. Nigeria launched a massive land and air offensive against Boko Haram in the northeast in May. Despite the military's reports of success, attacks have continued, not all of them claimed by Boko Haram. 

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

3 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。

4 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。

5 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

6 taunts   

嘲弄的言语，嘲笑，奚落( taunt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He had to endure the racist taunts of the crowd. 他不得不忍受那群人种族歧视的奚落。
• He had to endure the taunts of his successful rival. 他不得不忍受成功了的对手的讥笑。

7 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

8 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

11 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

12 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

13 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。