2006年VOA标准英语-Revenge Attacks Follow Sadr City Bombings

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil, Iraq
24 November 2006

Angry Shi'ites Muslims launched reprisal¹ attacks on a Sunni mosque², political headquarters and several Baghdad neighborhoods, a day after a series of blasts and mortars³ killed more than 200 Shi'ites. And a powerful Shi'ite bloc⁵ has threatened to pull its support from parliament if the prime minister meets next week in Jordan with President Bush.  From Northern Iraq, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

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Shi'ite revenge seekers wasted no time in striking Sunni Arab targets in retaliation⁶ for the deadliest series of attacks since the war began in 2003.

Despite a 24-hour curfew in Baghdad, mortars rained down on the Abu Hanifa mosque, an important Sunni shrine⁷.

The first attack came Thursday evening shortly after the Sadr City attack, damaging the mosques⁸ dome⁹. Friday saw a second round of mortars, that police say injured one guard.

At the headquarters of the influential¹⁰ Association of Muslim Scholars, more mortar⁴ rounds hit, injuring several guards.

Iraqi police inspect the scene following explosion in Tal Afar, 24 Nov 24 2006

And to the north of Baghdad in the city of Tal Afar, police say two suicide bombers¹¹ detonated their explosives, killing¹² at least 24 people and wounding several others inside a car dealership¹³.

Meanwhile, militiamen clashed with U.S. forces Friday in the Shi'ite Sadr City neighborhood where Thursday's deadly bombings took place.

A U.S. spokesman told Reuters that he could not comment on specific operations but U.S. forces were helping¹⁴ Iraqi army and police enforce a curfew imposed after the attacks.

Also, in what would be a severe blow to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's already shaky hold on power, Salah al-Eghali, a legislator from hard-line cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc, says Sadr supporters will boycott¹⁵ parliament and the government if Mr. Maliki goes to Jordan next week for a planned meeting with President Bush.

Al-Sadr's followers¹⁶ hold six cabinet seats and have 30 members in the 275-member parliament. They blame the United States for Thursday's attack, saying American forces failed to provide security.

Earlier in the day, mourners made the dangerous journey 160 kilometers south to the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf to bury their dead under government-ordered police protection.

The prime minister and other politicians urged restraint and calm in the wake of the attacks, and called on all political groups to unite to protect their fellow Iraqis from such violence.

1 reprisal   

n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠

参考例句：

• There is no political alternative but a big reprisal.政治上没有旁的选择只能是大规模报复。
• They bombed civilian targets in reprisal.他们炮轰平民目标作为报复。

2 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。

3 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

4 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

5 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

6 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

8 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。

9 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

10 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

11 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

16 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。