2006年VOA标准英语-Diplomatic Offensive Hopes to Quell Iraq Violen

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil, Iraq
28 November 2006

Violence continued to grip the Iraqi capital Tuesday, with at least two car bombs exploding outside a hospital morgue, killing¹ four people and injuring many more. The latest attacks come as Iraq's president visits neighboring Iran and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki prepares for a summit with U.S. President Bush Wednesday to try to find a way out of the spiraling chaos². VOA's Margaret Besheer has more from northern Iraq.

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Police say the victims in Tuesday's car bombings had come to the Yarmouk hospital morgue to collect their dead relatives when they fell to the latest round of sectarian attacks.

Outside Baghdad there was violence as well.

To the north, in Kirkuk, a suicide bomber³ detonated his explosives near the convoy⁴ of the provincial⁵ governor. The governor and his bodyguards⁶ were unharmed, but more than a dozen passers-by were injured.

In the volatile⁷ al-Anbar province, the U.S. military reported a Marine⁸ was killed Monday.  In that same region, troops continued to search for a missing American pilot whose plane crashed there Monday.

 
Iranian supreme⁹ leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, meets with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, center, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts continued in a bid to bring the violence under control.

President Jalal Talabani was in Iran for a second day, seeking President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's help in fighting terrorism and restoring security and stability. Iran is believed to be aiding Shi'ite militias¹⁰ that are responsible for much of the sectarian violence.  During their meeting, the two signed a number of agreements, including an oil deal that will see some Iraqi crude oil refined in Iran and then shipped back for winter needs in Iraq.

Wednesday, Prime Minister Maliki is scheduled to fly to Jordan to meet with President Bush to discuss the crisis, which was escalated¹¹ by a series of bombings that killed more than 200 Shiites last Thursday.

In other news, the trial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein continued inside Baghdad's heavily protected Green Zone.

 
Saddam Hussein sits in court as Hussein Rashid Mohammed, back left, and Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, back right, look on Nov. 27, 2006
Saddam and six former Iraqi Army officers are on trial for the murders of as many as 180,000 Kurds during a military campaign in the late 1980s known as al-Anfal.

An American forensic¹² anthropologist¹³, Clyde Snow, testified about a mass grave he uncovered in northern Iraqs Kurdistan region in 1992 that contained the bones of 27 Kurds. 

"I saw that the bones were in excellent condition after four years," he said.  "There was some clothing, and on some of the bones we could see some evidence of violence consistent with gunshot wounds."

Several experts are scheduled to testify this week, presenting documents and other evidence.

In an outburst during the proceeding¹⁴, Saddam argued that the grave was not authentic¹⁵, saying Iraq is full of skeletons dating back thousands of years. He suggested if the court gave him 10 days he could fabricate a mass grave with the bones of 400 Kurds and Arabs dug up from many different places.

If found guilty, Saddam and his co-defendants face the death penalty. Saddam has already been sentenced to hang in an earlier trial, for ordering the executions of 148 Shi'ite men in the town of Dujail in 1982.

1 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。

2 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

3 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。

4 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

6 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

7 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

8 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

11 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

12 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

13 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

14 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

15 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。