2006年VOA标准英语-Sri Lankan Navy Sinks Tamil Tiger Boat

By Patricia Nunan
New Delhi
05 May 2006

The Sri Lankan Navy says it has sunk a boat belonging to the rebel Tamil Tiger group after the rebels opened fire. The incident is the latest blow to a 2002 cease-fire between the government and the rebels, which is in danger of collapsing¹ and returning the country to civil war.

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Officials say two boats belonging to the Tamil Tigers began Friday to fire at Navy patrol boats, which promptly² returned the fire. One of the boats of the rebels' so-called "Sea Tigers" unit then exploded.

Officials say the size of the blast suggests that the boat had been packed with explosives, and may have been intended as a suicide vessel³. The rebels have been known to use such devices before.

Officials also say the Sri Lankan Air Force was called to the area, off the northwestern district of Mannar, but it is not clear whether warplanes became involved in the exchange. The sinking of the Sea Tigers' boat could not be independently confirmed.

The incident Friday is the latest in a series of deadly clashes that threaten to destroy the 2002 cease-fire signed between the government and the Tamil rebels.

Norway brokered⁵ that agreement, and has mediated⁶ during the subsequent four years of intermittent⁷ peace talks between the two sides. Most recently, Norway garnered⁸ an agreement from each side to meet for talks in Geneva, Switzerland, in April.

But that meeting was called off when the two sides failed to agree on preliminary matters.

Jehan Perera is with the advocacy group, the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka. Despite the latest violence, he says both the government and the rebels still consider the ceasefire valid⁹.

"Both parties are saying, are claiming, that they uphold the ceasefire agreement, and both parties are engaged in the preliminaries before resuming peace talks in Geneva," said Perera. "So these are the two reasons why we say that there is still a peace process going on, even though on the ground there is so much violations¹⁰ taking place."

The Tamil Tigers have waged a more than two-decade-long campaign for greater rights for Sri Lanka's ethnic¹¹ Tamil minority. At first, the rebels demanded independence for predominantly Tamil areas of the country in the North and East. Later, they said they would settle for greater autonomy in those areas. More than 60,000 have died in the conflict.

On Saturday, Japanese peace broker⁴ Yasushi Akashi is expected in Sri Lanka, for a four-day visit that is to include meetings with President Mahinda Rajapakse and, separately, rebel leaders.

Perera says the Japanese envoy¹² may have a greater impact than Norwegian delegations¹³ that have visited recently, because Japan is Sri Lanka's largest aid donor¹⁴.

"The Norwegians seem to lack the muscle to put pressure on the two sides," Perera said. "Perhaps Japan, as the largest aid donor to Sri Lanka, has economic muscle in the sense that the Sri Lankan government needs the money that the Japanese government gives."

Perera says the rebels would also be open to Akashi's visit, because of the possibility of future development aid for Tamil areas.

Friday's incident is not the only clash to threaten the cease-fire. Last month, a woman suicide bomber¹⁵ blew herself up at the army headquarters in the capital, Colombo, killing¹⁶ seven people. The government responded with two days of air strikes in rebel-held territory.

1 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

2 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

3 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

4 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。

5 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

6 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

7 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

8 garnered   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句

9 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

10 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

11 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。

12 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

13 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

14 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

15 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。

16 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。