2006年VOA标准英语-At Least Seven Palestinian Civilians Killed by

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
09 June 2006

At least seven Palestinian civilians¹ have been killed in Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip.  
 
 
Injured girl is treated by medics at hospital in northern Gaza Strip, Friday
  
Israeli artillery² shells slammed into a Gaza beach and scored a direct hit on a Palestinian family at a picnic.

Palestinian officials say three children were among the dead, including twins.

Israeli canons and gunboats have been shelling areas used by Palestinian militants⁴ who have been firing rockets at Israel for weeks. The army says some shells apparently⁵ went astray.

"We have no intention of harming innocent civilians and we are very sorry about it," Galant told Israel Television. "But at the same time," he said, "we have a duty to defend the citizens of Israel from rocket attacks," said General Yoav Galant, head of Israel's Southern Command.

Jamal Abu Samhadana (File photo)   
  
The incident is further escalating⁶ tensions after Israel assassinated⁷ a top Palestinian security chief appointed by the new government of the Islamic militant³ group Hamas. Jamal Abu Samhadana and three other militants were killed in an Israeli air strike that Hamas described as a direct attack on the Palestinian Authority.

"The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves," said Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. The Hamas military wing went a step further, vowing⁸ to resume suicide bombings in Israeli cities. If that happens, it would mean an end to the truce declared by Hamas 16 months ago, and a new round of bloodshed

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

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 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。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

7 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

8 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。