2006年VOA标准英语-Israel Increases Air, Artillery Attacks in Leba

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
27 July 2006

Israel stepped up air strikes and artillery¹ fire against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon Thursday, one day after suffering heavy casualties in an ongoing² battle for a strategic town in southern Lebanon.

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Lebanese man, walks near destroyed street, buildings attacked by Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanese suburbs, Thursday  
  
Israeli warplanes struck targets across Lebanon Thursday, including roads, buildings and a Lebanese Army base. On the ground, Israeli army troops backed by heavy artillery fire continued their efforts to take control of the town of Bint Jbail, about four kilometers inside Lebanon.

Hezbollah militants³ continued rocket attacks on Thursday, hitting towns across northern Israel.

On Wednesday nine Israeli soldiers were killed and at least 25 others were wounded in fighting for Bint Jbail, the heaviest casualties Israel has, so far, suffered in combat.

Israeli military commanders say their campaign will go on for at least several more weeks. Brigadier General Alon Fridman says his forces will take as long as necessary to accomplish their mission.

The Israeli commander says he hopes his troops will be able to significantly curtail⁴ Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel in the next few days.

Israel's initial military objective is to establish a one-kilometer security zone inside Lebanese territory.

Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry⁵, says a security zone would stop Hezbollah from conducting cross-border raids, which started the current fighting on July 12.
 

Collapsed⁶ apartment building in southern suburbs of Beirut   
  
"What it means is that we will not allow any Hezbollah gunmen or operatives or anybody acting⁷ for Hezbollah to approach the border," he said. "It will be made clear to the local inhabitants that there will be about a kilometer-wide stripe along the border where no Hezbollah gunmen will be allowed to enter, and should they try and enter this zone they will be fired at."

Israeli officials say a security zone along the border could serve as a buffer⁸ until international peacekeepers are deployed¹⁰ across a wider area in southern Lebanon. The peacekeepers would help the Lebanese Army deploy⁹ in the region and prevent the return of Hezbollah militants.

Diplomats¹¹ from the Middle East, the European Union and the United States agreed during a meeting in Rome Wednesday on the need for an international peacekeeping force, but took no measures to create one.

The meeting ended with participants agreeing on the need for a "lasting¹², permanent and sustainable cease-fire." Middle Eastern and some European Union members at the conference had called for an immediate¹³ cease-fire in Lebanon, but they were opposed by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has said Hezbollah's presence in southern Lebanon needs to be curtailed¹⁴ before a cease-fire can be implemented¹⁵.

1 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。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 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。

4 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

9 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

10 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

11 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句