2007年VOA标准英语- 3-Year-Old Abducted in Nigeria's Oil Region

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
05 July 2007

Gunmen in Nigeria have snatched the three-year-old daughter of a foreign worker in the main oil city of Port Harcourt.  Gilbert da Costa reports for VOA from Abuja.
 

Militants1 wearing black masks, military fatigues2 and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers patrol the creeks3 of the Niger Delta4 area of Nigeria (File)" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070706/1512320.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Militants wearing black masks, military fatigues and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers patrol the creeks of the Niger Delta area of Nigeria (File)

Nigerian police say investigations⁵ are under way to establish those responsible for the kidnapping of a three-year-old, believed to be the daughter of a British expatriate worker.
 
Police spokeswoman Ireju Barasua says the toddler was kidnapped while being taken to school.

"They kidnapped her while she was going to school," she said.  "They were still going to school, in the process of going to school when they seized the girl.  Investigations as to how it happened, investigations as to the other details [continue]."

Criminal kidnappings have become common in the region, which accounts for all the crude in Africa's biggest producer.
 
Residents say money is likely to be the motive⁶ for the child's abduction.
 
Officially, oil companies and state governments in Nigeria do not pay ransoms⁷ in line with the federal government policy, but privately⁸ money is paid, often after negotiations⁹.
 
The girl is believed to be the first child of an expatriate worker seized by suspected criminals in the unruly oil-rich region.
 
Police spokeswoman Barusua sounded very frustrated¹⁰ with the apparent lack of support from the public in tackling attacks on foreigners in the region.

"I want to believe when they were taking the child this morning, one or two persons might have seen," she said.  "If you hide and pick a stone and throw on the car, what are we talking about?  Members of the public are not helping¹¹, they are not even putting up any effort, nobody is saying, let us come and say 'no' to this thing.  What is bad is bad.  This culture is not our culture."

Five foreign oil workers were kidnapped Wednesday.  Their employer, Lone¹² Star, says it has made contact with the kidnappers¹³ and negotiations are ongoing¹⁴.
 
More than 200 foreigners have been taken captive in the region since the end of 2005.  More than a dozen are still being held.

1 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。

2 fatigues   

n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服

参考例句：

• The patient fatigues easily. 病人容易疲劳。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Instead of training the men were put on fatigues/fatigue duty. 那些士兵没有接受训练，而是派去做杂务。 来自辞典例句

3 creeks   

n.小湾( creek的名词复数 )；小港；小河；小溪

参考例句：

• The prospect lies between two creeks. 矿区位于两条溪流之间。 来自辞典例句
• There was the excitement of fishing in country creeks with my grandpa on cloudy days. 有在阴雨天和姥爷一起到乡村河湾钓鱼的喜悦。 来自辞典例句

4 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

5 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

6 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

7 ransoms   

付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The kidnappers exacted ransoms for their hostages. 绑匪勒索人质的赎金。
• Hotel:Wealthy captives sleep at the hotel for an increase in their ransoms. 酒店：富有的俘虏们要住在酒店等待足够的赎金以回家。

8 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

13 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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。