2007年VOA标准英语-Military Siege of Radical Pakistani Mosque Inte

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
06 July 2007

radical1 Red Mosque2 in Islamabad, 06 July 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070709/1357180.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers get down from a truck beside the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad, 06 July 2007

The military siege of a radical mosque in the Pakistani capital intensified³, after the group's chief cleric says he would rather die than surrender. As VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports from Islamabad, reports that the President Musharraf's plane was fired on Friday morning has underscored the sense of national crisis in Pakistan.

Government officials Friday initially⁴ denied and then sought to downplay reports of a possible assassination⁵ attempt on President Pervez Musharraf.

Speaking to reporters Friday evening, Interior Ministry⁶ spokesman Syed Kamal Shah dismissed eyewitness⁸ claims the president's plane was nearly hit by a anti-aircraft missile as it took off outside the capital.

Pakistani security officials examine a long barreled anti-aircraft gun found on the rooftop of a house in Rawalpindi, 6 Jul 2007

He says police have recovered three weapons outside the airbase but only one had been used and he said no rockets had been fired.

Officials say President Pervez Musharraf landed safely in southern Pakistan, where he spoke⁷ to victims or recent floods.

The attack came as Pakistani troops continued their assault on a group of armed radical students holed up in the Lal Masjid, or red mosque. Security forces say they are bracing⁹ for a possibly bloody¹⁰ conclusion to the four-day drama.

The Pakistani army has surrounded the mosque since Tuesday when clashes between government security forces and student militants¹¹ left at least sixteen people dead and more than 150 others wounded.

cordon12 off the area near 'Lal Masjid in Islamabad, 5 Jul 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070709/1357182.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Soldiers of Pakistan's paramilitary force cordon off the area near 'Lal Masjid in Islamabad, 5 Jul 2007

The mosque's chief cleric, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, told local media Thursday night that he would never give in to the government assault.

The head of Pakistan's crisis management office, Brigadeer Javed Iqbal Cheema said late Thursday that Ghazi's only choice was a full and unconditional¹³ surrender.

He says anyone who does surrender will have to be dealt with in accordance with law.

Police have already filed a series of criminal charges against Ghazi, including kidnapping and possible cases of terrorism.

Earlier, more than 1,000 students accepted a government amnesty but officials say around 900 people including women and children are still inside.

Pakistan's interior Minister Aftab Sherpao says most are being held against their will by a much smaller group of hardcore and heavily armed militants.

Lal Masjid has been at the center of a months long stand off with government security forces after Ghazi and his brother, Abdul Azziz vowed¹⁴ to impose a strict Taleban style Islamic law in the capital.

Their supporters repeatedly challenged the government's authority through a series of provocative¹⁵ raids into the city.

Armed students kidnapped several policemen last month and briefly¹⁶ held hostage a number of alleged¹⁷ prostitutes.

Pakistani moderates accused President Musharraf, who is seeking reelection later this year, of failing to confront religious extremists.

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

6 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。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 eyewitness   

n.目击者，见证人

参考例句：

• The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
• He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。

9 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

10 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

11 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。

12 cordon   

n.警戒线，哨兵线

参考例句：

• Police officers threw a cordon around his car to protect him.警察在他汽车周围设置了防卫圈以保护他。
• There is a tight security cordon around the area.这一地区周围设有严密的安全警戒圈。

13 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

14 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

15 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

16 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

17 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为