2007年VOA标准英语-Iraqi Politically Squabbling Hinders Progress,

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil
07 July 2007

This past week, Iraq's parliament was supposed to begin debating the law seen as its most vital: how the country's most important resource, oil, will be shared among Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds. But as VOA's Margaret Besheer reports from Iraq, the debate has stalled as other political crises distract the government.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center, presides over cabinet meeting in Baghdad, 03 Jul 2007

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office in May 2006, promising¹ to make national reconciliation² a top priority.  A year later, there has been no reconciliation; the government remains³ deadlocked⁴ on a number of issues; members of political blocs⁶ are boycotting⁸ the parliament and cabinet; and several important legislative⁹ matters have not been finalized¹⁰.

On Tuesday, Iraq's cabinet approved an amended¹¹ draft oil and gas law, which the United States considers key to helping¹² unite the country's warring communities.  The bill was first approved in February, but several influential¹³ factions¹⁴ expressed reservations about it, prompting further debate. That discussion was set for Wednesday in parliament, but the deputies discussed everything else but it.

Meanwhile, the week brought new political crises.

On Tuesday the Tawafuq Front, a coalition¹⁵ of Sunni parties, announced its six ministers would boycott⁷ cabinet sessions until the government creates an independent committee to investigate charges against Sunni Culture Minister Asad Kamal al-Hashimi.

Hashimi is charged with masterminding an assassination¹⁶ attempt two years ago on another Sunni politician. The politician survived the attack, but two of his sons were killed.

Deputy parliament speaker Khalid al-Atiyah called on the Tawafuq Front to end its boycott, saying it was not helpful, and that the bloc⁵ should express their opinions inside parliament and not hold up the work of the legislature.

The Tawafuq Front is the second bloc to boycott the government. In April, six ministers loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr quit the cabinet to protest the government's unwillingness¹⁷ to call for a timetable for the withdrawal¹⁸ of U.S. troops.

And in the latest political development, Prime Minister Maliki is charging that criminal elements, including people linked to former ruler Saddam Hussein, have infiltrated¹⁹ Sadr's movement.

"These are people who have joined the Sadrist movement to use it as a cover and they are Saddamists, Baathists and criminal gangs.  They are taking advantage of the [Sadr] name," he said.

He called on the leaders of the Sadrist Movement to make "decisive and clear decisions so that they do not bear responsibility for those who use their name for killings²¹ and acts of terrorism."

Mr. Maliki owes a great deal of his political support to Sadr, and his comments Saturday were uncharacteristically harsh.

Meanwhile, as the political situation remains stalemated, the violence continues.

In a spectacular attack, Iraqi police say a truck bomb exploded Saturday, killing²⁰ more than 100 people and wounding scores more in a market in the northern village of Amrli, near Tuz Khurmatu.

Amrli is a small rural community of people from Iraq's Shiite Turkmen minority about 165 kilometers north of Baghdad.

That attack follows one late Friday in a tiny Shiite Kurdish town near the Iranian border. A suicide car bomber²² struck outside a cafe there killing more than 20 people.

Also Saturday, the U.S. military announced the deaths of eight more American troops and an Iraqi interpreter, killed in combat operations since Thursday. And British military officials say two British soldiers have been killed in operations in Basra since Friday.

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

5 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

6 blocs   

n.集团，联盟( bloc的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress. 把欧洲分为作战集团产生了越来越大的离心效果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policy of the two blocs was played out. 把世界分为两个集团的政策已经过时了。 来自辞典例句

7 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

8 boycotting   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
• The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。

9 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

10 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

12 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。

13 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

14 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

15 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

16 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。

17 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

18 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

19 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

20 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。

21 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

22 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。