2007年VOA标准英语-Suicide Attacks Kill 25 Outside Pakistani Capit

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
04 September 2007

Twin suicide bomb blasts have rocked the garrison¹ town outside Pakistan's capital city. Officials say at least 25 people have been killed and more than 60 others injured in the blasts that appeared to target defense² workers. From Islamabad, VOA Correspondent Benjamin Sand reports.

Pakistani security officials examine a damaged bus at the site of bomb blast in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 04 Sept 2007

The first blast ripped through a bus early in the day in a high security area in Rawalpindi, just outside the busy capital.

"The bus was with one of the organizations under the Ministry³ of Defense," said Major General Waheed Arshad, a spokesman for the army. "Terrorists are terrorists - they can undertake their activities anywhere."

Local officials report the bus was carrying defense personnel but it is not clear which agency they work for.

Rawalpindi is the headquarters for Pakistan's powerful army.

A second bomb detonated a few minutes later in a nearby market, killing⁴ several other people.

Police have cordoned⁵ off both areas and security forces are on heightened alert throughout the garrison city.

General Arshad says that so far no one has claimed responsibility for the violence.

"We will have to wait for some investigations⁶ to take place before we can be very firm on what are the motives⁷ and who is behind this," he said.

This is the first attack in or near the capital in several weeks, following a period of mounting violence throughout the country.

Officials here blame supporters of the Taleban and al-Qaida extremists for the growing unrest.

Suicide attacks and bombings soared after government forces stormed Islamabad's pro-Taleban Red Mosque⁸ in July.

The raid provoked outrage⁹ among religious hard-liners, especially in the country's volatile¹⁰ tribal¹¹ areas along the Afghan border.

Violence there has surged in recent weeks despite the deployment¹² of some 100-thousand government troops to the border areas.

Tuesday's attacks also come just weeks ahead of expected presidential elections.

President Pervez Musharraf is seeking another five-year term in office but opposition¹³ parties are gaining ground and Pakistan has been gripped by political uncertainty¹⁴.

Exiled former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Bennazir Bhutto both say they will soon return to Pakistan to contest the president's military-backed government.

Mr. Musharraf and Ms. Bhutto are discussing a possible power-sharing alliance but talks have stalled in recent days.

 

Government officials insisted the day's attacks would not delay the elections. They also sharply dismissed any suggestion the violence could lead to a declaration of emergency or martial¹⁵ law.

1 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 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。

4 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。

5 cordoned   

v.封锁，用警戒线围住( cordon的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the area until the bomb was defused. 警方封锁了这个地区直到炸弹被拆除为止。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

8 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。

9 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

10 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

11 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

12 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

15 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。