VOA标准英语10月-Serial Bomb Blasts Rock India's Assam State

Serial¹ bomb blasts have rocked the Indian state, Assam, with most of the explosions taking place in crowded markets. India's government confirms at least 12 separate blasts, with police saying around 50 people have died and several hundred have been wounded. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from the Indian capital, New Delhi.
　

People carry a seriously wounded man near a blast site in Guwahati, India, 30 Oct 2008

Coordinated² explosions rocked crowded outdoor food markets throughout Assam within a short period just before midday Thursday.

One of the injured survivors³, S.K. Dutta, told News Live television in Guwahati he was on his way to buy vegetables when he was hit by one of the blasts.

Dutta, speaking with his nose bandaged, says after the explosion panicking shoppers and merchants ran away as fires broke out.

At least five of the blasts took place in Guwahati, the state's population center - where, as the smoke cleared and the extent of the devastation⁴ became evident - mobs turned on police and rescue workers.

Government vehicles and ambulances were pelted⁵ with stones and overturned. Fire trucks were also attacked by those apparently⁶ angry with the belated arrival on the scene by authorities.

Although Assam has been beset⁷ by separatist violence for decades, the serial bomb blasts are regarded as the worst terrorist attack in memory to strike India's multi-ethnic northeast.

One of the explosions took place only a few-hundred meters from the building housing the state's top elected officials.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was quick to condemn⁸ the attacks, blaming "divisive powers" who want to break up the country. He is calling for a united effort by the people of India to fight terrorism.

India's Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta says investigators⁹ are being sent to Assam to examine the explosive materials in hope of identifying who is responsible for the attacks.
　

A dead body is taken in a police vehicle after a blast in Gauhati, India, 30 Oct 2008

"In Assam there are several different groups who have been involved in one way or the other in terrorist or insurgent-type of activities," Gupta said. "So, at this point in time, I would not like to speculate or point to any particular group which might be involved in this."

Other politicians were willing to name suspects. Some direct suspicion on the state's most infamous¹⁰ militant¹¹ separatist group, the United Liberation Front of Asom, known as ULFA. But it had been believed ULFA was seriously weakened after recent counter-insurgency operations by India's military.

Indian media say ULFA has issued a statement denying involvement in the blasts.

India's top opposition¹² leader, L.K. Advani of the Bharatiya Janata Party, blames the governing alliance, led by the Congress Party, for failing to prevent a series of terrorist bomb blasts this year in the country.

Advani says illegal migrants from Bangladesh and their masters are likely responsible for the attacks in Assam.

Assam, with a population of 26 million and an agrarian¹³ economy, is best known for tea and silk. But the eastern Himalayan state is beset by poverty and competition between migrants, including those from Bangladesh, and local people. It has been wracked by separatist violence for decades.

Last month, clashes in Assam between indigenous¹⁴ tribes and Muslim settlers left nearly 50 people dead. Two other northeastern states were hit by bomb blasts in the past month.

Since India's independence in 1947, tens of thousands have died in separatist violence throughout the northeast.

　

1 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

2 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

4 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pelted   

（连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮

参考例句：

• The children pelted him with snowballs. 孩子们向他投掷雪球。
• The rain pelted down. 天下着大雨。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

8 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

11 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

12 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。

13 agrarian   

adj.土地的，农村的，农业的

参考例句：

• People are leaving an agrarian way of life to go to the city.人们正在放弃农业生活方式而转向城市。
• This was a feature of agrarian development in Britain.这是大不列颠土地所有制发展的一个特征。

14 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。