voa标准英语2008-Residents on Israel-Gaza Border Face Constant Ro

Israeli aerial attacks and bombardments of the Gaza Strip continued Tuesday for the fourth day in a row. At least 350 Palestinians have been killed in the military offensive thus far, including at least 60 civilians¹. Three Israelis have been killed in rocket attacks by Palestinian militants³.
　

Israeli tanks positioned near the border with Gaza, 30 Dec 2008

Another day of air strikes, bombing runs and rocket attacks for Gaza and nearby areas of Israel.

Loudspeaker warnings, people rushing to take cover and then... an explosion. These have become familiar sounds here in Sderot.

Uri Reznik, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry⁴ says dozens of Hamas-fired rockets and mortars⁵ have hit Sderot in the past several days in what has become a grim reality.

"You will see people going about their lives. But, if you will notice every few meters in this town there are cement blocks, which are designated as secure points. Whenever there is an alarm of an imminent⁶ rocket attack, people urgently have 15 seconds to get to one of these shelters."

Some residents have left the town to stay with relatives to escape the rockets. Others remain going about their daily routine, all the while listening for the next alert.

The rockets are fired by Palestinian militants from inside Gaza, just kilometers away are inaccurate⁷, but some still hit their targets.
　

A house in the southern Israeli town of Sderot that took a direct hit from a Palestinian rocket, 30 Dec 2008

Several houses on nearby Sinai Street can attest⁸ to that. People there pointed⁹ out one house they said took a direct hit on Tuesday. There were no reports of casualties from that attack.

Leaving Sderot and driving closer to Gaza can be difficult as most of the areas along the border have been declared a "closed military zone" by the Israelis.

Not far in the distance lies Gaza city, its skyline clearly visible. The occasional Israeli warplane swoops¹⁰ overhead, and here and there are plumes¹¹ of smoke.

Troops, tanks and armored personnel carriers have been positioned around Gaza, lending credence¹² to promises of further military action to come, including a possible ground assault.

Israeli officials vow¹³ there'll be no let-up to the offensive until the militants' ability to fire rockets into Israel has been dealt with.

Those words were echoed in Sderot by Transport Minister and former Defense¹⁴ Minister Shaul Mofaz.

"We are not going to discuss with the media what kind of military activity we should take," he said. "I believe that all options are on the table and we have to achieve our goal."

Israeli warplanes carried out air strikes over Gaza again on Tuesday for the fourth day in a row. Israel says it is targeting the infrastructure¹⁵ of Hamas, the militant² Islamic group that controls the Gaza Strip. But Gaza is a very densely¹⁶ populated strip of land and while Israel may be targeting the militants, its attacks have also killed dozens of Palestinian civilians.

And despite relentless¹⁷ air attacks and rising casualty figures, the rocket attacks from inside Gaza continued.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

6 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

7 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

8 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 swoops   

猛扑，突然下降( swoop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He fixes his eyes on the greyish spine of the old wolf as he swoops down. 他两眼死死盯住老狼灰黑的脊背。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• An owl swoops from the ridge top, noiseless but as flame. 蓦地，山脊上一只夜枭飞扑直下，悄无声响而赫然如一道火光。

11 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

12 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

13 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

14 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。

15 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

16 densely   

ad.密集地；浓厚地

参考例句：

• A grove of trees shadowed the house densely. 树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
• We passed through miles of densely wooded country. 我们穿过好几英里茂密的林地。

17 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。