VOA常速英语2008年-Olmert Says Electricity, Fuel Cuts to Gaza Will

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
17 February 2008

Israel says it plans to continue crippling sanctions on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, despite international opposition¹. The announcement was made as three Palestinian gunmen and a civilian² were killed in Israeli raids in Gaza. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the reduction of electricity and fuel supplies to Gaza will continue until Palestinian rocket attacks stop.

Mr. Olmert told the Cabinet a war is going on in southern Israel. He said Israel would not ease up on terrorist leaders until life along the Gaza border returns to normal.

Palestinian officials and the European Union have demanded that Israel end the sanctions, describing them as collective punishment.

The Cabinet met as a delegation³ from the United Nations and United States visited the Israeli border town of Sderot that has been hard hit by Palestinian rockets.

U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian⁴ Affairs John Holmes condemned⁵ the rocket attacks, but said people on both sides of the Gaza border are suffering.

"The situations are different, completely different. The physical conditions, obviously, in many ways are much worse in Gaza," said Holmes. "But people living under rockets, which they feel are deliberately⁶ aimed at civilians⁷, they are obviously going to feel genuine sufferings."

Senator John Kyl of the U.S. state of Arizona said the problem of the rockets begins with weapons smuggling⁸ from Egypt to Gaza. He said the United States is using aid to Egypt for leverage⁹.

"The United States Congress has put limitations on the money that the Congress sends to Egypt, limitations which require Egypt to take a stronger position in stopping the smuggling. Clearly the smuggling has not stopped," said Kyl.

Shortly after the delegation left Sderot, a rocket struck a house in the town, causing damage, but no injuries.

Fighting also continued inside Gaza, where Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopters clashed with Palestinian gunmen.

The tense situation on the Gaza border will be on the agenda when Mr. Olmert meets Tuesday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

1 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。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

7 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。

8 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

9 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。