VOA常速英语2008年-Syria Plans Emergency Drill amid Fears of War w

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
09 April 2008

Syria is beefing up security on its home front in a sign of escalating¹ tension with Israel. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, there are war jitters² on both sides of the border.

As Israel conducts a big civil-defense drill this week, Syria will hold an unprecedented³ exercise to test the readiness of the home front for a possible Israeli attack. The drill was announced on state-run Radio Damascus.

The announcement said the drill will take place in all of Syria's provinces and will test the country's readiness and ability to handle natural disasters and other emergencies.

At the same time, Israel is conducting a five-day home front exercise to test preparedness for missile attacks with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.

In a test on Tuesday, air-raid sirens wailed⁴ across Israel, sending school children running to bomb shelters.

The exercises in both countries point to escalating tensions. The armies of Israel and Syria have raised their alert levels, amid fears that Syrian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon might launch an attack that could plunge⁵ the region into war.

Hezbollah has threatened "open war" against Israel for the assassination⁶ of one of its leaders, Imad Moughniyeh, in a car bombing in Damascus two months ago. Israel denied involvement.

"What we have is a very tense situation because both Hezbollah and Syria want to hit Israel in revenge for the killing⁷ of Moughniyeh, and it can get out of hand; and the Syrians are wary⁸ that if Hezbollah starts something against Israel, Israel may respond not only vis-à-vis Hizbollah, but also vis-a vis Syria," said Israeli analyst⁹ Dan Schueftan.

A Hezbollah cross-border raid in which three Israeli soldiers were killed and two kidnapped in 2006 sparked a monthl-long Israeli air and ground assault on Lebanon. Analysts¹⁰ say a miscalculation could spark another war that neither Israel nor Syria really wants.

1 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

2 jitters   

n.pl.紧张(通常前面要有the)

参考例句：

• I always get the jitters before exams. 我考试前总是很紧张。
• The whole city had the jitters from the bombing. 全城居民都为轰炸而心神不宁。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 wailed   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She wailed over her father's remains. 她对着父亲的遗体嚎啕大哭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The women of the town wailed over the war victims. 城里的妇女为战争的死难者们痛哭。 来自辞典例句

5 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

6 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。

7 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。

8 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。