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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Steve Herman
New Delhi
06 June 2008
At least 21 people died and more than 50 were wounded when a blast tore through a suburban1 Colombo commuter2 bus during the Friday morning rush hour. An explosion on another bus in central Sri Lanka later in the day killed two people and injured 20 others. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from our South Asia bureau in New Delhi.
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Medical staff push a trolley3 carrying an injured survivor4 of a bus explosion, at a hospital in Kalubowila, close to Colombo, Sri Lanka, 06 Jun 2008 |
In the latest in a series of attacks blamed on Tamil rebels, public bus commuters have become the latest victims. Tight security and increased vigilance by citizens in the Colombo area failed to prevent a blast that destroyed a bus packed with office workers, passing through the suburb of Moratuwa.
Army Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara says there is little doubt that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are responsible.
"Once again, the LTTE have proven they are cruel and barbaric terrorists," he said. "A Claymore mine was hidden on the side of the road and activated5, most probably, through a remote control device."
The military spokesman also tells VOA News that an un-detonated Claymore mine was found near the site of Friday morning's bus explosion, preventing a second terrorist attack.
Just under nine hours later, a bus several kilometers outside the ancient capital of Kandy, in central Sri Lanka, was hit by a blast. The defense6 ministry7 says a bomb exploded inside the bus as it was passing near a national college of education.
A blast on Wednesday, targeting a passenger train, wounded 18 passengers and bystanders. A similar rail explosion last month near Colombo killed
eight people.
Brigadier Nanayakkara says the motive8 of the Tamil Tigers for carrying out an increasing number of attacks in the capital region, which had been relatively9 peaceful, is obvious.
"It's clearly striving to disrupt the day-to-day lives and bringing down the morale10 of the general public in the peaceful Colombo and the suburb area," he said.
The rebels have been fighting for a quarter century to obtain an independent homeland for the minority Tamils.
Violence has escalated11 since the government withdrew in January from an oft-violated cease-fire accord. The military, since then, has waged a campaign to capture rebel-held territory on the north of the island, vowing12 to crush the Tamil Tigers by the end of the year.
The Sri Lankan capital is scheduled, at the end of July, to host the annual summit of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation. The gathering13 will bring numerous heads of
government to Colombo. The government is giving assurances that extraordinary security will be in place to ensure the safety of the dignitaries.
![收听单词发音](/images/play.gif)
1
suburban
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adj.城郊的,在郊区的 | |
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2
commuter
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n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者 | |
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3
trolley
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n.手推车,台车;无轨电车;有轨电车 | |
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4
survivor
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n.生存者,残存者,幸存者 | |
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5
activated
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adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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6
defense
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n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩 | |
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7
ministry
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n.(政府的)部;牧师 | |
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8
motive
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n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
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9
relatively
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adv.比较...地,相对地 | |
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10
morale
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n.道德准则,士气,斗志 | |
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11
escalated
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v.(使)逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 );(使)逐步扩大;(使)更高;(使)更大 | |
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12
vowing
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起誓,发誓(vow的现在分词形式) | |
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13
gathering
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n.集会,聚会,聚集 | |
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