VOA标准英语2009年-Nigerian Authorities say Islamist Sect Fle

Nigerian government forces say they are in hot pursuit of a fundamentalist Islamic sect¹ in the northern city of Maiduguri.
　
A building that allegedly housed Islamic extremists is reportedly burnt by military in Maiduguri, 30 Jul 2009

Sounds of heavy and light machine gun fire rattled² Maiduguri as Nigeria's army pounded suspected hideouts of the Islamic rebels in a bid to flush out remnants of the militant³ Boko Haram sect. Army commanders say it is only a matter of time before the Taliban-style group would be completely destroyed.

Security forces have also launched a door-to-door search for members of the group. State officials say the leader of the militants⁴, Mohammed Yusuf, may have escaped the military onslaught and fled with hundreds of his supporters.

Government forces say they killed the deputy leader of the sect and appealed to the public to help in tracking fleeing members of the group.

Maiduguri, the capital of Borno, has been the center of violence in northern Nigeria that started Sunday when militants attacked a police station in Bauchi.

President Umaru Yar'Adua had ordered troops to crush the movement "once for all." But many were not impressed with the government's response to the crisis.

A security analyst⁵ in Lagos, Patrick Keku, says the government has not paid enough attention to security issues, despite the country's numerous crises.

"In the present dispensation [situation] we are in this country, we are pregnant with a lot of problems," he said. "With that, I expect the security agencies to be 24-hours alert. But sometimes I would say, the government does not take security seriously enough unless it happens. Because certain things that government should provide to enhance those people doing the job are not there."

About 300 people have been killed in four days of clashes between security forces and militants seeking to impose Islamic law throughout Africa's most populous⁶ nation. Nigeria's 150 million people are roughly split between Muslims and Christians⁷.

1 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。

2 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

7 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。