美国国家公共电台 NPR Suicide Blast Kills Dozens At Voter Registration Center In Kabul

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Elections in Afghanistan are scheduled for October after a three-year delay amid concerns about voter fraud and poor security. And at least one of those concerns has proven valid¹ today. Dozens are dead in two attacks near voter registration² centers. We'll turn now to NPR's Diaa Hadid in Islamabad. Hi, Diaa.

DIAA HADID, BYLINE³: Hi there.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Let's start with these upcoming elections. Tell us about them.

HADID: Right. So these elections - they're parliamentary elections. And they're seen as a test run for the more important presidential elections that will be happening in 2019. And these elections are really to test out whether the government and its Western backers can overcome these enormous security hurdles⁴ and to resolve any problems related to voter fraud. And the process was looking pretty positive. Local media had reported that tens of thousands of people were turning up to register themselves. And there were even complaints that there weren't enough registration centers. And that shows care and concern about the process. But a bombing like this in Kabul can really undermine all of that. And that would be a blow to the legitimacy⁵ of the Afghan government and its Western backers if this vote has to be delayed again.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Tell us about these attacks. What happened today?

HADID: Pretty gruesome - the worst attack was in Kabul. And that's where a suicide bomber⁶ targeted people who were standing⁷ in a line to collect their ID cards, which they need to register to vote. He killed at least 48 people - men, women and children. And that death toll⁸ might rise even further. The images posted after the attack were harrowing. Women were lying on the ground. They were just sprawled⁹ there. And men were captured just running with bleeding children. Somebody had even lined up the shoes of the victims, presumably for their families to collect them later. There was also an attack in northern Afghanistan. Six members of a family were killed when their car hit a roadside bomb. And that bomb was also located near a registration center as well.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So this is violence that's meant to undermine Afghan democracy.

HADID: It's at least indirectly¹⁰ doing that because during a process of elections in a country like Afghanistan, people just turn out in numbers. And that makes them vulnerable to attack. And that's particularly true of minorities like Shiites who were targeted today in this attack in Kabul. And so even if these insurgents¹¹ aren't trying to directly undermine the elections, they're certainly doing so by keeping people away from the process itself. And the international community does see this as undermining the elections. The United Nations today issued a statement condemning¹² these attacks. And they referred to these attacks as appearing to deliberately¹³ target the election process.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Do we know who's behind them?

HADID: ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul. It's unclear so far who's claimed responsibility for the attack in northern Afghanistan.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's NPR's Diaa Hadid. Thank you so much.

HADID: Thank you, Lulu.

1 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

2 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

5 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

6 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 sprawled   

v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawled full-length across the bed. 他手脚摊开横躺在床上。
• He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV. 他四肢伸开正懒散地靠在扶手椅上看电视。

10 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

11 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

12 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 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。