VOA慢速英语2015 回顾Chibok绑架

AS IT IS 2015-04-15 A Look Back at the Chibok Kidnapping 回顾Chibok绑架

One year ago, Boko Haram militants² kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from their dormitory in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok. The kidnapping came as a shock to people around the world. But it was just part of Boko Haram’s violent campaign against the Nigerian government.

Militant¹ attacks against civilians³ have been on the rise. Thousands of people have died in the unrest. More than one million people have been forced from their homes. And most of the Chibok girls are still missing.

Rights activists⁴ who investigated say the attackers took the girls because they could. At least 56 girls have escaped from their kidnappers⁵.

One of those girls remembers, "They took us outside and burnt down the whole school. They herded⁶ us into their vehicles while the rest of us were made to trek⁷."

The mother of one kidnapped girl spoke⁸ with VOA. She said, "The very Monday the kidnapping happened, we thought soldiers were going to be sent to go after our daughters. Had soldiers been deployed⁹, quite sure, no doubt our daughters would have returned, but it did not happen.”

Nigerians started demonstrating after they learned what happened. A campaign was launched on the social media website Twitter. The twitter hashtag campaign was called #BringBackOurGirls.

In October of last year, the Nigerian government said it was negotiating an agreement with Boko Haram for the return of the girls. However, no agreement was ever reached.

Nigerians recently elected Muhammadu Buhari as the country’s new president. Mr. Buhari says he will do things "differently," but offers no false hope. He says he does not know where the girls are or if they can be rescued. He says his government will "do everything in its power."

The Chibok girls were not the first or the last young women Boko Haram kidnapped. Steve Cockburn is an official with the rights group Amnesty International.

"Over 2,000 women and girls have been abducted¹⁰ by Boko Haram since the beginning of 2014. They've been forced to either marry Boko Haram militants, they've been forced to provide services or clean. Some have even, according to what we've seen, have been forced to train and take part in attacks on their own villages."

But some activists believe Boko Haram holds the Chibok girls in groups. They say the girls could have value as protection against military air attacks or as bargaining chips. Recently, Boko Haram announced plans to join with the Islamic State, another militant group that has kidnapped women.

Nigeria and other countries declared "total war" on Boko Haram after the Chibok kidnapping. But serious military operations began in February. Troops from Nigeria and neighboring countries have been searching towns across the area. There is hope among many Nigerians that the Chibok girls will be found soon.

Words in This Story

bargaining chip – n. something that can be used to gain an advantage when you are trying to make a deal or an agreement

dormitory – n. a large room with many beds where people can sleep; housing

kidnap – v. to seize and take away by force

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 herded   

群集，纠结( herd的过去式和过去分词 )； 放牧； （使）向…移动

参考例句：

• He herded up his goats. 他把山羊赶拢在一起。
• They herded into the corner. 他们往角落里聚集。

7 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

10 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。