自杀式袭击血洗巴基斯坦一政府办公区 26人丧生

AS IT IS 2016-01-03 Suicide Attack Kills 26 in Pakistan 自杀式袭击血洗巴基斯坦一政府办公区 26人丧生

A suicide bomber¹ in northwest Pakistan killed at least 26 people and left more than 40 wounded last week.

The explosion occurred in the Pakistani city of Mardan. The blast took place outside the door of a government office. The office was the National Database and Registration² Authority. That office was in charge of issuing national identity cards. 

The attacker arrived at the office’s gate on a motorbike. The cyclist was stopped by a security guard. He detonated an explosive vest, according to a witness. An investigation³ into the identity of the bomber is underway.

A Pakistani official said if the bomber was not stopped at the gate, the death toll⁴ would have been higher. It is estimated that the rider was carrying up to 12 kilograms of explosives.

A BBC report said about 50 people were wounded in the blast. Some were injured critically. Most of those killed or injured were civilians⁵.

The attack is one of the deadliest in Pakistan since a December 2014 massacre⁶ left 150 students and teachers dead in Peshawar, the BBC reported.

A faction⁷ of the Pakistani Taliban said it carried out the attack. In a statement sent to VOA, the group said it targeted the office because it is part of Pakistan’s anti-terrorism war.

But a spokesman for the mainstream⁸ Taliban in Pakistan said the Taliban had nothing to do with the bombing in Mardan.

Words in This Story

blast – n. a powerful explosion

motorbike – n. a small motorcycle

cyclist – n. some who rides a motorcycle or bicycle

detonate – v. to explode or to cause something to explode

massacre – n. the violent killing⁹ of many people

faction – n. a group within a larger group that has different ideas and opinions than the rest of the group

1 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。

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 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 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。

5 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。

6 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

7 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 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。