2006年VOA标准英语-Daytime Curfew Ordered for 2nd Day in Iraq

By Gary Thomas
Washington
24 February 2006

 
Iraqis gather at ruins of Shrine¹ in Samarra 
  
A daytime curfew was imposed in Baghdad and nearby provinces Friday, in a bid to stifle² further sectarian violence in Iraq. State television said the government has also ordered people to be off the streets in Baghdad and the nearby provinces of Diyala, Babil and Salaheddin Saturday.

More than 200 people have already been killed in recent days in a wave of reprisals⁴ over Wednesday's bombing of a sacred Shi'ite Muslim shrine.  A new report says the sectarian violence has placed Iraq at a precarious⁵ crossroads.

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In most areas, people stayed off the streets.  But in the Sadr city area of Baghdad, followers⁶ of the radical⁷ Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr defied the curfew, and heeded⁸ his call to attend Friday prayers.  Al-Sadr called on his followers not to attack Sunni Muslims.

The bombing of the Askriya shrine in the town of Samarra Wednesday sparked a wave of sectarian violence.  Some religious leaders appealed for calm. But their calls went unheeded in some quarters, as angry Shi'ites, who consider the shrine sacred, engaged in reprisal³ attacks on Sunnis, whom many Shi'ites blame for the destruction of the shrine. 

U.S. officials said the attack makes the job of forming a new government tougher for Iraqis, but they remain upbeat.  In a speech Friday, President Bush said the elections in Iraq in December make him optimistic for the country's future.

"We can expect the coming days will be intense," said Mr. Bush.  "Iraq remains⁹ a serious situation.  But I'm optimistic, because the Iraqi people have spoken."

Iraqi policeman stands guard on deserted¹⁰ street near Sunni mosque¹¹ in Baghdad, Friday  
  
But a new report by the non-partisan International Crisis Group (ICG) is less optimistic.  The report, to be issued next week, says the Samarra attack is only the latest and bloodiest¹² indication that Iraq is teetering on what it calls the threshold of wholesale¹³ disaster.  An advance copy was provided to VOA.

Speaking from Amman, Jordan, ICG Middle East Program Director Joost Hiltermann says Iraq is in danger of sliding into full-scale civil war.

"What happened in Samarra, and, of course, the fallout in terms of reprisal attacks against Sunni Arabs, is leading to a downward spiral of violence that, if it is not reversed, could lead to civil war," he said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the Samarra attack.  But Western officials say suspicion falls on al-Qaida in Iraq.  Mr. Hiltermann says no one knows who did the bombing, but adds that al-Qaida in Iraq has carried out anti-Shi'ite attacks in the past.

But, he says, Shi'ite officials in the fledgling Iraqi government have ordered their own attacks on Sunnis.

"But in the past year, we've seen that a couple of Shi'ite parties in government have taken advantage of their control over the security apparatus¹⁴ to mete¹⁵ out revenge, not against any specific perpetrator of anti-Shi'ite attacks, but against the Sunni Arab community more broadly," he added.

In what is expected to be its most controversial recommendation, the ICG calls on the international community to face the unpleasant prospect¹⁶ that Iraq will fall apart, and plan to contain any negative effects on regional stability and security. It says failure to anticipate such a possibility may lead to further disasters in the future.

1 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

2 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

3 reprisal   

n.报复，报仇，报复性劫掠

参考例句：

• There is no political alternative but a big reprisal.政治上没有旁的选择只能是大规模报复。
• They bombed civilian targets in reprisal.他们炮轰平民目标作为报复。

4 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

8 heeded   

v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She countered that her advice had not been heeded. 她反驳说她的建议未被重视。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I heeded my doctor's advice and stopped smoking. 我听从医生的劝告，把烟戒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

11 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

12 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

13 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

14 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

15 mete   

v.分配；给予

参考例句：

• Schools should not mete out physical punishment to children.学校不应该体罚学生。
• Duly mete out rewards and punishments.有赏有罚。

16 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。