2006年VOA标准英语-Land Feud Ignites Fighting in Nigeria

By Gilbert da Costa
Abuja
14 April 2006

Security forces in Nigeria are battling to control three days of clashes in the central Plateau State, which have left at least 25 people dead. Hundreds of people have fled their homes.

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More paramilitary police and soldiers were sent Friday to the central state of Plateau. This follows three days of fighting involving the Pan and Gomai people over land ownership in the town of Namu.
 
State authorities have ordered a nighttime curfew, and authorized¹ security forces to shoot members of ethnic² militias³ allegedly behind the violence, in a desperate bid to stop the fighting from spreading.
 
State-owned radio has reported at least 10 deaths but other reports suggest the death toll⁴ might be much higher. A resident of the state capital, Jos, who spoke⁵ to VOA Friday, described the clashes as very, very serious.
 
Tension has been rising in the area, with the creation of local administrative⁶ units by the state government.
 
Maxi Okwu, an Abuja-based civil rights activist⁷, says the latest clashes reflect the volatility⁸ of the region.

"Plateau seems to have been regularly in the news on this community strife⁹, and if you know the composition of Plateau, it is like a place that has the highest concentration of nationalities and ethnic groups -- small, small communities that are very insular¹⁰ and very protective of their identity," he said.  "Added to this, in the Plateau area, is the settler problem, where persons who are not indigenous¹¹ to the area have become quite entrenched¹². So, the slightest provocation¹³ leads to bloodletting and tensions all over the place. So, Plateau is very, very volatile¹⁴."

Nigeria has more than 300 ethnic groups, which often find themselves in violent disputes over control of land and resources.
 
Okwu says the desperate economic situation, particularly among rural Nigerians, is the trigger for the raging violence.

Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo   
  
"Nigerians are on a short fuse," he added.  "There is so much angst in the land, so much disenchantment, failure of delivery of democracy dividends¹⁵. So, at the slightest provocation, people just explode."

In May 2004, President Olusegun Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Plateau, following the death of hundreds of people in months of ethno-religious violence in a part of the state.
 
More than 10,000 people have died in violence since the end of brutal¹⁶ military rule in 1999. Some three million people have been left homeless.

1 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

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 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。

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

9 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

10 insular   

adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• Having lived in one place all his life,his views are insular.他一辈子住在一个地方，所以思想狭隘。

11 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

12 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

13 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

14 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

15 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

16 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。