2006年VOA标准英语-Israel Approves Wider Offensive in Lebanon

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
09 August 2006
 
 
Israeli reservists walk along a dirt road on the Lebanon side of the border after crossing from northern Israel Wednesday Aug. 9, 2006
  
Israel's 12-member Security Cabinet has voted Wednesday to expand Israel's ground operations in Lebanon. The decision comes as Israel replaced its top commander responsible for the current Lebanon offensive.

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After a six-hour meeting, nine Cabinet ministers voted to approve a wider offensive, and three abstained¹ from the vote. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert now has the authority to send Israeli troops as far north as the Litani River, about 20 to 30 kilometers inside Lebanon. At one point during Wednesday's meeting, Mr. Olmert left to hold a half-hour telephone consultation² with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. There was no immediate³ comment on the subject of the talks.

Following Wednesday's cabinet session, Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai says the Lebanon operation could last as long as 30 days.

Yishai says that, if needed, the offensive could take longer, and that the immediate priority will be to stop the threat of Katyusha rocket attacks against Israel.

Currently there are about 10,000 Israeli troops deployed⁴ in the fight against Hezbollah militants⁵. Israeli troops have so far penetrated⁶ about six kilometers inside Lebanon, although Israeli officials say they are not interested in holding territory, but rather are focusing on destroying Hezbollah's infrastructure⁷.
 

In this undated photo, Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, left, pauses next to former Israeli Defense⁸ Minister Shaul Mofaz  
  
For the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Israel has replaced a top general during ongoing⁹ offensive operations. The commander of the Israeli Defense Forces, Air Force General Dan Halutz has appointed his deputy, Major General Moshe Kaplinsky, to lead ground operations in Lebanon. He replaces the head of the Northern Command, Major General Udi Adam, who has been criticized in the Israeli media for poor deployment¹⁰ of ground troops.

In recent days Israeli troops have appeared to be increasingly bogged¹¹ down in Lebanon, where Hezbollah militants have made effective use of sophisticated anti-tank missiles to inflict¹² growing casualties on the Israelis.

Brigadier General Yossi Kupperwasser, who until last month was director of analysis for Israeli military intelligence says beating Hezbollah will not be easy.

"Crushing Hezbollah is not like ordering a pizza. It takes time," he said. "What we face is like an infantry¹³ division (approx. 10,000 troops) with state-of-the-art weaponry, including nightvision equipped rifles. It is like a well equipped infantry division made up of several brigades deployed along our border and totally guided with planning from Iranian revolutionary guards who are inside Lebanon." 

Israelis inspect damage in a house after rocket by Hezbollah guerrillas from neighboring Lebanon, in northern Israeli city of Haifa, Aug. 5, 2006  
  
Hezbollah militants continued their rocket fire into Israel on Wednesday. Israeli officials say since fighting began one month ago, Hezbollah has fired more than 3,000 rockets into Israel. More than 700 people, mostly civilians¹⁴, have been killed in Lebanon, and more than 100 Israelis have been killed, including at least 36 civilians.

1 abstained   

v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票）

参考例句：

• Ten people voted in favour, five against and two abstained. 十人投票赞成，五人反对，两人弃权。
• They collectively abstained (from voting) in the elections for local councilors. 他们在地方议会议员选举中集体弃权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 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。

5 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。

6 penetrated   

adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
• They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

11 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

13 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

14 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。