2006年VOA标准英语-Heavy Fighting Continues in Northeastern Sri La

By Patricia Nunan
New Delhi
10 August 2006
 

A Sri Lankan army soldier injured in an early morning battle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels near Tincomalee, 10 August 2006

Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels are engaged in continued heavy fighting for control of an irrigation channel in the east of the country. Aid officials in the area are concerned about a growing humanitarian¹ crisis facing tens of thousands of civilians³ displaced by the fighting.

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Officials from the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers agree that water from a disputed irrigation channel resumed its flow Wednesday, after two weeks of heavy fighting - but they agree on little more.

The two sides continued to exchange artillery⁴ fire Thursday for control of the channel, which provides water to some 60,000 people on government-held land. Each side accuses the other of inflicting⁵ heavy casualties on civilians in the Trincomalee district, where the dispute is centered.

Aid workers estimate that up to 50,000 people have been driven out of their homes, seeking shelter in schools, mosques⁶ and churches. But the violence has prevented aid groups from reaching all the camps, so they have yet to determine the full scale of the humanitarian crisis.

Katey Grusovin, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children's agency says aid groups are trying to reach displaced people before there is a serious outbreak of disease.

"When you've got thousands of people cramped⁷ into incredibly small spaces, having not enough latrines and not enough water and so on, then you have the perfect environment for disease to spread and spread very, very quickly," said Grusovin.

The civilian² population in Trincomalee district is especially vulnerable, Grusovin says, because of a series of recent calamities⁸.

"They've suffered multiple displacements⁹ in recent years - not just from the previous conflict, but also from the tsunami¹⁰, the flooding recently, and now this. And they've lost everything," said Grusovin.

The Tamil Tigers say they reopened the irrigation channel Wednesday after an appeal by a senior Norwegian peace envoy¹¹. Sri Lankan military officials, however, say their forces are in control of the reservoir.

The fighting, which has now entered its third week, is the worst since the government and the rebels signed a ceasefire in 2002, intended to bring an end to two decades of civil war.

The Tamil Tigers launched a campaign for independence for predominantly Tamil areas in the north and east of the country, because of what they said was oppression by Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority.

Analysts¹² say that the recent round of fighting threatens to restart the broader conflict, which has already claimed 60,000 lives.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

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 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

6 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

7 cramped   

a.狭窄的

参考例句：

• The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
• working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作

8 calamities   

n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One moment's false security can bring a century of calamities. 图一时之苟安，贻百年之大患。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 displacements   

n.取代( displacement的名词复数 )；替代；移位；免职

参考例句：

• The laws of physics are symmetrical for translational displacements. 物理定律对平移是对称的。 来自辞典例句
• We encounter only displacements of the first type. 我们只遇到第一类的驱替。 来自辞典例句

10 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

11 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。