2006年VOA标准英语-UN: Bomb Kills At Least 19 Students in Eastern

By Patricia Nunan
New Delhi
14 August 2006 

Soldier stands near site of an explosion in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, August 14, 2006

The United Nations has confirmed that at least 19 students were killed by a bomb in eastern Sri Lanka. Hours later, another blast shook Sri Lanka's capital, killing¹ seven people and injuring at least 17 more.

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Aid officials say they dispatched investigators² to the village in rebel-held territory when it was reported that bombs had been dropped on a orphanage³.

U.N. spokesperson Orla Clinton says the agency is still gathering⁴ information about the incident, in collaboration⁵ with international cease-fire monitors form the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission.

The orphanage was evacuated⁶ before recent hostilities⁷ erupted, but Clinton says it was being used by another group of young people.

"What we know at the moment is that these seem to have been students between 16-and-18, A-Level students, from the Kilinochi and Mullativu area, who were on a two-day training course in first aid," she said.

Investigators say it appears that the facility was bombed by "Kfir" jets, used by the Sri Lankan Air force.

"And apparently⁸, four Kfirs, according to SLMM [the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission], dropped bombs on the area, the center where they were," added Clinton.

The incident was first reported on a pro-rebel Web page, Tamilnet, which accused the government of deliberately⁹ dropping bombs on the facility. It lists the number killed at more than 60.

Sri Lankan military officials have denied responsibility for the incident.

The head of Sri Lanka's Peace Secretariat, Palitha Kohona, warned that the rebels may be trying to distract attention from battlefield losses.

"Now, when they are getting beaten back, they have started, as usual, and this fits into a pattern, a campaign of disinformation and trying to turn the tide by appealing to the heartstrings of the public," said Kohona.

The government and Tamil Tiger Rebels have been engaged in nearly three weeks of clashes. The violence threatens to plunge¹⁰ the country back into civil war, which first began in 1983, when the rebels demanded independence for the ethnic¹¹ Tamil minority.

Meanwhile, seven people were killed in the capital Colombo, in a blast directed at the Pakistani ambassador.

Some officials have said a Claymore mine was detonated beneath his motorcade, while others say a three-wheeler taxi had been packed with explosives. 

Officials blame the attack on the Tamil Tigers, who may be angry that Pakistan supplies arms to the Sri Lankan government. The ambassador escaped serious injury. The rebel group is a State Department designated terrorist organization.

1 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。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

6 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

7 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

10 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

11 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。