2007年VOA标准英语-UN Secretary-General Unhurt After Explosion in

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil
22 March 2007

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Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, shakes hands with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon ahead of their meeting in Baghdad, 22 Mar 2007

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has paid a surprise visit to Baghdad. VOA's Margaret Besheer reports from northern Iraq, that Mr. Ban got an unpleasant taste of what life is like for ordinary Iraqis, when a mortar² landed directly outside the building where he and Iraq's prime minister were holding a news conference.

The Secretary-General was visibly shaken, briefly³ ducked for cover, but was unhurt after the blast that appeared to be from a mortar.

It fell directly outside the building where the press conference was being held in the heavily-protected Green Zone.

As security guards tried to usher⁴ Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki out of the room, he calmly told them nothing was wrong and the press conference continued for a few more moments until officials abruptly⁵ ended it.

Moments before the blast, Mr. Ban said he would reconsider expanding the U.N. presence in Iraq once the security situation has visibly improved.

"This is one of the subjects which I have discussed and I will consider on the basis of my assessment⁶ of this visit," he said.

The United Nations scaled back its presence in Iraq after the August 2003 bombing of its Baghdad headquarters killed 22 staffers, including top envoy⁷ Sergio Vieira de Mello.

In a separate development, the U.S. military announced it has released into Prime Minister Maliki's custody⁸ an aide to radical⁹ Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Sheikh Ahmed Shibani was detained two-and-one-half years ago in the southern city of Najaf.

In a televised meeting with Mr. Maliki, the cleric pledged his help in making the government's attempts at peace and reconciliation¹⁰ a success.

The warm reception for the cleric underlines the close ties Mr. Maliki has to Moqtada al-Sadr, whose support won Mr. Maliki his job last year. Iraqi officials say they have been holding talks with various insurgent¹¹ groups in an effort to stabilize¹² the security situation.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

5 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

6 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

7 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。

8 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

9 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。

10 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

11 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

12 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。