2007年VOA标准英语-Last of US Surge Forces Arrive in Iraq

By Al Pessin
Washington
30 May 2007

Iraqi boy takes cover behind US soldier after gunshots ring out in busy central Baghdad commercial district, 28 May 2007

The U.S. military says all 20,000 additional combat troops President Bush ordered to Iraq in January have now arrived, with the last unit set to be fully¹ operational in a couple of weeks. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon officials say the increased tempo² of U.S. military operations in Iraq is responsible for some progress toward establishing security in Baghdad, but also for the high U.S. death toll³ this month.

As of late Wednesday, the Pentagon reports that 115 U.S. troops have been killed so far in Iraq in May, with one more day left to go, making the month one of the deadliest of the war for U.S. forces. "It's been a tough month," said Brigadier General Perry Wiggins.

At a Pentagon news conference, General Wiggins said the greater risks of the new Baghdad Security Plan were known in advance, and he said the increased presence of U.S. troops in the city's neighborhoods is creating progress, as well as casualties. "We're moving into places where we haven't been, not necessarily (ever) before but we haven't been and stayed with the frequency that we're staying in these areas now. And there are some areas where, in the past, the enemy elected to just move on out, wait until we departed and come back in. In this particular case, they're finding that harder to do," he said.

General Wiggins said commanders are "starting to see a shift of momentum⁴" with more support from ordinary Iraqis and a 50 percent decrease in insurgent⁵ attacks in western al-Anbar Province. But he also acknowledged what he called a slight increase in attacks in Baghdad. He could not immediately provide specific figures for either location, but the general said insurgents⁶ continue to be able to carry out dramatic, large-scale bombing attacks, and also to hit U.S. and Iraqi targets with smaller bombs.

The general charged that Iranian operatives are providing technology and training to some Iraqi insurgents, and that some of the training is done by the elite⁷ Iranian Quds Force inside Iraq. But he said the U.S. military still has not determined⁸ which, if any, senior Iranian officials are behind the effort.

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

3 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。

4 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

5 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。

6 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。