VOA常速英语2008年-Palestinians Fire Rockets as Israel Reduces Ele

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
08 February 2008

Palestinian militants² have stepped up rocket attacks against Israel after a tightening³ of Israeli sanctions on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.

The electricity cuts are aimed at halting the daily Palestinian rocket attacks that have terrorized Israeli communities on the Gaza border.

"Israel is applying pressure on the terrorist organizations in Gaza," said Israeli spokesman Arieh Mekel. "We believe that no government would have acted differently; any government has the ultimate responsibility to protect its citizens."

The Islamic militant¹ group Hamas, which rules Gaza, said it would not be intimidated⁴ by the sanctions. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel and it believes armed resistance is the only way to liberate⁵ Palestine.

Israel has tightened⁶ sanctions on Hamas since the group seized control of Gaza in June, defeating the Fatah forces of western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Abbas government in the West Bank, which is involved in peace talks with Israel, also condemned⁷ the electricity cuts.

"This is a collective punishment that absolutely should not be tolerated by anyone in the international community," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

The tension in Gaza is overshadowing peace talks that resumed in December after a seven year break. Speaking in the United States, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said it is unlikely that President Bush will achieve his goal of a peace agreement by the end of the year.

Palestinian militants fired more than 20 rockets at Israel, hours after Israel cut electricity supplies to Gaza by about one percent. It was the first time that Israel reduced electricity from one of its own power plants to Gaza, though fuel cuts have prompted blackouts in the impoverished⁸ territory in the past.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 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。

3 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

4 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

6 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

7 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

8 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》