VOA标准英语2008年-US Hails Colombian Military Hostage Rescue

The State Department says it is overjoyed by the Colombian military rescue of 15 hostages - including three U.S. military contractors¹ - held captive for years by FARC guerrillas. U.S. officials say the operation Wednesday reflects broader gains by the Colombian government against the long-running insurgency². VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Officials in Washington are heaping praise on the Colombian government for the commando operation that freed the three Americans, and say it is a further sign the tide is turning against the FARC rebel group, which has long been listed by the United States as a terrorist organization.
　
Three US citizens employed by Northrup Grumman Corp., who were held hostage for more than five years by FARC, set foot on American soil at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas 02 Jul 2008

Americans Keith Stansell, Thomas Howes and Marc Gonsalves, employees of the U.S. defense³ firm Northrup-Grumman, had been held hostage by the FARC - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - since their anti-drug surveillance plane crashed in rebel-held territory in 2003.

The three men, believed to have been held longer than any other U.S. citizens currently in captivity⁴ worldwide, were among the 15 FARC hostages freed in the bloodless Colombian commando operation that also brought the release of former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

President Bush hailed the rescue in a telephone call late Wednesday to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made similar congratulatory calls to her Colombian counterpart, Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo, and the country's ambassador in Washington.

"The Colombian government and President Uribe stood by their commitment that they were going to treat all the hostages, regardless of nationality, the same, and that they would focus on getting them all home. And that is what they have done. Obviously, there are still hostages being held and we would join with everybody around the world in calling for their immediate⁵ return to their families," he said.

McCormack said the United States played a support role in the Colombian military operation, but that the rescue mission itself was planned and executed by Colombian personnel.

The operation is being widely described as an embarrassing setback⁶ for the FARC, which has lost some of its most senior commanders in recent months in combat or other circumstances and seen its ranks trimmed by desertions.

Spokesman McCormack said it is unclear if the FARC insurgency is crumbling⁷, but said it is apparent that the Uribe government has recently had the upper hand.

"Clearly they have had some very significant successes. And it is really through grit⁸, determination, focus, reform that they have been able to do that in terms of a government-wide, country-wide effort to combat this problem," continued McCormack. "And right now the world is witnessing some of the results of the hard-work that Colombian people and the Colombian government have put in over the years to combat the FARC."

The FARC has been trying to topple the Colombian government for more than four decades. Originally Marxist-inspired, it has become less ideological⁹, and allied¹⁰ with drug cartels, in recent years.

The United States began providing Colombia with large-scale anti-drug and military assistance during the Clinton administration and the Bogota government has become a key regional ally of the United States.

　

 

1 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

7 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

8 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

9 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

10 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。