VOA标准英语2009年-India Rejects Pakistani Naval Chief's Assertion

Indian government officials quickly slammed the assertion of the Pakistani naval¹ chief that there is no evidence the terrorist attack on Mumbai was carried out by gunmen who took a sea route from Pakistan.

The fragile cooperation between India and Pakistan in investigating last November's terror attack in Mumbai has suffered a setback² with a statement by the Pakistani naval chief of staff.

Speaking to reporters in Karachi Friday, Admiral Noman Bashir contradicted his own government's earlier assertion that the attackers used the sea route to infiltrate³ India's major port city.

The admiral says there is no proof of India's claim that the only arrested terror suspect Ajmal Amir Kasab went by sea from Pakistan to carry out the attack in Mumbai. He further calls the Mumbai siege a "complete failure of the Indian Navy."

The comment - repeatedly broadcast by Indian TV news channels - prompted an immediate⁴ reaction from officials here. They were quick to point out not only India, but other countries, have concluded that the evidence clearly shows the terrorists infiltrated⁵ by sea from Pakistan.

"It is very clear where it was plotted, where the masterminds are at, where the perpetrators came from," said Anand Sharma, India's Minister of State for External Affairs. "There has been an acknowledgment, even if partial, by Pakistan itself."

Indian home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram tersely⁷ laments⁸ a top Pakistani military official is contradicting the internationally-recognized evidence recovered from vessels⁹ and satellite communications equipment - that the Mumbai attackers indeed sailed from Pakistan.

"That's par⁶ for the course," said Chidambaram. "They've been prevaricating¹⁰ for many weeks. And this is part of the prevarication¹¹."

Indian government and military officials point out that Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, earlier acknowledged evidence demonstrating the use of the sea route by the gunmen to infiltrate Mumbai. All but one of the heavily armed terrorists were believed killed during the 60-hour siege that left more than 170 people dead.

1 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

2 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。

3 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。

4 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。

5 infiltrated   

adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The headquarters had been infiltrated by enemy spies. 总部混入了敌方特务。
• Many Chinese idioms have infiltrated into the Japanese language. 许多中国成语浸透到日语中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

7 tersely   

adv. 简捷地, 简要地

参考例句：

• Nixon proceeded to respond, mercifully more tersely than Brezhnev. 尼克松开始作出回答了。幸运的是，他讲的比勃列日涅夫简练。
• Hafiz Issail tersely informed me that Israel force had broken the young cease-fire. 哈菲兹·伊斯梅尔的来电简洁扼要，他说以色列部队破坏了刚刚生效的停火。

8 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

9 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 prevaricating   

v.支吾( prevaricate的现在分词 )；搪塞；说谎

参考例句：

• Stop prevaricating and come to the point. 别吞吞吐吐的，有话快说吧。

11 prevarication   

n.支吾；搪塞；说谎；有枝有叶

参考例句：

• The longer negotiations drag on, the greater the risk of permanent prevarication. 谈判拖延的时间越久，长期推诿责任的可能性就越大。 来自互联网
• The result can be a lot of needless prevarication. 结果就是带来一堆的借口。 来自互联网