VOA标准英语2009年-UN Halts Food Aid in Southern Philippines

The United Nations food agency has suspended aid work in the southern Philippines after a spate¹ of deadly bombings in the region.

The U.N. World Food Program feeds more than 300,000 families displaced by conflict in the southern Philippines. On Wednesday, the Manila office advised its staff in the region to suspend food distribution this week because of a series of deadly bombings.

Alghassim Wurie, deputy director of the WFP in the Philippines, says the agency acted in response to a United Nations advisory² on travel to parts of Mindanao island.

"Currently, our colleagues are networking with the authorities to understand how things are happening in Mindanao," said Wurie. "If it has calmed down by the end of the week, we will hopefully resume work early next week."
　
Investigators³ look for evidence after a bomb blast at a commercial center in Jolo, on the island of Mindanao, 07 Jul 2009

At least six people were killed and scores wounded in a series of blasts Tuesday in Jolo and Iligan city. The WFP has an office in Iligan as well as in Cotabato, where an explosion killed five people Sunday.

Militants⁴ in the south have in the past kidnapped aid workers. The extremist Abu Sayyaf group is holding an Italian Red Cross worker.

Security authorities are still investigating the recent bombings. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Philippine Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Wednesday authorities are looking into the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front's special operations group.

"From our experience, the signature showed that with the use of 60 and 81 millimeter mortar⁵ rounds as elements in the improvised⁶ explosive devices, this is the handy work of the special operations group which is supposed to have been trained by Jemaah Islamiyah trainees⁷ from the outside," said Ermita.

Jemaah Islamiyah is a regional terrorist network blamed for deadly bombings in Indonesia, including the Bali blasts in 2002 and 2005. Security officials say JI militants have sought refuge in Mindanao.

The MILF has denied any role in the attacks. Representatives of the government and the MILF are in Kuala Lumpur this week hoping to restart stalled peace talks to end more than three decades of separatist insurgency⁸. The Philippines is predominately Christian⁹, but there is a large Muslim population in the south.

1 spate   

n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵

参考例句：

• Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the area.警察正在调查这一地区发生的大量盗窃案。
• Refugees crossed the border in full spate.难民大量地越过了边境。

2 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

7 trainees   

新兵( trainee的名词复数 )； 练习生； 接受训练的人； 训练中的动物

参考例句：

• We've taken on our full complement of new trainees. 我们招收的新学员已经满额了。
• The trainees were put through an assault course. 受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

8 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

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。