VOA标准英语2010年-Terror Attacks Continue to Traumatize

The city's once congested roads are empty of people and cars. As many as 1.7 million residents have fled nearly daily fighting in Mogadishu since early 2007.

In recent years, the rise of the militant¹ al-Shabab group in Somalia, an al-Qaida ally fighting to implement² its ultraconservative version of Islam in the Horn of Africa, has been accompanied by suicide and roadside bombings that have horrified³ Somalis, even those long accustomed to violence.

In the Somali capita of Mogadishu, the threat of terrorism has not only altered the city's landscape in some areas, it has changed how the few Somalis still remaining in Mogadishu think and behave.  

Just a few years ago, streets in the capital were so congested at times, drivers used to have to bully⁴ their way forward - car horns blaring - through heaving crowds of people, vehicles, and animals.

As battered⁵ and crumbling⁶ as much of Mogadishu was after nearly 20 years of constant war, at least the city's two-million inhabitants gave the capital a sense of lively and cheerful chaos⁸.

These days, drivers no longer have to worry about hitting pedestrians⁹ or animals on busy streets.  The roads are virtually empty.  Drivers now honk¹⁰ their horns to alert others that an armored vehicle, belonging to African Union peacekeepers, is approaching them.  The honking¹¹ prompts drivers and pedestrians to quickly move away from the rumbling⁷ vehicle to avoid becoming victims of a possible roadside bomb.

 

In August 2008, an improvised¹² explosive device intended for a passing A.U. convoy¹³, killed 21 women picking up rubbish on Maka al-Mukarama Road - a major thoroughfare that is guarded by African Union peacekeepers and considered one of the few safe zones left in the capital.

Mogadishu today stands in stark¹⁴ contrast to what the capital was like before the al-Shabab-led insurgency¹⁵ intensified¹⁶ against the U.N.-backed Transitional Federal Government and its international backers in 2008 and 2009.   

Maka al-Mukarama extends from the junction¹⁷ at Kilometer Four - so named because it is located four kilometers into the city from the international airport.  Once one of the busiest intersections¹⁹ in Mogadishu, Kilometer Four is now marked by rows of concrete barriers that keep people and cars far away from a group of peacekeepers based nearby.  A Soviet-era tank sits ominously²⁰ at the intersection¹⁸, ready to fire at a moment's notice.   

Since 2008, thousands have been killed and nearly one-million others driven out of the city amid an escalating²¹ war between militant Islamists and the African Union peacekeeping force known as AMISOM.

A total of 5,300 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi are defending a small area, mostly in the southern part of the capital, trying to prevent al-Shabab from toppling the government and seizing the entire city.  Al-Shabab has been trying to demoralize AMISOM through repeated attacks, including two separate suicide attacks on its bases last year that killed and wounded nearly two dozen African Union troops. 
 
Those attacks have led to dramatic changes near AMISOM checkpoints and bases.  Barriers that used to be nothing more than tree trunks or branches stretched across the road are now made of concrete and steel.

Security checks along al-Mukarama Road are reminiscent of checks conducted in cities like Baghdad and Kabul.  AU troops, with rifles at the ready, watch behind concrete barriers and sandbags as government troops hand-search each car passing through.

In a sign that suicide bombings have become a constant threat, especially to the government, Somalia's first metal detector²² has been installed in Villa²³ Somalia.    

On December 3, a suicide bomber²⁴ detonated his vest during a graduation ceremony for medical students being held at Shamo Hotel, near Kilometer Four.  Three government ministers, nine students, two journalists, and a doctor were killed in the blast.  Scores more were wounded.

Somalia has a long history of observing a moderate form of Islam, and suicide bombings were unheard of here before 2006. 
A leading civil society leader in Mogadishu, Abdullahi Mohamed Shirwa, says while militants²⁵ are making progress in spreading their ideology²⁶ among poor young men in Somalia, the vast majority of ordinary Somalis are deeply against a religious doctrine²⁷ that strives to control people through fear, violence and intimidation²⁸.       

"People are fed up and even sometimes, they are resisting the insurgents²⁹.  But they have intelligence networks among the people.  Can you imagine your friend or your cousin or your boy has [been] recruited secretly and he is ready to explode your home?  It is a terrible thing that affect badly the public's psychology," said Shirwa.  "They are very scared about coming [to] meetings, seminars, workshops, especially if the event takes place in hotels.  They say, 'No, we do not want to come together because we do not know what will happen.  Maybe my friend is an enemy.'  So, it has actually created a very bad atmosphere.  People, they are afraid to the maximum."

Mogadishu residents have rarely feared anything before, least of all war.  But bravery means little, they say, when there is no one left to trust.

 

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 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

3 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

4 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

5 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

6 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。

7 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 honk   

n.雁叫声，汽车喇叭声

参考例句：

• Don't honk the horn indiscriminately.不要乱鸣喇叭！
• While passing another vehicle,you must honk your horn.通过另一部车时必须鸣按喇叭。

11 honking   

v.（使）发出雁叫似的声音，鸣（喇叭），按（喇叭）( honk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Flocks of honking geese flew past. 雁群嗷嗷地飞过。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 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。

13 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

14 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

15 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

16 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 junction   

n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站

参考例句：

• There's a bridge at the junction of the two rivers.两河的汇合处有座桥。
• You must give way when you come to this junction.你到了这个路口必须让路。

18 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

19 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

20 ominously   

adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地

参考例句：

• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mammy shook her head ominously. 嬷嬷不祥地摇着头。 来自飘（部分）

21 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

22 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

23 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

24 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

25 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。

26 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

27 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

28 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

29 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