VOA标准英语2012--Smuggling Tunnels Become Lifelines for Impoverished Gaza

Smuggling¹ Tunnels Become Lifelines for Impoverished² Gaza

One of Gaza's major economic lifelines is a smuggling tunnel, 20 meters underground, stretching some 200 meters from Gaza into Egypt.

It is used primarily to smuggle³ cement and gravel⁴ and some consumer goods. Many tunnels have electricity and communication systems. Some have railway tracks. A few are large enough to drive a car through.

Conditions are harsh for the tunnel workers, who do not want to be identified. They work 12-hour shifts. Equipment breakdowns⁵ are frequent as are cave-ins that sometimes are deadly.

There are hundreds of smuggling tunnels. Egyptian authorities turn a blind eye to the traffic. Israeli security forces stationed a few kilometers away do the same, although they worry that some tunnels are used to supply Palestinian militants⁷ in Gaza with weapons and explosives. 

Israel allows some goods to pass legally through this overland crossing. The government has partially⁸ lifted a blockade imposed after the militant⁶ Hamas movement took power in Gaza. Israel considers Hamas a terrorist group.

But most goods come through the tunnels. They have permitted a construction boom in Gaza, where demand is high because of the five-year long blockade.

Economists⁹ say the tunnels boost Gaza's economy, which the Palestinian Authority says grew by 30 percent in the final three months of last year. But Gaza-based analyst¹⁰ Sami Abdul-Shafi says the figures are misleading.

"We are coming to this position from a near zeroed-out economy. So any improvement you have over zero must be acknowledged as positive. But still your baseline is zero. So I think we have a long ways to go," Abdul-Shafi said.

Hamas wants Egypt to open its Rafah crossing to commerce and legitimize trading ties. Cairo refuses all but emergency crossings because it wants Israel to continue to be seen as responsible for Gaza's suffering.

Hamas Spokesman Ismail Radwan says relations with Egypt have improved since the revolution brought Islamist parties sympathetic to Hamas to power in parliament. He hopes they will help alleviate¹¹ the Gazan's suffering.

“We hope that our sister Egypt will break the siege and help our Palestinian people. No doubt our relations are developing positively," Radwan said.

For the moment, however, shortages of fuel and electricity continue to stifle¹² most economic activity in Gaza, causing contamination of water supplies and crippling services like ambulances, hospitals and schools. Without the tunnels, things would be far worse. 

1 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

2 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》

3 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

4 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

5 breakdowns   

n.分解( breakdown的名词复数 )；衰竭；（车辆或机器的）损坏；统计分析

参考例句：

• Her old car was unreliable, so the trip was plagued by breakdowns. 她的旧车老不听使唤，一路上总是出故障。 来自辞典例句
• How do we prevent these continual breakdowns? 我们如何防止这些一再出现的故障？ 来自辞典例句

6 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。

7 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。

8 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

9 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

11 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

12 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。