VOA标准英语2013--埃及人为清场死难者举行葬礼

 

埃及人为清场死难者举行葬礼

Egyptians are mourning the victims of Wednesday's violence with both sides blaming each other for the escalation¹ of violence in the wake of President Mohamed Morsi's July 3 ouster. The United States and other countries have condemned² the violence, but Washington has stopped short of cutting U.S. military ties with Cairo.

Officials in Egypt say the death toll³ has reached almost 650, including some police officers, in the violence that has swept the country. Supporters of ousted⁴ President Morsi claim that several thousand people were killed by security forces Wednesday.

Hundreds of mourners gathered Thursday at a mosque⁵ in Cairo's Nasr City where some of the bodies were brought to await funeral. One mourner said the security forces attacked unarmed protesters. "We had nothing in our hands except for some stones and twigs⁶. I swear by God that all this talk about us having guns is not true. I did not see that."

But the opponents claim the opposite. They say that the Islamists incite⁷ violence and have to be stopped. Christians⁸ across Egypt have reported that their churches were attacked Thursday. In Giza, the city across the Nile from Cairo, angry Egyptians stormed and torched two buildings housing the provincial⁹ government. Government employee Fehmi Hassan said they were supporters of ousted President Morsi.

"Today, about a thousand supporters came and broke the exterior¹⁰ fence and hurled¹¹ stones at the building, so we jumped from the rear side and they set fire to the cars, the governor's office, the auditing¹² office and all the governor's cars," Hassan said.

Islamists have called for renewed rallies in Cairo on Friday to express "anger" after hundreds of protesters were killed in a bloody¹³ government crackdown on their protest camps, despite a nationwide state of emergency the government declared in the wake of Wednesday's crackdown. The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss the situation.

Analyst¹⁴ Geoffrey Aronson, director of The Foundation for Middle East Peace, told Alhurra television that he does not see a quick end to the unrest. "It is not clear that there is anyone in Egypt today, any part of Egyptian society that's capable of stabilizing¹⁵ this environment," he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday condemned the violence and cancelled joint¹⁶ military exercises with Egypt planned for next month. Defense¹⁷ Secretary Chuck Hagel said the United States will continue a military relationship with Egypt, but warned that some of the important elements of the cooperation are at risk.

Some Egyptians have reacted with defiance¹⁸ to the criticism from abroad.

"We should not look to America or Europe. My name is Doctor Ahmed Mansour. It is not right that eight churches are torched, and America and Europe give up on those churches because of the Muslim Brotherhood," he stated.

The U.S. government has urged Egypt's military leaders repeatedly to move fast toward establishing a democratic government including all Egypt's diverse communities.

1 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

7 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

8 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

9 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

10 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

11 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 auditing   

n.审计，查账，决算

参考例句：

• Auditing standards are the rules governing how an audit is performed.收支检查标准是规则统治一个稽核如何被运行。
• The auditing services market is dominated by a few large accounting firms.审计服务市场被几家大型会计公司独占了。

13 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

14 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。

15 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

16 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

17 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。

18 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。