VOA慢速英语 埃及夜总会燃烧弹袭击导致16人丧生

AS IT IS 2015-12-06 Firebomb Attack in Egypt Kills 16 埃及夜总会燃烧弹袭击导致16人丧生

At least 16 people were killed early Friday in a firebomb attack on a restaurant in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.

Officials say they do not know why the El Sayad restaurant and bar in the Agouza neighborhood was attacked. Security officials say the attack was not linked to terrorism.

The Interior Ministry¹ said the attack happened after a disagreement between customers and restaurant workers. But earlier, the state news agency reported an official said three men on a motorcycle threw a firebomb into the restaurant and fled.

An official told the Reuters news agency the attacker was a former employee who had recently been removed from the restaurant.

Islamic extremists have carried out many attacks in Egypt since Mohamed Morsi was ousted² as president in 2013 and detained by the military. Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood³.

A militant⁴ group that says it supports the Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for many of the attacks. Most of the attacks have targeted government facilities. Most of them have taken place in the Sinai Peninsula, where many militants⁵ live and operate.

The attacks have greatly reduced the number of travelers to Egypt.

Also this week, Egypt’s parliamentary election ended Wednesday. Experts believe most voters marked their ballots⁶ for supporters of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. Some experts say few people voted.

And there were reports that some people were paid to mark their ballots. These and other problems could be used to cancel the election results and force the new parliament to stop meeting.

El-Sissi was not a candidate. But experts said they believe the election will give him strong support in parliament, which has about 600 seats. They said they believe his supporters will approve 200 laws he has put into place by presidential order.

Last year, a new constitution was approved that lets lawmakers remove a president and call for early elections.

Even though few people voted, election workers said they were excited because the country has not had a parliament since 2012.

Johan Saeed -- an election worker in Cairo -- said, “I love my homeland. I love Egypt. I hope the right candidate will win. I hope all the candidates will win, including myself.”

Some observers said some voters were paid for their votes.

Lawyer Sameh Eldeep said “some of the candidates are trying to win votes with bribes⁷, and it is changing which candidates they are voting for.”

Some observers say vote buying in Egypt is common, and operates like a large business.

Essam Azmy, an election monitor, said “buying votes has become like the stock market -- the morning opens with one price and in the afternoon it’s a higher price. The highest prices are just before the polling stations close.”

The new parliament is expected to meet beginning next month.

Words in This Story

facility – n. something (such as a building or large piece of equipment) that is built for a specific purpose

bribe⁸ – n. something valuable (such as money) that is given in order to get someone to do something illegal or dishonest

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 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。

3 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

4 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。

5 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。

6 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

8 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。