Sergio Vieira de Mello

By Shelley Gollust
Broadcast: August 23, 2003
This is Steve Ember with In the News, in VOA Special English.
On Tuesday, a 1)suicide bomber¹ drove a truck filled with explosives into the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq. More than twenty people were killed and almost one-hundred others were wounded.
The U-N's top diplomat² in Iraq was among those killed. Sergio Vieira de Mello was from Brazil. He was fifty-five years old. Mister Vieira de Mello was the U-N High Commissioner³ for Human Rights. He had been serving in Baghdad temporarily. U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan had chosen him as his special representative to Iraq.
Sergio Viera de Mello had the difficult job of organizing U-N efforts to rebuild civilian⁴ rule and extend 2)humanitarian⁵ relief in Iraq. When he arrived in Iraq, he said his main goal was to protect the interests of the Iraqi people during the occupation led by the United States. He planned to leave Iraq next week and return to his job in 3)Geneva, Switzerland.
The Brazilian diplomat served with the U-N for more than thirty years. He was often sent to dangerous areas of the world. He led U-N efforts to rebuild troubled areas, including Kosovo and East Timor.
Sergio Vieira de Mello was born in Rio de Janeiro in nineteen-forty-eight. He studied in Brazil and France. He received two doctorate⁶ degrees from the University of Paris. A native speaker of Portuguese⁷, he also spoke⁸ English, French and Spanish.
He joined the office of the U-N High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva in nineteen-sixty-nine. In the early nineteen-seventies, he served in 4)Bangladesh and 5)Cyprus. Then he was appointed the U-N-H-C-R representative in 6)Mozambique. He served during the civil war that followed the country's independence from Portugal in nineteen-seventy-five.
From nineteen-eighty-one to eighty-three, he was the top political adviser⁹ to the U-N peacekeepers in Lebanon. Later, after the mass killings¹⁰ in Rwanda, Mister Vieira de Mello served as the U-N humanitarian official there. He became the U-N's top official in 7)Kosovo in nineteen-ninety-nine. He served after United States bombing raids ended Serbian control in the province.
Then he led U-N operations in East Timor. He helped rebuild the former Indonesian territory after violence followed its vote for independence. He led the U-N's temporary administration that prepared East Timor for full independence last year.
Diplomats¹¹ from around the world mourned Sergio Vieira de Mello's death. Kofi Annan said Mister Vieira de Mello served humanity, helped ease suffering and helped people rebuild their war-torn societies. People who knew the Brazilian diplomat said his leadership ability and feelings for people made him truly effective. Many U-N experts believed Mister Vieira de Mello would have one day become secretary general of the United Nations.
In the News, from VOA Special English, was written by Shelley Gollust. This is Steve Ember.

注释：
1) suicide [5sjuisaid] adj.自杀(性)的
2) humanitarian [hju(:)7mAni5tZEriEn] n.人道主义者
3) Geneva [dVi5ni:vE] n.日内瓦城（瑞士西南部城市）
4) Bangladesh [7bB:N^lE5deF] 孟加拉国[亚洲]
5) Cyprus [5saiprEs] n.（地中海东部一岛）塞浦路斯
6) Mozambique [5mEuzEm5bi:k] n.莫桑比克（非洲东南部国家）
7) Kosovo [5kR:sEvEu] n.科索沃（南斯拉夫自治省名）

1 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。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

7 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

10 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

11 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》