2006年VOA标准英语-Attack by Three Israelis at Nazareth Churc

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
04 March 2006

There's been trouble at one of the holy sites of Christianity in the Holy Land. At least eight people, including five police, were injured in the unrest.

Three Israelis disguised as Christian¹ pilgrims entered the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth and threw firecrackers.

The incident sparked a riot in the Israeli Arab town, as angry +residents clashed with police, who threw stun² grenades to disperse³ the crowd.

The attackers barricaded⁴ themselves in the building for several hours before police broke through the crowd of several thousand protesters to free them.

"The people are very angry," Jerayssi told Israeli television. "This is an extremely grave incident at one of the holiest places in Christianity, and they came here to defend the church," said Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jerayssi.

The Church of the Annunciation marks the site where, according to the Bible, the angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin⁵ Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.

Police say the three Israelis involved in the incident were not members of a militant⁶ group and were apparently⁷ not motivated by nationalism. They were identified as a Jerusalem couple known to authorities, who had been treated for psychiatric problems in the past. The third person was a woman.

The incident underscores the simmering religious tensions between Jews, Christians⁸ and Muslims in the Holy Land. As Israel's public security minister put it: "It is very important to put out this small flame so that it won't become a huge fire."

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 stun   

vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹

参考例句：

• When they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned.他们告诉我她不见了时，我当时完全惊呆了。
• Sam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.萨姆站在原地，被一下打昏了。

3 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

4 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

5 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

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 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

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。