2006年VOA标准英语-At Least 4 Killed, 30 Injured in Series of

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
12 May 2006

The Ethiopian government has appealed for calm following at least nine explosions in the capital Friday that killed at least four people and injured dozens.

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Sandals and blood seen outside shop in Addis Ababa 
  

The first blast occurred in the early morning near an Ethiopian Airlines office; later in the morning there were several other explosions in different parts of Addis Ababa.

Information ministry¹ spokesman Zemedkun Tekle tells VOA the initial reports involved four blasts that killed two people and injured 21.  But media reports say there were nine bombs that killed three people and wounded more than 30.

Zemedkun says the capital is otherwise calm, and denies that the random² explosions make Addis Ababa a dangerous city.

"The capital is very peaceful and nothing is new," he said.  "You may find those kind of explosions even in big cities like in the United States and other parts of the world. So nothing is exceptional in this case. It is calm and everybody is on the street and you can take it [you can look upon it] as something that can happen."

Friday's blasts are the latest in a series to rock the Ethiopian capital since the beginning of the year.

Zemedkun would not comment on who the government suspects is responsible for the explosions, or whether Friday's blasts are linked to the earlier explosions, saying that police are investigating the incident and trying to find what he describes as the "anti-peace agents" who carried out the attacks.

A police spokesman was quoted in news reports as saying he believes the explosions are being done to give the impression that the capital is unstable³.

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 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

3 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。