2006年VOA标准英语-Al-Maliki Urges Iraqis to Turn New Page

By Margaret Besheer
Irbil, Iraq
10 July 2006
 
As ethnic¹ and sectarian violence continues to shake Iraq's capital, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called for all Iraqis to unite. The Prime minister made the appeal during a visit to the Kurdistan National Assembly in northern Iraq.

----------

Kurdistan National Assembly   
  
Nouri al-Maliki paid his first visit as Iraq's prime minister to Kurdistan's National Assembly.

In his remarks to legislators, he did not refer to specific attacks against civilians² that have rocked Baghdad during the past weeks. Instead, he appealed to all Iraqis to turn the page to a brighter future.

"It is the destiny of Iraqis to work together to stop the terrorists," he said, "adding they have no choice, but to fight those who try to bring darkness back to Iraq. 

 
Iraqi PM Nouri Al-Maliki (left) and Kurdistan Regional Government PM Nechirvan Barzani
  
Mr. Maliki said Iraq must move quickly to rebuild its security, so that control of all the country's towns and cities can be transferred from coalition³ troops to Iraqi forces.

Speaking about the recently formed national unity⁴ government, Mr. Maliki said it must not differentiate⁵ among any part of Iraq, be it the Kurdish region, central Iraq or the south. He said the government must work equally for all Iraqis to live in peace.

Kurdistan Assembly Members   
  
But despite his calls for peace and unity, there was no let-up in sectarian attacks in Baghdad and elsewhere. In the mainly Shi'ite Sadr City section of the capital, two explosions killed at least 10 people. In the ethnically⁶ divided northern city of Kirkuk, police say a vehicle packed with explosives struck a Kurdish political office, killing⁷ at least three people.

In other developments, Saddam Hussein's defense⁸ lawyers began closing arguments Monday. Saddam and seven co-defendants are on trial for the 1982 murders of 148 Shi'ite men from the town of Dujail, following a failed assassination⁹ attempt against the former dictator.

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

6 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 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。

9 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。