2006年VOA标准英语-Indian Kashmir Rocked by Grenade Blasts

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
11 July 2006

 
Civilian¹ carries a girl, injured in a grenade explosion in Srinagar, India, Tuesday, July 11, 2006
  
Several grenade blasts have rocked the capital of Indian Kashmir, killing² six people and injuring nearly two dozen. The victims included many tourists. The Himalayan region is at the heart of a 17-year Muslim separatist insurgency³.

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The deadliest attack targeted a tourist bus at Dal Lake, the most popular tourist destination in Kashmir's summer capital of Srinagar. Witnesses said a grenade was tossed into the bus, killing and wounding tourists and bystanders, including women.

More attacks took place in quick succession in separate parts of the city, including near the tourist center. One grenade exploded in a busy market area, injuring civilians⁴ and prompting shopkeepers to close their shutters⁵. Two more grenades were hurled⁶ at vehicles in the main commercial center of the city, known as Lal Chowk.

The series of blasts created panic in the city. But officials were most worried by the attack that hit the tourist bus.

It is the sixth time that suspected Muslim militants⁷ have targeted visitors since the start of the tourist season in April. Officials fear that the string of attacks may scare away visitors, damaging the region's economic future.

Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Muzaffar Baig described the violence as a concerted effort to "create a scene of terror", and destroy the state's tourism industry.

"This we have witnessed during the last one or two months; there is a pattern in creating a situation where people lose confidence in Kashmir, not only in the government, but Kashmir as a whole and so isolate⁸ Kashmir from the rest of the country," he said.

Tourists had stayed away from Kashmir since 1989, when the tense region between Pakistan and India became wracked with violence as Muslim separatist groups fought to end Indian rule. Islamabad and New Delhi each claim sovereignty over the entire region, which is divided between them.

A peace process between India and Pakistan during the past two years helped bring about a lull⁹ in the violence, prompting visitors to flock back to the scenic¹⁰ region.

Nearly one million tourists visited Kashmir last year, helping¹¹ to revive the economy.

1 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。

2 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。

3 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

6 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

9 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

10 scenic   

adj.自然景色的，景色优美的

参考例句：

• The scenic beauty of the place entranced the visitors.这里的美丽风光把游客们迷住了。
• The scenic spot is on northwestern outskirts of Beijing.这个风景区位于北京的西北远郊。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。