2006年VOA标准英语-Israel Continues its Bombing Campaign in Lebano

By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
16 July 2006
 

Police and Zaka religious rescue workers wheel a dead Israeli from the site of a rocket attack by Hezbollah guerrillas at train station in Haifa, July 16, 2006  
  
Israel's prime minister on Sunday threatened "far-reaching consequences" for a Hezbollah rocket attack on the Israeli city of Haifa that left at least eight people dead and more than 20 others wounded. The attack raised the death toll¹ in Israel to more than 20, while more than 100 people have died in Lebanon in Israeli strikes.

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Sunday's rocket attack on Israel's third largest city, Haifa was the worst to strike Israel since Hezbollah guerillas killed eight Israeli soldiers and captured two others last week, sparking the latest crisis in the Middle East.

A barrage² of rockets hit Haifa, including several that are more advanced than the Katyusha rockets that Hezbollah has been firing into northern Israel over the past few days. One of the rockets struck a storage and maintenance area at Haifa's main railroad station, causing the casualties. Other rockets landed near a large oil refinery³ and petro-chemical complex. Speaking at his weekly cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Israel will not stand by and allow its cities and towns to be attacked.

The Israeli Prime Minister says the Hezbollah attacks will have "far-reaching consequences," and that nothing will deter⁴ Israel from its goal of pushing Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon where it can threaten Israel.

Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into communities across northern Israel on Sunday.

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav told VOA that among the rockets that have hit Haifa are some clearly designed to cause massive civilian⁵ casualties.

"The specialty⁶ of these rockets is that they contain thousands of metal bullets which are going to be spread around when the rocket hits the ground," he said. "In this respect, it has the same effect as the belt of a suicide bomber⁷." 
 

Israeli air strikes on residential⁸ buildings in Beirut early Sunday morning, July 16, 2006  
  
Israel launched multiple air and artillery⁹ strikes against targets in Lebanon for a fifth day on Sunday, striking the south Beirut neighborhood where Hezbollah headquarters is located. The Hezbollah television station al-Manar was repeatedly knocked off-the-air on Sunday.

Israeli officials say their offensive is designed to push Hezbollah guerillas out of areas where they can threaten Israel. Israel is insisting that the Lebanese Army move into those areas as called for by United Nations Security Council resolutions, something successive Lebanese governments have been unable to accomplish. Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres says Israel has no designs on Lebanese territory.

"We do not want anything from Lebanon, not land, not water, not influence," said Peres. "The only thing we want is to live in peace. If Lebanon can do it we welcome it. If not, we have to defend ourselves and we shall do so."

International concerns over Israel's Lebanon offensive are growing. French and Russian leaders have called for a show of moderation. Both British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George Bush have blamed Hezbollah for sparking the crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday said the United States is deeply concerned about mounting civilian casualties in Lebanon, but that an immediate¹⁰ cease-fire would not end the crisis.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

3 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

4 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

5 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。

6 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

7 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。

8 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

9 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。