2006年VOA标准英语-Mumbai Train Bombings Cast Pall Over India-Paki

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
18 July 2006

India has deferred¹ peace talks with Pakistan in the wake of the deadly train bombings in Mumbai, accusing its neighbor of abetting³ terror attacks in India. The bomb blasts have cast a shadow over a two-year peace process that had achieved a considerable lowering of tensions between the South Asian rivals.

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School children walk past the site of the train explosion in Mumbai   
  
Within hours of the July 7 bomb blasts on seven commuter⁴ trains in Mumbai, Pakistan strongly condemned⁵ the attacks, which killed nearly 200 people in the commercial hub and injured hundreds more.

Unlike the past, India did not immediately accuse its neighbor of involvement. But old tensions resurfaced quickly. Officials, who have yet to identify the bombers⁶, have now pointed⁷ the finger at Pakistan.

Islamabad has denied any connection to the bombings, but New Delhi was quick to back words with action. It deferred talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries, who were scheduled to meet this week to review the peace process initiated⁸ in 2004.

Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran says India remains⁹ committed to the peace process, but says the bombings in Mumbai, also known as Bombay, have created a serious obstacle.

"I think it would be fair to say that as a result of these terrible terrorist incidents, it is becoming difficult to take this process forward," he said.

Analysts¹⁰ say it is not just the Bombay bombings, but a series of terror attacks in the last 10 months that are weighing on New Delhi's mind. In November, bombs ripped through a market filled with holiday shoppers in the Indian capital. In March, bombs exploded outside a packed temple in Hinduism's holiest city, Varanasi.

There is broad public support for the government's response to the Mumbai bombings. Analysts and politicians say postponing¹¹ the peace talks will send a strong message to Pakistan, which India says is not doing enough to rein¹² in at least a dozen Islamist militant¹³ groups waging a separatist insurgency¹⁴ in Indian Kashmir.

Indian officials have said they suspect the involvement of a Kashmiri militant group operating from Pakistan, the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Some officials have also suggested that Pakistan's military spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, might be involved. 

Manmohan Singh (file photo)   
  
Last week, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accused elements "across the border" of instigating¹⁵ and inspiring terror groups inside India. He warned that New Delhi could not be expected to continue the peace process if Islamabad did not back its pledges with action.

"Pakistan in 2004 has solemnly given an assurance that Pakistani territory will not be used to promote, encourage, aid and abet² the terrorist elements directed against India," he said. "That assurance has to be fulfilled, before the peace process or other processes can make progress."

Pakistan denies supporting militant groups, and says it has done all it can to crack down on their activities since joining the global war on terror.

On Monday, Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammed Khan expressed hope that the peace dialogue would continue, and repeated a firm denial of Prime Minister Singh's allegations.

"Pakistan does not allow its territory to be used against any country. This is our firm policy and commitment," he said.

Bharat Karnad, a security expert at New Delhi's Center for Policy Research, says he does not expect the peace dialogue to be permanently¹⁶ derailed. But Karnad says there will be a pause as New Delhi re-evaluates its counterpart in Islamabad.

"There is going to be an interregnum, an intermission, where the government of India will take stock of everything," he said, "they will consider whether the government of President Pervez Musharraf can even deliver on its commitments or its promises, and what India can do, within the country, to halt the terrorist(s) in their track."

The peace process has led to a series of small but significant "confidence-building measures." A cease-fire announced in November 2003 has quieted the once volatile¹⁷ Kashmir border. The two countries have restored a series of travel links, prompting tens of thousands of ordinary people to cross the previously¹⁸ impenetrable border. Businessmen and artists have traveled from one side to the other, exploring the possibility of cultural and commercial links.

But the talks have not produced any breakthrough on the core issue of the political dispute, the region of Kashmir itself, which is divided between the two countries and claimed by both.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. They came to the brink¹⁹ of a fourth war in 2002 after India blamed militant groups operating from Pakistan for an attack on the Indian parliament.

India's suspicions about the Mumbai bombers are a stark²⁰ illustration that Kashmir continues to be the major obstacle to peace in South Asia.

1 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

2 abet   

v.教唆，鼓励帮助

参考例句：

• Do not abet your friend to pry into other people's privacy.不要唆使朋友去窥探别人隐私。
• Be do grateful to those who rebuke you,because they abet your wisdom!一定要感激那些斥责你的人，因为他们助长了你的智慧！

3 abetting   

v.教唆（犯罪）( abet的现在分词 )；煽动；怂恿；支持

参考例句：

• On Earth, unknowingly abetting a criminal doesn't merit this kind of punishment. 在地球上，不知不觉地帮助罪犯并不构成这种惩罚。 来自电影对白
• "By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder." 援助和唆使谋杀的塔利班政权与杀人犯同罪。 来自互联网

4 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

5 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

6 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

12 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

13 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。

14 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

15 instigating   

v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Distant but clear Longyin instigating the eardrums of every person. 遥远却清晰的龙吟鼓动着每一个人的耳膜。 来自互联网
• The leader was charged with instigating the workers to put down tools. 那位领导人被指控煽动工人罢工。 来自互联网

16 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

17 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

18 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

19 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

20 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。