2006年VOA标准英语-Clashes Flare Anew Near Breakaway Province of A

By Lisa McAdams
Moscow
27 July 2006

Georgian soldiers sit in truck during an operation in the high-mountain Kodori Gorge¹, July 26, 2006   
  
Long-running tensions have significantly escalated² near the separatist region of Abkhazia in western Georgia, this week, after Georgian officials launched a raid which they say is aimed at putting down a defiant³ local militia⁴. But Abkhaz authorities and Russia, which maintains a peacekeeping force in the region, say the raid risks sliding the tensions toward war.

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Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili came to power, in part, on the strength of pledges to win back the separatist provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. He has yet to do so, in more than two years in office, but some critics of this week's actions, like the unrecognized president of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh, say that is what Mr. Saakashvili now aims to do.

In comments broadcast on Russian television, Bagapsh warns that if Georgian troops cross the de-facto borders, his troops will open fire. At the same time, he also is calling for peace talks with Georgia.

President Saakashvili says the only thing Georgia is interested in discussing is how long the militia leader will be in prison after surrendering his weapons.

This kind of tough talk is fairly traditional for the rough and tumble Caucasus, as well as for the charismatic leader, Mr. Saakashvili. Still, it is raising considerable concern, especially in Moscow. Reports that Tbilisi has begun calling up Georgian reservists has done little to calm the situation.

Speaking to reporters just outside Moscow, Russian Defense⁵ Minister Sergei Ivanov characterized the situation in the Kodori Gorge as "changing drastically for the worse." Mr. Ivanov vowed⁶ that Russian peacekeepers would protect the peace.

Russia peacekeepers deployed⁷ to the region in 1993 at the request of Georgia's then-President Eduard Shevardnadze, who was struggling to put down an insurrection. Much later, Georgian officials came to accuse Russia of supporting the Abkhaz separatist administration. Since then, he topic has been a contentious⁸ one between the two nations.

Last week, Georgia's parliament passed a resolution calling for the withdrawal⁹ of Russian peacekeepers from both Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia's president was expected to raise the issue during scheduled talks with President Putin, last week. But he abruptly¹⁰ canceled his visit, without explanation.

Meanwhile, latest reports quote a written statement from Georgia's foreign ministry¹¹ as saying that the operation in the gorge will not be expanded to the territory controlled by separatist Abkhaz authorities.

At least four Georgian officers have been reported wounded in the ongoing¹² operations. This cannot be independently confirmed, because neither journalists, nor rights activists¹³ are being granted access to the area. There is no word on possible Abkhaz casualties.

1 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

2 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

3 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

4 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

5 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。

6 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

9 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

10 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

11 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。

12 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

13 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》