2006年VOA标准英语-Some Residents Refuse to Leave South Lebanon

By Challiss McDonough
Tyre, Lebanon
27 July 2006

Southern Lebanon has been pounded by more than two weeks of Israeli airstrikes and artillery¹, which have leveled villages and forced roughly half a million people to flee their homes.  The Israeli military, using leaflets, radio broadcasts and telephone messages, has warned civilians² to flee.  But in the port city of Tyre, 25 kilometers from the border, some residents are stubbornly refusing to go.

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A Lebanese man uses a pillow to extinguish a small fire after an Israeli missile strike   
  
At Tyre's main outdoor market, a vegetable merchant adjusted the antenna³ on a tiny black-and-white television, trying to get a better reception.  The television was blaring a local anthem⁴, accompanied by video footage of exploding bombs and fiery⁵ infernos⁶.

TV journalist Khaled Kazziha, explained the lyrics⁷.

"This is a popular song nowadays.  It says 'wein, wein' - where, where is Arab honor, where are the millions, where is the Arab anger, where is the Arab people, where is their unity⁸, where are our leaders, and the song is called 'Where,' and it just keeps going on and repeats the chorus: 'where, where,'" said Mr. Kazziha.

The grocer does not need to turn on the television to see what this war is doing to his country.  Everyone here in Tyre can hear the incessant⁹ pounding of Israeli shells falling on the nearby villages, all day long.  Sometimes, airstrikes hit the town.  A seven-story building was blown to bits late Wednesday.

But despite the war, life in the town of Tyre goes on, as close to normal as the remaining residents can make it.  Many people have left for safer ground in the north, or in the mountains.  The streets are almost deserted¹⁰, but you can still see some residents sitting on plastic chairs outside local cafes.

 
An Israeli tank crosses the border into Lebanon, July 27, 2006 
  
Some people are simply stuck here, with no money or transportation to get out.  But many of those who stay, like vegetable dealer¹¹ Nasser Hawili, are resolute¹².

"Why should I leave?  Leave it for who?  Leave it for the Israelis?  Leave it for the Israelis to come and take it again?  I do not want to leave.  I want to say," he said.

The town's fruit and vegetable market is still stocked with cabbages, eggplants, and watermelons, even though there are not many customers.  Hajji Khalila Ashour sorted through crates¹³ of tomatoes, looking for the best ones.  She is an old woman now and has seen war after war.  She is not going anywhere.

"Who are we supposed to be afraid of? Can there be more terror than the fear that we are living under?  We fear no one except God, the one who created us, and I spit on them all," she says, referring to the Israeli army, Lebanese politicians. and the international community.

As people try to go about their daily lives, there is a sense of anger and helplessness in Lebanon, and a feeling of betrayal as international talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire have failed to produce results.

In the lobby of the town's hospital, Uhaila Korani is waiting for treatment of an ordinary illness, not anything war-related.  But her life has been torn apart, and her country is being torn apart, and she is furious.

"They are attacking the United Nations," she said.  "They are attacking the Red Cross.  Up in my village, in Yatar, it is completely destroyed.  Nobody dares go up there.  They have got bodies buried in the rubble¹⁴, and the dogs are eating human corpses¹⁵.  And the rest of the world just does nothing."

Photo released by United Nations Interim¹⁶ Force in Lebanon, shows UN observation post damaged after Israeli air strike  
  
The Israeli military hit a U.N. observation post in Khair on Tuesday, killing¹⁷ four unarmed U.N. monitors.  On Sunday, two Red Cross ambulances were bombed, injuring three already-wounded patients and six Red Cross staff.

Red Cross volunteer Kassem Shaalan was there and narrowly escaped with his life, but afterward¹⁸ he said he and the other volunteers are determined¹⁹ to do their jobs.

"We spoke²⁰ with each other.  We said, 'Look, guys, we have two choices.  Either to say OK, we want to go, and there is no one to help the people, or to say we chose to be volunteers and this is the time to be here and to help the people.'  So we said, 'OK, we will stay here.'  And yes, we are [at] risk.  Yes, sometimes we are afraid, but we do this job because these people, they are from our country, and we must help these people," he said.

Back at the vegetable stand, a few customers are still picking through the merchandise, buying food to cook for dinner.

They stare anxiously at the sky as an unseen Israeli jet swoops²¹ low overhead.  And the voice of Lebanese singer Julia Boutros continues to blare from the television, asking where the anger is.

1 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。

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 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

4 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

5 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

6 infernos   

n.地狱( inferno的名词复数 )；很热的地方

参考例句：

• I have heard heroes could travel between Infernos without moving. 我听说英雄们不需要移动就能穿梭于地狱之间。 来自互联网
• Arch Devils are the most powerful creature of the Infernos. 大恶魔是地狱里最强大的生物。 来自互联网

7 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

8 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。

9 incessant   

adj.不停的，连续的

参考例句：

• We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
• She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

10 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

11 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

12 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

13 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

14 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

15 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

16 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

17 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。

18 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

19 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

20 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

21 swoops   

猛扑，突然下降( swoop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He fixes his eyes on the greyish spine of the old wolf as he swoops down. 他两眼死死盯住老狼灰黑的脊背。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• An owl swoops from the ridge top, noiseless but as flame. 蓦地，山脊上一只夜枭飞扑直下，悄无声响而赫然如一道火光。