2006年VOA标准英语-Lebanese Return Home to South As Cease-fire Tak

By Challiss McDonough
Yatar, Lebanon
14 August 2006
 
After a month of fighting in Lebanon, a U.N.-mediated cease-fire has taken hold between Israel and Hezbollah militants². Thousands of people are streaming back to their homes, despite government warnings that it is not yet safe. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough reports from the southern village of Yatar.

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Lebanese woman reacts to the destruction in the heavily-bombed town of Aita Ech Chaab, near the Israeli border

After a night of intense bombardment, the last Israeli rocket struck the port city of Tyre about 10 minutes before the cease-fire took effect. Israeli artillery³ stopped pounding the hills to the south and east a few minutes later.

As silence fell, the first cars started venturing onto the battered⁴ roads. People began making their way back home, to see if they had houses to return to.

Outside of Qana, Rahaji Mohamad Kefil and her family were stuck in traffic, waiting for two bulldozers to clear the remains⁵ of a bombed building off of the road.

She says, "We are going home, but we do not know if our homes are there. We fled the shelling, but as soon as there was a cease-fire, we headed back."

The Lebanese government warned people not to try to return home because of the danger of unexploded ordnance⁶, and the danger that the cease-fire might not hold. But they came by the thousands anyway, with foam⁷ mattresses⁸ strapped⁹ to the roofs of their cars and children crammed¹⁰ into the back seats.

And families were not the only ones returning.

An hour and a half after the cease-fire took hold, a group of Hezbollah fighters was seen emerging from a hideout, about 12 kilometers from the Israeli border. They wore their uniforms, and openly carried weapons and ammunition¹¹.

From their demeanor¹², it was clear that they view the cease-fire as a victory.

The militants refused to be interviewed, but peppered a pair of journalists with questions about what they and the people of the West think about the war.

Two hours later and further east, another group of militants in the village of Yatar had already changed into civilian¹³ clothes, but were still carrying their signature two-way radios. They embraced each other like long-lost brothers.

One man walked up, still carrying his AK-47. Seeing a group of journalists, he pulled his T-shirt over the weapon, trying to hide it. He disappeared into a nearby building, and came back a few minutes later, unarmed.

And, so the militants are melting back into the population. Local residents have said since the beginning that Israel's goal of pushing Hezbollah away from the border was unattainable.

Israel has accused Hezbollah of hiding behind civilians¹⁴, but residents say the group is an integral part of the Shi'ite community in south Lebanon, not just a militia¹⁵.

As if to illustrate¹⁶ that point, three women emerged from somewhere in the ruined town and began shouting and chanting their support for Hezbollah.

They dug Hezbollah flags and pictures of the group's leader from the rubble¹⁷, and waved them for television cameras, as an interpreter explained what they were shouting.

"If they come back and try this again, let them know that we will be victorious¹⁸ over the Israelis," she said. "We will be victorious, and we will exterminate¹⁹ them, just like they tried to exterminate us, from this free land where they tried to exterminate us. If they try it again, we will be victorious, and we will exterminate them."

But standing²⁰ on the steps of a nearby building, the deputy mayor of the town, Abu Ali Suweidan, rebuked²¹ the women's display of fervor²².

"Tell that woman to shut her mouth up," he said. "We do not need any more talk like this."

His words are a sign that the rhetoric²³ of war is changing to pragmatism, as the cease-fire takes hold.

For more than a month, the people of southern Lebanon have repeated the same word - steadfast²⁴. They vowed²⁵ not to give up in the face of Israeli bombardment, and - in public, at least - pledged their loyalty²⁶ to Hezbollah, which has long been the de facto authority in south Lebanon. Israel began its bombardment after Hezbollah, which the State Department has designated terrorist group, captured two Israeli soldiers. The group has fired hundreds of rockets into the Jewish state from southern Lebanon.

"We hope this is the last war, and we hope the Lebanese government can extend its authority to all of Lebanon," said Abu Ali Suweidan. "That, he says, is what I am praying for."

He sat with his arm draped over the shoulder of a Hezbollah militant¹, but his words reflected the wording of the long-awaited cease-fire resolution, approved by the United Nations three days earlier.

Around him, his village lay in ruins. Building after building has been flattened²⁷ beyond recognition. There is a gaping²⁸ hole in the wall of the local mosque²⁹. The carcass of a dead donkey lies rotting by the side of the road.

"It is very sad and painful to look at my village and see all of this. I look at the enemy," he said, referring to Israel, "and I see that they probably think they have done something great."

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

5 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。

6 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

7 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

8 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

9 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

11 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

12 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

17 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。

18 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

19 exterminate   

v.扑灭，消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• Some people exterminate garden insects by spraying poison on the plants.有些人在植物上喷撒毒剂以杀死花园内的昆虫。
• Woodpeckers can exterminate insect pests hiding in trees.啄木鸟能消灭躲在树里的害虫。

20 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

21 rebuked   

责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The company was publicly rebuked for having neglected safety procedures. 公司因忽略了安全规程而受到公开批评。
• The teacher rebuked the boy for throwing paper on the floor. 老师指责这个男孩将纸丢在地板上。

22 fervor   

n.热诚；热心；炽热

参考例句：

• They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
• The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。

23 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

24 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

25 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。

26 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

27 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

28 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。