2007年VOA标准英语-Lebanese Shi'ites Mark Ashura Amid Tight Securi

By Challiss McDonough
Nabatiyeh, Lebanon
30 January 2007

Shi'ite Muslims around the world Tuesday held ritual celebrations marking the holy day known as Ashura, which commemorates¹ the death of Muhammad's grandson. The Shi'ite ceremonies in Lebanon followed clashes between Sunnis and Shi'ites that killed at least seven people last week. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough attended the ceremonies in Nabatiyeh, Lebanon.

Thousands of men and boys paraded through the streets of Nabatiyeh, rhythmically² beating their chests and heads as they chanted Shi'ite prayers.

 
Lebanese Shiite Muslim men walk while their heads bleed after being cut with a sword during Ashura in Nabatiyeh, 30 Jan 2007 
Many had blood streaming down their faces, staining their special white garments a crimson³ red. Inside the mosque⁴, men with razor blades were tapping them on the heads with practiced precision. Some of the children were too young to walk, and went through the procedure in the arms of their parents, who encouraged them not to cry. The floor was slippery with water and blood.

Volunteers from the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies milled around in the crowd, carrying stretchers for anyone who might be overcome. Temporary medical clinics were set up in tents outside.

Ashura commemorates the death of the grandson of Muhammad, Imam Hussein, who was killed by the Sunni Caliph Yazid in the Battle of Karbala in the year 680. Hussein and his father, Imam Ali, are especially revered⁵ by Shi'ite Muslims, and the painful rituals of Ashura are meant to remind them of Hussein's courage and sacrifice.

This year, the Ashura commemorations took on special significance for some, and security was unusually tight around the processions in Lebanon, following last week's deadly clashes between mainly Sunni government supporters and mainly Shi'ite opposition⁶ members.

During the ceremonies, columns of soldiers in riot gear lined the roads around the mosque, and others carrying assault rifles stood guard outside the area where the commemorations were taking place.

A teenager named Mohammad and two of his friends said the ongoing⁷ political and sectarian tension was the reason the crowd was unusually large this year.

"This year is more than last year," he said.

"More, yes, more people. Because the situation in Lebanon is ... is difficult," his friend said.

 
Shiite Muslim man beat their chests while shouting pro-Imam Hussein slogans during Ashura in suburbs of Beirut, 30 Jan 2007
In Beirut, a massive crowd of mainly Hezbollah supporters marched through the streets of the southern suburbs to mark the holy day. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made his third public speech in as many days, responding to recent criticism leveled at his group by U.S. President George Bush.

Mr. Bush on Monday accused Hezbollah and its allies in Syria and Iran of deliberately⁸ causing chaos⁹ and violence in Lebanon in an effort to topple the government.

Nasrallah turned that accusation¹⁰ around, accusing President Bush of trying to spark civil wars in the Middle East. He said he would wear the U.S. leader's condemnation¹¹ with pride.

 
Hassan Nasrallah (file photo)
"When the greatest Satan declares his enmity and his war against us, this is a great honor of which we are proud," he said. "This is evidence of our originality¹², independence, dignity and patriotism¹³, because the Americans do not declare the war on their collaborators, their tools or their slaves."

But analysts¹⁴ say the group is wagering¹⁵ much of its political capital on its anti-government protests, which have now dragged on for nearly two months - with no results.

Timur Goksel is a former longtime U.N. spokesman in Lebanon who now teaches at the American University in Beirut. He says it is clear the sectarian fighting last week rattled¹⁶ everyone, on both sides, including the leaders of Hezbollah.

"I think they all, they are all ready to back out, and I think they actually did back out from this street confrontation," he said. "Because now they know they cannot control it. I mean, can you imagine how expensive this would be for Hezbollah to get involved in a situation like this? There is already a lot of complaint in the Shia ranks, 'What are we doing?'"

Back in Nabatiyeh, men marched through the streets beating drums and waving banners, including the Iraqi flag.

Mohammad and his friends were convinced that there would be no civil war - but mainly because they think their rivals on the government side do not have the courage to fight. If there is a war, they believe that Hezbollah will win, hands down.

"We are strong. We are very strong. In the end, we are the winners. Yes! We can kill him anytime, [whenever] we want, any time. We are strong, yes," they said.

They derisively¹⁷ call Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and his supporters chickens.

 
Two Lebanese pro-government supporters, extinguish a burning car after confrontations¹⁸ erupt between government and opposition supporters in Beirut, 25 Jan 2007
But Goksel says some in Hezbollah were surprised at the ferocity with which the government supporters, known as the March 14 Movement, fought back when things turned violent last week.

"Actually March 14 surprised them a bit," he said. "They surprised them, also on Tuesday they surprised them a bit. Until that moment Hezbollah thought that, given their overwhelming power, in militia¹⁹ terms, that they were not challengeable. Because Hezbollah is very wary²⁰ about escalating²¹ this, you know."

He says Hezbollah bases its internal legitimacy²² on presenting itself as an Islamic resistance movement, fighting Lebanon's external enemies, mainly Israel. But as a domestic political party, he says, the group cannot afford to squander²³ its political capital by participating in what he calls stupid street fights against other Lebanese.

1 commemorates   

n.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A tombstone is erected in memory of whoever it commemorates. 墓碑是为纪念它所纪念的人而建的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A tablet commemorates his patriotic activities. 碑文铭记他的爱国行动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 rhythmically   

adv.有节奏地

参考例句：

• A pigeon strutted along the roof, cooing rhythmically. 一只鸽子沿着屋顶大摇大摆地走，有节奏地咕咕叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Exposures of rhythmically banded protore are common in the workings. 在工作面中常见有韵律条带“原矿石”。 来自辞典例句

3 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

4 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。

5 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 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。

8 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

11 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

12 originality   

n.创造力，独创性；新颖

参考例句：

• The name of the game in pop music is originality.流行音乐的本质是独创性。
• He displayed an originality amounting almost to genius.他显示出近乎天才的创造性。

13 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

14 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。

15 wagering   

v.在（某物）上赌钱，打赌( wager的现在分词 )；保证，担保

参考例句：

• Generally, wagering contracts are illegal and will not be enforced. 通常情况下，赌博性合同是无效的并且不能执行。 来自互联网

16 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

17 derisively   

adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地

参考例句：

• This answer came derisively from several places at the same instant. 好几个人都不约而同地以讥讽的口吻作出回答。
• The others laughed derisively. 其余的人不以为然地笑了起来。

18 confrontations   

n.对抗，对抗的事物( confrontation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At times, this potential has escalated into actual confrontations. 有时，这一矛盾升级为实际的对抗。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• These confrontations and uncertainties were bing played out for the first time on a global scale. 所有这一切对抗和不稳定，第一次在全球范围内得到充分的表演。 来自辞典例句

19 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。

20 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

21 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

22 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

23 squander   

v.浪费，挥霍

参考例句：

• Don't squander your time in reading those dime novels.不要把你的时间浪费在读那些胡编乱造的廉价小说上。
• Every chance is precious，so don't squander any chance away!每次机会都很宝贵，所以不要将任何一个白白放走。