VOA常速英语2007-Pakistan's Bhutto Visits Father's Grave Under He

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
27 October 2007

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has visited her family's ancestral village and the grave of her father in southern Pakistan, where she was greeted by thousands of supporters. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad that security for her visit was tight following last week's deadly bombing in Karachi, but Ms. Bhutto said she was satisfied with the protection the government had provided.

Benazir Bhutto (L) looks at the grave of her father and late prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto during her visit to the village in Gahri Khuda Baksh, 27 Oct 2007

Ms. Bhutto arrived at her father's tomb in the village of Garhi Khuda Baksh in a bulletproof vehicle escorted by armed security forces.

It was her first visit to the vast mausoleum built to house the bodies of her father, grandfather and two brothers. After reading the Koran and sprinkling rose petals¹ on the graves, she said she wanted to tell her supporters that she is glad to be back.

"I want to tell them it's wonderful to be home, to see the sugar cane² fields, to see the paddy fields and to breathe the air from which I come," she said.

After spending years in exile, Ms. Bhutto returned home earlier this month through an apparent power-sharing arrangement with President Pervez Musharraf.  Since then she has become a fierce critic of the government and its handling of the deadly suicide bomb attack in Karachi on the day of her return.

She has blamed the bombing on political opponents of her father, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who lost power in a military coup³ in 1977 and was later hanged. She also has asked that U.S. and British investigators⁵ be involved in the inquiry⁶ into the Karachi attack. 

Pakistani officials have flatly denied the request, but this week the lead investigator⁴ in the case stepped down following criticism from Ms. Bhutto.

There also has been controversy⁷ over the security arrangements for political rallies in the upcoming campaign season. The former prime minister said that after days of complaints, she is now satisfied with the government's protection.

"Security arrangements have been up and down. There have been days when I have felt very insecure but as of last night, things have started falling into place and I'm satisfied with the security arrangements," she added.

Pakistani officials this week suggested political parties hold rallies at fixed⁸ locations, not rolling parades, to improve security during what is expected to be an intense campaign season. National elections are expected in early January.

1 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

3 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

4 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。