VOA常速英语2007年-Funeral Held for Murdered Nepalese Journalist

By Liam Cochrane
Kathmandu
09 November 2007

A journalist who was murdered by Maoists a month ago but remained missing until yesterday has been cremated¹ in southern Nepal. Before the funeral there were angry scenes as mourners tried to burn down the house of one of his accused killers². Liam Cochrane reports from Kathmandu.

More than 3,000 mourners joined the family of murdered reporter Birendra Shah on Friday to pay their last respects. The emotional ceremony was held in Bara district, 100 kilometers south of Kathmandu.

Shah's nine-year-old son Bibek lit the funeral pyre saying he wanted to become a journalist just like his father.

Earlier in the day, armed police had to stop an angry crowd from burning down the house of one of his accused killers, Lal Bahadur Chaudary.

Birendra Shah was abducted³ by Maoists a month ago after he exposed their illegal logging deals. His fate was unknown until last week, when a committee of Maoists reported that three of their members had taken Shah into a forest and shot him on the same day he was abducted.

Shah's decomposing⁴ body was found on Thursday buried in swampy⁵ forest, along with his press card, spectacles and a pen. It was positively⁶ identified by family members.

There has been no formal apology from the former rebels and the three men suspected of the murder remain at large.

"These three people who have been now identified as the people responsible for the murder of B.S. are still absconding," said R.B. Khatry, the executive director of the Federation⁷ of Nepalese Journalists. "The government says it doesn't know where they are, the Maoist organization say it doesn't know where they are. But we believe that those three guys are under protection or in contact of the Maoist leader."

The federation has called on the Maoists to hand over those responsible to the police.

The journalist union also believes the government knew the fate of Shah much earlier, but concealed⁸ the information.

They are considering further protest action.

During Nepal's decade-long civil war, 18 journalists were killed, but Shah's murder is the first since the Maoists signed a peace deal last year and joined an interim⁹ government.

1 cremated   

v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句

2 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

3 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

4 decomposing   

腐烂( decompose的现在分词 )； （使）分解； 分解（某物质、光线等）

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the overpowering stench of decomposing vegetation. 空气中充满了令人难以忍受的腐烂植物的恶臭。
• Heat was obtained from decomposing manures and hot air flues. 靠肥料分解和烟道为植物提供热量。

5 swampy   

adj.沼泽的，湿地的

参考例句：

• Malaria is still rampant in some swampy regions.疟疾在一些沼泽地区仍很猖獗。
• An ox as grazing in a swampy meadow.一头牛在一块泥泞的草地上吃草。

6 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

9 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。