VOA常速英语2007年-French Riot Police Injured During Clashes in Pa

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
27 November 2007

French police have clashed with youths, outside Paris, in a second night of violence reminiscent of 2005, when rioting in immigrant-heavy suburbs near the French capital spread across the country. Lisa Bryant has more from Paris.

More than 70 riot police officers were injured during the clashes with youths, Monday night, north of Paris, according to various news reports. The youths hurled¹ objects at police, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. Authorities say the youths set fire to vehicles, several buildings and garbage cans in six suburbs, including Villiers-le-Bel, where the unrest began.

Jean-Claude Delage, a spokesman for Alliance, one of France's largest police unions, condemned² the violence.

In an interview on Radio France, Delage described pillaging³ and burning by the youths, some of whom he said carried hunting rifles. He says they simply wanted to start a riot. Another official told the Associated Press news agency the violence was more intense than similar rioting in 2005, which was considered the worst in years. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has appealed for calm.

The latest bout⁴ of unrest was touched off after a motorcycle carrying two youths collided with a police vehicle in Villiers-le-Bel Sunday, killing⁵ the youths. A French state prosecutor⁶ has ordered an internal police investigation⁷, but says witnesses have confirmed the police version of events - that the motorcycle slammed into the police car. The youths were not wearing helmets.

The father of one of the victims, 15-year-old Mouchin Sehouli, questions the police version.

Sehouli told France-Info radio one of his sons told him about the death of his son, Mouchin. He went to the local firehouse and found him dead on the floor. He wonders why the authorities had not been the first to let him know.

This week's riots carry all the same explosive ingredients as those that touched off the 2005 violence, at almost the same time in the year: the accidental death of two teenagers, anger at police and simmering unrest in low-income suburbs. The former center-right government vowed⁸ to improve conditions for people living in them - many of them ethnic⁹ immigrants - but critics say authorities have not done enough.

1 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 pillaging   

v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The rebels went looting and pillaging. 叛乱者趁火打劫，掠夺财物。
• Soldiers went on a rampage, pillaging stores and shooting. 士兵们横冲直撞，洗劫商店并且开枪射击。 来自辞典例句

4 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

5 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。

6 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 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。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。