VOA常速英语2007年-Explosion Kills Top Lebanese Army Commander

By Edward Yeranian
Beirut
12 December 2007

A top commander in the Lebanese Army was killed in an explosion targeting his vehicle, outside Beirut, this morning. He is the ninth top figure to be assassinated¹ since 2005 and the third in six months, as Edward Yeranian reports from Beirut.

 

A powerful explosion shredded² metal, shattered glass and threw chunks³ of concrete hundreds of yards, killing⁴ Lebanese Army Brigadier General Francois Hajj, instantly.

 

The general was the head of military operations for the Lebanese Army and had been expected by many to be the next commander of the army.

 

Hajj's vehicle was completely pulverized⁵ by the roadside blast, near the defense⁶ ministry⁷, in the affluent⁸ Beirut suburb, Ba'abda. His body was reported thrown several hundred feet from the explosion.

 

The assassination⁹ comes at a critical time in Lebanon's history. The country has been without a president for eighteen days, amid a major political crisis. The Lebanese Army has been trying to maintain a precarious¹⁰ stability.

 

Dory Chamoun - who head's Lebanon's National Liberal Party and who is close to the governing March 14 ruling coalition¹¹ - says that Hajj's assassination is an attempt to keep Lebanon in a state of chaos¹² and prevent the postponed¹³ presidential election from taking place:

 

"I think that whoever did this does not want a strong army, does not want to have presidential elections in Lebanon," he said. "They are looking to keep the situation completely in the clouds…..and put a brake on whatever is being sought by us, and the other good-willing Lebanese….to try and have presidential elections…"

Chamoun also thinks that whoever committed the crime is trying to destroy Lebanon and is most probably allied¹⁴ with the pro-Syrian opposition¹⁵.

 

"They don't want a national reconciliation¹⁶….the opposition, I mean, and their allies don't want a national reconciliation. They don't want Lebanon," he added. "They want a different kind of Lebanon, which they're seeking, maybe a divided one, maybe something that has nothing to do with the actual constitution….but it's certainly apparent to us that whoever committed this crime today is in cahoots with [working with] the rest of the opposition."

Presidential polls have been postponed eight times, in recent weeks, despite an accord between the anti-Syrian coalition and the Hezbollah-led pro-Syrian opposition, that Lebanon's Army Commander General Michel Suleiman should be the next president.

Both Hezbollah, and its top Christian¹⁷ ally, former Army Commander Michel Aoun, have been trying to extract concessions¹⁸ from the March 14 coalition over the formation of a new government, before a presidential election takes place.

 

Member of parliament Ibrahim Kena'an, who is close to General Aoun, says the slain¹⁹ officer was close to the general, amid charges from some that Aoun may have been the real target of the killing:

 

"It's a huge blow for the Lebanese stability, as this assassination is targeting the Lebanese stability through the Lebanese Army. As you know, the Lebanese Army played a major role during the past few weeks and months to keep the unity²⁰ and keep the Lebanese flag raised all over…..especially this officer, who is a remarkable²¹ officer, who was playing an instrumental role as a strategist in these battles….So it's a blow against the unity, against the stability and especially its against any possibility to bring or build bridges between the Lebanese people," said Kena'an. "I think that every officer in the Lebanese Army is actually very dear to us and to General Aoun. As you know, General Aoun was at a very critical period of the Lebanese history the commander of this army and every single officer is dear to us and especially to General Aoun."

The slain officer was the ninth top figure to be assassinated in Lebanon since the February, 2005, slaying²² of former Prime Minister Rafiq al Hariri. Members of parliament from the anti-Syrian March 14 coalition have accused Damascus of being responsible for most of those killings²³. Several have accused Syria of today's explosion, as well.

Syria denies the charges.

1 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

2 shredded   

shred的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶，再把鱼放上，就可以上桌了。
• I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

4 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。

5 pulverized   

adj.[医]雾化的，粉末状的v.将…弄碎( pulverize的过去式和过去分词 )；将…弄成粉末或尘埃；摧毁；粉碎

参考例句：

• We pulverized the opposition. 我们彻底击败了对手。
• He pulverized the opposition with the force of his oratory. 他能言善辩把对方驳得体无完肤。 来自辞典例句

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

9 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

10 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

11 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

12 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。

13 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

14 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

15 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。

16 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

17 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

18 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

19 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

20 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

21 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

22 slaying   

杀戮。

参考例句：

• The man mimed the slaying of an enemy. 此人比手划脚地表演砍死一个敌人的情况。
• He is suspected of having been an accomplice in the slaying,butthey can't pin it on him. 他有嫌疑曾参与该杀人案，但他们找不到证据来指控他。

23 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。