VOA常速英语2007年-Pakistan Tightens Security to Thwart Violence a

By Ayaz Gul
Islamabad
28 December 2007

Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered to at the family graveyard¹ where former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was being laid to rest. Authorities in Pakistan have beefed up security around the country as supporters of the assassinated² politician have torched train stations, buildings and vehicles in several cities to protest her killing³. From Islamabad, Ayaz Gul reports.

Benazir Bhutto was buried Friday afternoon next to her father, also a former prime minister of Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of mourners surrounded the graveyard near her family's home in Sindh province, in southern Pakistan.

Despite displays of anger and grief, the crowd was largely peaceful during the funeral prayers. However, there have been riots and protests around the country, as Ms. Bhutto's supporters show their anger at her assassination⁴ on Thursday.

Officials in Sindh confirm that security forces have been ordered to shoot violent protesters on sight. Major Asad Ali is the spokesman for the Rangers⁵ - the paramilitary force in the region.

"Sindh Rangers have been given the orders to shoot to kill those who are damaging the government property and those who are torturing the citizens and those who are setting ablaze⁶ vehicles, petrol pumps and shops," he explained.

Several deaths were reported in the violence. News reports say protesters in several locations attacked the offices of the allies of President Pervez Musharraf. Some of Ms. Bhutto's supporters blame him for her death, saying the government did not provide enough security.

Her assassination has plunged⁷ Pakistan into the worst turmoil⁸ of the country's 60-year history.

Authorities have yet to determine the motives⁹ or identify the assassin who shot Ms. Bhutto as she left an election rally after delivering a speech to thousands of her supporters.

President Musharraf has condemned¹⁰ the killing and has declared three days of national mourning.

There are fears elections scheduled for January could be canceled because of Ms. Bhutto's assassination and the decision of another opposition¹¹ leader, Nawaz Sharif, to boycott¹² the vote.

But Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro dismissed those fears, saying the government has no immediate¹³ plan to postpone¹⁴ the polls.

Ms. Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, and her three children arrived early in the day from Dubai to attend the funeral.

Ms. Bhutto, the daughter of the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had served twice as the country's prime minister. She had spent the past several years in exile after she had been charged with corruption¹⁵, and returned two months ago to campaign in next months' election.

1 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

2 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

3 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。

4 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。

5 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

6 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

7 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

8 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

9 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

10 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。

11 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。

12 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

15 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。