VOA常速英语2007年-Bhutto Murder Hits Hard in New York City's 'Lit

By Adam Phillips
New York
30 December 2007

News of the assassination¹ of Pakistani opposition² leader Bhenazir Bhutto at a political rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday was a seismic³ event in that politically volatile⁴ nation. But Bhutto's murder also reverberated⁵ powerfully in neighborhoods around the world where Pakistanis have come to live. To gauge⁶ the reaction in the United States, VOA's Adam Phillips traveled to a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, that locals call "Little Pakistan."

The mosques⁷ in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, where a majority of New York's Pakistanis live, are usually busy on Fridays. But crowds inside and outside the humble⁸ stucco structure were far larger past Friday, as community members and the media tried to make sense of Benazir Bhutto's assassination Thursday. One boy in his early teens stood off to the side of the crowd, watching.

"I heard that she got killed and hit with a bullet on her neck and her head," he said about the assassination.  "I felt really angry because Musharraf is doing bad stuff and she was about to win the election to be prime minister. And Musharraf didn't let her win it."

Ali Nawaz, a middle aged⁹ man standing¹⁰ nearby, said he feels grief, rather than anger.

"I feel bad. I feel sad. I didn't go to work last night. I drive cab. I not [don't] belong to her party, but I still feel bad what happened. She was a very intelligent, nice woman. She was famous internationally. She survived nine years. She was lucky. Now she's dead," he said.

Evidence suggests that Bhutto was killed by a suicide bomber¹¹. If so, he or she was presumably hoping to become a holy martyr¹² in the cause against her. But for Sajad, who had just finished his prayers, that assassin was deeply misguided and will pay a price in the afterlife.

"This brutal¹³ killer¹⁴, he make her a target, he is going to paradise? That's what he's thinking? Allah [is] gonna put him in the worst place because he put the country in darkness," said Sajad. "He killed democracy and prosperity and hopes of the people and he's thinking he is going to Paradise? I wish I would have been there when the bullet come into her!"

Bazah Roohi, an accountant and part-time human rights worker, is expressing her grief by setting up a candlelight vigil outside her office with photos of the fallen leader.

"Yesterday I was sleeping at 8:30, and one of my friends, he called me and he said 'I am sorry to wake you up because there is a very bad news. Benzi died.' I jumped from my bed and there on the TV was the news. About the first 15 minutes I was like [a] statue. And after that I cried a lot," said Roohi as she described her reaction to the assassination. 

"She deserves it, to cry for her," she added. "She was elected prime minister twice and you know in Islamic countries, in Pakistan, the women don't have much rights. And she fought hard. I was crying for her and I was crying for our country. I think democracy died. Because she was the big sign of democracy and she was the big leader of the big party."

"She wasn't an angel," answered Roohi, when she was told "of course, she also had her critics. When she was prime minister she got into lots of trouble for corruption¹⁵ and nepotism¹⁶." She said, "We all have some weak points in our personalities¹⁷."

Mohammad Razvi, executive director of the Council of Peoples' Organizations, a social service center for new immigrants, attributes Bhutto's enormous appeal here in Midwood to her three visits to the area - two of them in this past year.

" The people here when she came here, they were able to talk to her openly. Many individuals here if they were back home it would be too difficult to have communication or talk to her. But here, when she came, she was able to do that. It didn't matter if you were a leader or a person on the street, she'd talk to you," he said.

According to news reports, fires and looting were widespread Friday in many cities across Pakistan, and Razvi says his clients are deeply concerned for the safety of their relatives back home.

"We're telling the individuals, the members here to call up their loved ones in Pakistan to stay at home because of the riots that are breaking out and all the commotion¹⁸ that is going on. It's a difficult time for everyone," he said.

Malik Saleem Akber would agree. He is one of many Pakistani-Americans who are pessimistic about their homeland's political prospects¹⁹ following the Bhutto assassination.

"And what will happen now is [that] the path we were about to start to democracy after the elections is not going to be happening any more. There will be very strict martial²⁰ law in the country and I see the basic rights of the people will be taken away. The media will again be under pressure and we will go back another ten or fifteen years," concluded Akber.

1 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。

2 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。

3 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

4 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

5 reverberated   

回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• Her voice reverberated around the hall. 她的声音在大厅里回荡。
• The roar of guns reverberated in the valley. 炮声响彻山谷。

6 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

7 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

8 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

9 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

12 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

13 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

14 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

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。

16 nepotism   

n.任人唯亲；裙带关系

参考例句：

• The congressman lashed the president for his nepotism.国会议员抨击总统搞裙带关系。
• Many will regard his appointment as the kind of nepotism British banking ought to avoid.很多人会把他的任命看作是英国银行业应该避免的一种裙带关系。

17 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

18 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

19 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

20 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。