2007年VOA标准英语-Another Bloody Attack in Iraq as US Military Fu

By Michael Bowman
Washington
08 April 2007

The fierce debate in Washington over funding U.S. troops in Iraq continues. Meanwhile, a car bomb attack has killed 17 people and wounded 26 near a health clinic and mosque¹ south of Baghdad, U.S. military announced 10 soldier deaths, and multi-national forces report the capture of a senior al-Qaida leader linked to deadly vehicle bombings, as well as two other suspects, during a raid in Baghdad. VOA's Michael Bowman reports.

One week before the Pentagon says it will run short of money to continue military operations in Iraq, a stand-off continues between the White House and the opposition-controlled Congress over funding for the troops.

Democrats², like the Chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, Carl Levin, want to provide the money, but with a major condition attached.

"We are not going to vote to cut [off] funding, period. But what we should do, and what we are going to do, is continue to press the president to put some pressure on the Iraqi leaders to reach a political settlement," he said.

Levin spoke³ on ABC's This Week television program.

Both houses of the Democratically-controlled Congress have passed emergency spending bills that provide money to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but set dates for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. President Bush says he will veto any bill that sets a timetable for a troop pullout, which he maintains would assure defeat in Iraq and embolden⁴ terrorists across the globe.

"For our troops, the clock is ticking. If the Democrats continue to insist on making a political statement, they should send me their bill as soon as possible," said Mr. Bush, repeating the message in his weekly radio address Saturday. "I will veto it, and then Congress can go to work on a good bill that gives our troops the funds they need, without strings⁵ and without further delay."

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A man stands among the carnage after a pickup truck loaded with artillery shells exploded in the town of Mahmoudiyah, Iraq, 08 Apr 2007

But Democrats, like New York Senator Charles Schumer, are standing⁸ firm.

"The President's view is [that] the only way you can support the troops is [to] do exactly what he wants," he said. "That is not what we will do. Should he veto this bill, which means that he will be vetoing the money for the troops, we will try to come up with a way that both supports the troops and yet changes the [U.S.] strategy in Iraq."

Some Democratic leaders have gone even further in responding to the presidential veto threat, pressing for legislation that would actually stop funding most forms of military operations in Iraq.

But that would be a mistake, according to many Republicans, as well as independent-Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman:

"The fact is, we are there [in Iraq], and unless one decides there is no hope of victory and therefore we should just pick up and get out, it would be a disaster not to try to win this. And why? Because if we lose it [Iraq], this will become a base for al-Qaida, the same al-Qaida that attacked us, that began the war on terrorism," he said.

The United States is bolstering⁹ its military presence in Baghdad and one of Iraq's violence-wracked provinces. U.S. military officials as well as President Bush say the troop surge is showing some early signs of curbing¹⁰ civil strife¹¹ in Iraq, an assertion contested by many Democrats.

1 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine,he went over to introduce himself to her.他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。

5 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

6 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

7 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

8 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。

9 bolstering   

v.支持( bolster的现在分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• Why should Donahue's people concern themselves with bolstering your image? 唐纳休的人为什么要费心维护你的形象？ 来自辞典例句
• He needed bolstering and support. 他需要别人助他一臂之力。 来自辞典例句

10 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

11 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。