2007年VOA标准英语-Tamil Tiger Rebels Mount Second Air Strike in S

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
24 April 2007

In Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger rebels have mounted an air strike against a key government military base, killing¹ at least six soldiers. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, it is the second air strike by the rebels since they demonstrated their air capability² last month.

Tamil Tiger rebels say two light aircraft bombed the Palaly military base in the northern Jaffna peninsula. The Sri Lankan military says ground forces fended³ off the planes with anti-aircraft fire.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan says the pre-dawn strikes, which targeted the armory⁴ and storage facilities at the base, were successful.

"Two aircraft participated in the sortie. The pilots confirm they hit their targets, soon after they hit the store, actually the armory, they could notice the flames for a while."

Defense⁵ officials say the air strike inflicted⁶ little damage because the guerrilla aircraft turned back under fire. They say several soldiers were killed when bombs dropped on military bunkers on the frontlines.

The Palaly base is the headquarters for military operations against the rebels in the north and is a major supply base.

The air strike is the second by the rebels since last month, when they bombed an air force base just outside the capital, Colombo. The rebels are believed to have assembled about five light aircraft in jungle bases after smuggling⁷ them in pieces into the country.

Rebel spokesman Ilanthirayan says they will increasingly use air strikes in the absence of peace talks.

"We are in a condition where the government is not willing to participate in a genuine process, our doors for peace are open," he said. "So we have no way other than engaging all our military wings to stop this military operations of the Sri Lankan forces."

Reports in Colombo say government troops could be preparing for a major assault against the rebels in the north. On Monday the government asked Norway's ambassador to cancel a trip to the rebels' northern stronghold, citing security concerns.

The head of the government Peace Secretariat in Colombo, Palitha Kohona however says the government remains⁸ committed to a negotiated settlement with the rebels, also known as the LTTE.

"If the LTTE were to provoke us, or take any measures to challenge us militarily, the government will be compelled to take necessary counter measures, and we are taking those counter measures," he said.

Hopes of ending Sri Lanka's quarter-century-old ethnic⁹ conflict rose in 2002 after Norway mediated¹⁰ a ceasefire between the two sides, but the truce¹¹ is now in tatters. The rebel struggle is aimed at establishing a homeland in the north and east for the minority Tamil community.

1 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。

2 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

3 fended   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的过去式和过去分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He neatly fended off a jab at his chest. 他利落地挡开了当胸的一击。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I fended off his sword thrust with my spear. 他一刀砍来，我拿枪架住。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

5 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。

6 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

7 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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。

10 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

11 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。