2007年VOA标准英语-Hamas Rocket Kills One Israeli, New Air Strikes

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
27 May 2007

Israel has promised a harsh response to a deadly Palestinian rocket attack.  Late Sunday Israel has carried out a new round of air strikes against Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip are continuing as both sides reject calls for a ceasefire.

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Israeli rescue workers are seen next to a car hit by a Qassam rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, 27 May 2007

Palestinian rockets fired from the Gaza Strip crashed into the battered³ Israeli border town of Sderot. The Islamic militant¹ group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, in which a 36-year-old Israeli man was killed when his car took a direct hit. He was the second Israeli fatality⁴ in the past two weeks, during which time Palestinian militants have fired more than 230 rockets at Israel.

The attack brought a stern warning from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

"There is no immunity⁵ for anyone involved in terror," Mr. Olmert said, hinting that the leaders of Hamas could be targeted. "We will decide when, how and to what extent we will act," he said.

Mr. Olmert spoke⁶ hours after Israel launched a fresh wave of air strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza. About 50 Palestinians, most of them militants, have been killed in the raids which began 12 days ago.

Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who shares power in a coalition⁷ government led by Hamas, is trying to end the violence. "The President is working hard on achieving a ceasefire, a mutual⁸ ceasefire. And we hope in the coming 48 hours we can reach results," said his spokesman Nabil Abu Redeineh.

Hamas says it is absurd to talk about a truce⁹ while Israeli air strikes continue. And in the wake of the deadly rocket attack, Israel's offensive shows no sign of letting up.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

3 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

4 fatality   

n.不幸，灾祸，天命

参考例句：

• She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
• He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。

5 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

6 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。

7 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。

8 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

9 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。