VOA标准英语2008年-Islamic Leaders In Davos Discuss Terrorism

By Barry Wood
Davos
24 January 2008

Leaders from Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan Thursday discussed ways to combat terrorism, particularly the scourge¹ of suicide bombings.  VOA's Barry Wood reports from Davos that the leaders agreed that an economic downturn can breed political turmoil².

Afghan President Hamid Karzai rejected the notion that there is a link between religion and the wave of suicide bombings in his part of the world.  Rather, he said, suicide bombings are criminal activities that must be vigorously combated.

"It has actually become a business, unfortunately, in certain cases," Karzai said. "For all of us. They use drug addicts³. They use people who are terminally ill and very, very poor. They go to the family and say they need the man, who's going to die anyway. We'll pay you a certain amount of money. And he will be blown up and he will go to heaven."

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih presented a different perspective.  He said the there is a religious component⁴ to terrorism.

"As a Muslim I would say there are efforts by extremists to hijack⁵ my religion," Salih said. "My understanding of Islam is that of tolerance⁶, that of peace, respect for human life and dignity. Yet there are people who justify⁷ slaughtering⁸ innocent people in the name of Islam and in the name of Allah. Definitely, there is a need for reforming the religious establishment and making sure that the religious establishment throughout the Islamic world will stand up (against suicide bombings)."

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, now a U.S. ally in the war on extremist groups, has often been accused by Mr. Karzai of not doing enough to shut down sanctuaries⁹ for Taliban fighters in Pakistan's tribal¹⁰ region along the border with Afghanistan. He rejected that criticism, blaming the spread of terrorism on poverty.

"In the long-term we need to address poverty and illiteracy¹¹ and that is what we are doing," Musharraf said. "And that is why I say, let us concentrate on the economic uplift of the country and the welfare and well being of the people."

The Pakistani president is attending the conference in Davos as well, as part of a European tour seeking to reassure¹² the West that he is in control of his country after months of political instability and increased attacks by Islamic extremists.

Forum¹³ participants voiced skepticism about Mr. Musharraf's commitment to democracy and human rights.

But, he said Pakistan should not be held to the same high standards prevalent in European societies that have had centuries to build up their democratic traditions.

1 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

2 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。

3 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

4 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

5 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

6 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

7 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

8 slaughtering   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The Revolutionary Tribunal went to work, and a steady slaughtering began. 革命法庭投入工作，持续不断的大屠杀开始了。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• \"Isn't it terrific slaughtering pigs? “宰猪的！ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

9 sanctuaries   

n.避难所( sanctuary的名词复数 )；庇护；圣所；庇护所

参考例句：

• The designation of special marine reserves and marine sanctuaries shall be subject to the State Council for approval. 海洋特别保护区、海上自然保护区的确定，须经国务院批准。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After 1965 he acquiesced when they established sanctuaries on that soil. 1965年以后，他默认了他们在那块土地上建立庇护所。 来自辞典例句

10 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

11 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。

12 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

13 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。