VOA标准英语10月-Three Shot Dead in Afghan Capital

Afghan police say the two top officials of an international shipping¹ company and one of their security guards were shot dead Saturday in front of their office in Kabul. VOA correspondent Steve Herman reports from the Afghan capital the killings³ are the latest in a series of attacks on foreign nationals there.
　

General Mirza Mohammad Yarmand (l), director of Interior Ministry4's Criminal Investigation5 Dept. at scene of DHL shooting in Kabul, Afghanistan, 25 Oct 2008

Afghan officials say the two Westerners were gunned down as they sat in a vehicle in front of the German-owned freight company DHL.

On the scene, General Mirza Mohammad Yarmand, the director of the Interior Ministry's criminal investigation department, told reporters the shots were fired from inside the DHL office.

General Yarmand says one of the guards at the DHL facility fired at the vehicle, killing² the two foreign company officials and their Afghan bodyguard⁶. He says a motive⁷ has not been established.

The DHL office is located at a busy intersection⁸ across from the Iranian Embassy, in an upscale section of Kabul.

Police and diplomats⁹ say the two DHL officials - the country director and deputy director -- were from Britain and South Africa.

Officials of Saladin, a British-based private security company confirmed to VOA News that the Afghan guard who died was employed by them.

Authorities say two other Afghans, standing¹⁰ outside the DHL office, were wounded in the shooting.
　

Evidence, including bullet casings, recovered from inside DHL office following fatal shooting in Kabul, Afghanistan, 25 Oct 2008

Police detained 13 people, including DHL employees and guards. Interior Ministry officials say they are questioning them to determine whether the shooting stemmed from an "internal dispute" or outsiders were involved.

The latest violence comes less than a week after the shooting death of Gayle Williams, a British-South African national working for a Christian¹¹ charity in Kabul. Taliban insurgents¹² claimed they attacked the young woman because her British organization, SERVE Afghanistan, was spreading Christianity.

The charity denied it was proselytizing¹³ but decided¹⁴ to close its operation in the country following the killing.

Security has deteriorated¹⁵ in the capital and many parts of the country. Taliban insurgents and criminal gangs are blamed for a recent wave of killings and kidnappings targeting Afghans and foreigners.

Afghan authorities say several foreigners have been abducted¹⁶ in the past few days in the country. Among them are two Bangladeshi development workers in Ghazni province and two Turkish engineers hired to erect¹⁷ a communications tower near the Pakistani border in Khost province.

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 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。

3 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

7 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

8 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

9 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

13 proselytizing   

v.（使）改变宗教信仰[政治信仰、意见等]，使变节( proselytize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

16 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

17 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。