VOA常速英语2008年-Series of Explosions Shake Albanian Capital

By Stefan Bos
Budapest
15 March 2008

Albanian officials say at least four people have been killed and over 200 injured, including many children in a series of powerful explosions that rocked an army base on the outskirts¹ of the capital Tirana late Saturday. Stefan Bos reports for VOA that the explosions at a munitions² depot³ has underscored concerns over huge quantities of Stalinist-era weapons in the country.

Deadly blasts at an army base continued to shake Tirana. Television footage showed black smoke billowing from what appeared to be destroyed buildings.

Witnesses said the explosions on the outskirts of the capital were so powerful that many windows of the terminal building at the city's airport were destroyed.

 

The first explosion was so strong that was even heard in the neighboring country of Macedonia, some 150 kilometers away.

Albania's Prime Minister Sali Berisha warned that the number of casualties could rise.

There were some angry scenes with residents living nearby desperately⁴ seeking answers as police tried to protect the area. Officials said that the explosions apparently⁵ began while three teams were dismantling⁶ munitions stored at the base. Police officials ruled out terrorism as the cause of the blasts.

Albania has to dismantle⁷ its obsolete⁸ Stalinist-era arsenal⁹ and modernize¹⁰ its armed forces to qualify for an invitation to join the western military alliance NATO next month. There have also been attempts to reduce the numbers of weapons in the country, a left-over of decades of dictatorship under late leader Enver Hoxha.

At least over 100 people were reportedly at the base when the blasts occured, but it was unclear whether weapon experts of a U.S. company contracted by NATO were at the site.

The United States embassy in Tirana could not immediately confirm that there were Americans present at the depot.

In a statement the embassy said it noted¹¹ with shock and concern the reports of what it called the tragic¹² accident in the military depot near Gërdec,some 10 kilometers north of Tirana.

There were survivors¹³ however, including women and children covered with blood who rushed to hospitals. Medical personnel appealed for local people to donate blood to help the victims. Albania is an impoverished¹⁴ country, and its hospitals can hardly cope with emergencies, although church groups have been supporting improvement of outdated¹⁵ medical facilities.

Neighboring countries,including Italy are sending medical personnel and equipment to Tirana shortly after the incident.

The United Stated and France have also offered assistance.

1 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

2 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

3 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

4 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

7 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

8 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

9 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

10 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

13 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

14 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。