VOA标准英语2008年-Blast Kills at Least 8 Near Danish Embassy in P

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
02 June 2008

A large car bomb blast outside the Danish embassy in Pakistan's capital has killed at least 8 people and wounded dozens of others. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports on the attack in an upscale Islamabad neighborhood.
　

Police and reporters gather outside Danish embassy following bomb blast, 02 Jun 2008

Witnesses say a car parked just outside the embassy gates detonated in the early afternoon, tearing through the outer security walls, wrecking¹ nearby vehicles and demolishing² security posts of the Danish mission. The blast littered the suburban³ street with debris⁴ and left a one-meter-deep crater⁵ in the asphalt.

The main embassy building was largely intact, but a United Nation's-funded office across the street from the embassy sustained significant damage. Police say most of the casualties appeared to be Pakistani police and private security guards posted outside of the compounds.

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller immediately condemned⁶ the blast. He told Danish media that the embassy attack targeted the cooperation between Denmark and Pakistan.

Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir visited the scene and vowed⁷ to boost security around foreign missions.

"I think the Pakistani nation feels very ashamed today as incidents such as these certainly damage the fair image of my country," he said.
　

Police investigator8 inspects crater from Monday's bomb blast near Danish embassy, 02 Jun 2008

Cartoons published in Danish newspapers in 2005 that satirized⁹ the Prophet Muhammad provoked widespread protests in Pakistan and other Muslim countries. Danish newspapers reprinted the cartoons in February. In April, Danish embassies in Muslim countries increased security because of concerns about another backlash.

South of Islamabad, in Multan, about 200 Islamic students were protesting the cartoons when they learned of Monday's blast. The demonstrators praised attack, shouting "God is great."
　

Police and bomb investigators10 at scene of attack, 02 Jun 2008

The blast was the second targeting foreigners in Islamabad. In March, a blast at an Italian restaurant in the city killed one foreigner and wounded several others. The Danish mission is located in a wealthy area of Islamabad that includes diplomat¹¹ residences and foreign organizations. Many other large diplomatic missions, including the American Embassy, are located in a gated, high-security area of the city, several kilometers away from Monday's blast.

1 wrecking   

破坏

参考例句：

• He teed off on his son for wrecking the car. 他严厉训斥他儿子毁坏了汽车。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Instead of wrecking the valley, the waters are put to use making electricity. 现在河水不但不在流域内肆疟，反而被人们用来生产电力。 来自辞典例句

2 demolishing   

v.摧毁( demolish的现在分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings. 这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。 来自《用法词典》
• Conventional demolishing work would have caused considerable interruptions in traffic. 如果采用一般的拆除方法就要引起交通的严重中断。 来自辞典例句

3 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

8 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

9 satirized   

v.讽刺，讥讽( satirize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• How could he stand being satirized by you like this? 你这么讽刺他，他怎么能搁得住。 来自互联网
• The essay bitterly satirized some unhealthy tendencies in society. 这篇杂文辛辣地讽刺了社会上的一些不良现象。 来自互联网

10 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。