VOA标准英语2008年-Two Buses Hit in Latest Deadly Attacks in Sri L

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
06 June 2008

At least 21 people died and more than 50 were wounded when a blast tore through a suburban¹ Colombo commuter² bus during the Friday morning rush hour. An explosion on another bus in central Sri Lanka later in the day killed two people and injured 20 others. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from our South Asia bureau in New Delhi.
　

Medical staff push a trolley3 carrying an injured survivor4 of a bus explosion, at a hospital in Kalubowila, close to Colombo, Sri Lanka, 06 Jun 2008

In the latest in a series of attacks blamed on Tamil rebels, public bus commuters have become the latest victims. Tight security and increased vigilance by citizens in the Colombo area failed to prevent a blast that destroyed a bus packed with office workers, passing through the suburb of Moratuwa.

Army Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara says there is little doubt that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are responsible.

"Once again, the LTTE have proven they are cruel and barbaric terrorists," he said. "A Claymore mine was hidden on the side of the road and activated⁵, most probably, through a remote control device."

The military spokesman also tells VOA News that an un-detonated Claymore mine was found near the site of Friday morning's bus explosion, preventing a second terrorist attack.

Just under nine hours later, a bus several kilometers outside the ancient capital of Kandy, in central Sri Lanka, was hit by a blast. The defense⁶ ministry⁷ says a bomb exploded inside the bus as it was passing near a national college of education.

A blast on Wednesday, targeting a passenger train, wounded 18 passengers and bystanders. A similar rail explosion last month near Colombo killed

eight people.

Brigadier Nanayakkara says the motive⁸ of the Tamil Tigers for carrying out an increasing number of attacks in the capital region, which had been relatively⁹ peaceful, is obvious.

"It's clearly striving to disrupt the day-to-day lives and bringing down the morale¹⁰ of the general public in the peaceful Colombo and the suburb area," he said.

The rebels have been fighting for a quarter century to obtain an independent homeland for the minority Tamils.

Violence has escalated¹¹ since the government withdrew in January from an oft-violated cease-fire accord. The military, since then, has waged a campaign to capture rebel-held territory on the north of the island, vowing¹² to crush the Tamil Tigers by the end of the year.

The Sri Lankan capital is scheduled, at the end of July, to host the annual summit of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation. The gathering¹³ will bring numerous heads of

government to Colombo. The government is giving assurances that extraordinary security will be in place to ensure the safety of the dignitaries.

1 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。

2 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

3 trolley   

n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车

参考例句：

• The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。
• In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆，书籍是放在台车上搬动的。

4 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

5 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 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。

8 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。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

11 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

12 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

13 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。