VOA标准英语2008年-Gunmen Fire on Pakistani PM Motorcade

Unidentified gunmen have fired on the motorcade of Pakistan's prime minister, but officials said he was not in his vehicle at the time of the attack. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from the Pakistani capital the shooting took place on the busy highway between Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
　
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (File)

The spokesman for Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called the shooting an assassination¹ attempt. Zahid Bashir told reporters that multiple sniper shots had been fired at the vehicle. He said by the grace of God the prime minister is safe after the assassination attempt. He said two bullets had struck the vehicle.

Television footage of the prime minister's black Mercedes showed two deep chips in the bulletproof glass of the driver's side window.

But soon after the spokesman's statement, police officials and Pakistan's Interior Secretary Kamal Shah said the prime minister was not even in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.

He said police told him that the cars were heading to the airport to pick up the prime minister when the attack occurred.

The prime minister was flying back to Islamabad from Lahore. Officials say he is now safely back in the capital.

Pakistan has a long history of political assassinations². The government has blamed Taliban and al-Qaida militants³ for killing⁴ former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December and for plotting several assassination attempts against former President Pervez Musharraf in recent years.

On Saturday, the country's parliament and four provincial⁵ assemblies are scheduled to elect Mr. Musharraf's successor.

Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, a close ally of Prime Minister Gilani, is widely expected to win the vote and become Pakistan's next president.

1 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

2 assassinations   

n.暗杀( assassination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most anarchist assassinations were bungled because of haste or spontaneity, in his view. 在他看来，无政府主义者搞的许多刺杀都没成功就是因为匆忙和自发行动。 来自辞典例句
• Assassinations by Israelis of alleged terrorists habitually kill nearby women and children. 在以色列，自称恐怖分子的炸弹自杀者杀害靠近自己的以色列妇女和儿童。 来自互联网

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 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。

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。