VOA标准英语2009年-Israel Seizes Ship Loaded With Weapons

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
04 November 2009

Israel says it has seized an arms shipment on the high seas and it is pointing a finger at Iran.

Israeli naval¹ commandos stormed onto a ship loaded with weapons near Cyprus and took it to Israel's southern port of Ashdod. The vessel² was flying an Antiguan flag and disguised as an aid ship. The military says 54 metric tons of weapons were on board, including missiles, anti-tank weapons and mortars³. Israeli military officials say the weapons were from Iran and the shipment was destined⁴ for the Islamic guerrilla group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iranian officials had no immediate⁵ comment on the allegations.

 
Shaul Mofaz (file photo)
Shaul Mofaz, an Israeli parliamentarian and former army chief of staff, says a radical⁶ axis⁷ of Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant⁸ group Hamas in Gaza are trying to destabilize the Middle East.

Mofaz told Israel Radio that the ship was carrying weapons with one intention: to harm Israeli civilians⁹.

During the month-long Lebanon War in 2006, Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets across the border at Israel. Now, Israel says Iran and Syria are rearming Hezbollah in violation¹⁰ of a United Nations ceasefire resolution.

Mofaz said it is clear that Hezbollah is arming and preparing for the next war.

The interception¹¹ of the ship comes amid growing tensions between Israel and Iran over Teheran's nuclear program. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes, but its president has threatened to wipe the Jewish state "off the map"; and Israel has threatened to launch a pre-emptive strike to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Israeli officials say the capture of the ship is a message to Iran that Israel is prepared to take unconventional steps to defend itself.

1 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

4 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

7 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

8 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

11 interception   

n.拦截；截击；截取；截住，截断；窃听

参考例句：

• Aerial photography can provide valuable information on precipitation, evapotraspiration, interception, and runoff. 航空摄影可提供有关降水量、蒸发蒸腾量、入渗和径流量的有价值的资料。
• Light interception and distribution in hedgerow orchards with different alleyway widths is indicated in Fig. 56. 图56显示篱壁果园不同行间宽度的光能截取和分配的情况。