VOA标准英语2009年-Italy Working to Free Citizens Kidnapp

The abduction follows the kidnapping of three Spanish aid workers last month.

Scott Stearns | Dakra 20 December 2009

 
Photo: CIA World Factbook
 

Italy's foreign ministry¹ says it is working through all political and diplomatic channels to secure the release of Sergio Cicala and his wife Philomene Kabouree.

Mauritanian security forces found their abandoned vehicle full of bullet holes near the eastern border with Mali this past week in an area known to be used by the Algerian-based terrorist group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

That group claims responsibility for last month's kidnapping of three Spanish aid workers in Mauritania. It also says it was behind June's killing³ of an American teacher in the capital because he was allegedly trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.

The al-Qaida-affiliated group was responsible for last December's kidnapping of Canadian diplomat² Robert Fowler and his aide Louis Guay in Niger as well as the abduction of four European tourists returning from a nomadic⁴ cultural festival last January. One of those tourists was killed.

Spain, France, and the NATO alliance are all working with Mauritania's government to improve its fight against terrorism.

In this latest apparent kidnapping, Cicala's daughter Alexia told Italian television that her father and his second wife live in Sicily and were traveling to Burkina Faso to visit Kabouree's 12-year-old son. Cicala urged Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini to move quickly to establish contact with the kidnappers⁵.

A foreign ministry statement is calling for media discretion⁶ "to guarantee the safety of the hostages."

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is a Sunni organization which was formerly⁷ known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. It began as an insurrection against Algeria's secular⁸ military rulers after they canceled parliamentary elections in 1992 when it appeared a coalition⁹ of Islamist groups might take power.

It has since expanded and aligned¹⁰ itself with the broader al-Qaida terrorist network, claiming responsibility for suicide bombings in Algeria last year and the kidnapping of two Austrian tourists in Tunisia who were later freed in Mali.

It is considered a terrorist group by both the U.S. State Department and the European Union.
 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

5 kidnappers   

n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were freed yesterday by their kidnappers unharmed. 他们昨天被绑架者释放了，没有受到伤害。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The kidnappers had threatened to behead all four unless their jailed comrades were released. 帮匪们曾经威胁说如果印度方面不释放他们的同伙，他们就要将这四名人质全部斩首。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

7 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

8 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。