VOA标准英语 Sri Lanka Pledges to Stop Shelling, Air Strikes of T

The Sri Lankan government says although major combat operations against the remaining Tamil Tiger rebels have ended, a military sweep continues to bring about a total defeat of the quarter-century old insurgency¹. But the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, fighting for their own ethnic² homeland, say despite being reduced to a small sliver³ of land on the island nation's northeast coast, surrender is not an option.

Facing intense diplomatic pressure to declare a cease-fire, Sri Lanka says its military is no longer using heavy weaponry and aerial bombing against the remaining few-hundred rebels still fighting.

There is intense international concern about civilians⁴ trapped in the war zone.
　
Top UN humanitarian⁵ official John Holmes, center white shirt, speaks to internally displaced ethnic Tamil civilians during a visit to a displacement⁶ camp in Sri Lanka, 27 Apr 2009

The United Nations is calling for access to these Tamils. The world body's humanitarian chief met with Sri Lanka's president Monday after visiting displacement camps near the war zone.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa informed the U.N.'s John Holmes that combat operations against the rebels are over - a day after the military rejected a unilateral ceasefire by the LTTE.

Holmes told reporters, shortly before departing the country, he hopes reports of ongoing⁷ shelling are not true, noting that previous such commitments by the military were not honored.

"We need to see what that does mean on the ground. I hope it means that the intensity⁸ of the fighting will be very much reduced. That would give an opportunity for the population to get out safely and indeed there will not be heavy weapons used."

A statement attributed to the LTTE said military air strikes continued after the announcement and the government was deceiving the international community.

The government, the United Nations, and the Tamil rebels all cite different numbers of how many civilians remain trapped - from as low as 10,000, as the government contends, up to 150,000, the rebels' claim.
　
UN official John Holmes

Holmes says rather than debate the numbers, all parties should agree to cease hostilities⁹ and rescue the innocent.

"The key thing is; however many there are, these are people who are in mortal danger as long as the fighting goes on," said Holmes. "So we need to get them out of there as soon as possible and that is very much our objective."

The humanitarian chief, during his two-day visit, failed to win government approval for a U.N. team to enter the war zone. He says he was disappointed to be told it is not possible due to security conditions.

1 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 sliver   

n.裂片，细片，梳毛；v.纵切，切成长片，剖开

参考例句：

• There was only one sliver of light in the darkness.黑暗中只有一点零星的光亮。
• Then,one night,Monica saw a thin sliver of the moon reappear.之后的一天晚上，莫尼卡看到了一个月牙。

4 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。

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

9 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。