VOA标准英语2009年-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan Border Closed After

The border between the Central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan has been closed amid indications of shooting and explosions on the Uzbek side.

Kyrgyz officials say Uzbekistan has closed its border with Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz and Russian media are also reporting gunfire on the Uzbek side of the frontier and the deputy chief of the Kyrgyz Border Patrol, Colonel Cholponbek Turuzbekov, told VOA there were two explosions in the town of Khanabad.

Turuzbekov says the blasts occurred at about 2 in the morning Tuesday near the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. He says the developments prompted Uzbek forces along the border to step up security, which involves tighter control of vehicular and pedestrian traffic in both directions. Turuzbekov notes only known residents of local border enclaves have been allowed to cross.

The official says initial reports to the Border Patrol indicate the explosions resulted in injuries, but no fatalities¹. He characterizes the situation as relatively² stable, but says Kyrgyzstan increased security measures along its southern border at noon on Tuesday. Turuzbekov says he is not aware of any increased troop presence or armored vehicles on the Uzbek side. However, some news reports quote local residents as saying tanks have appeared in the streets of Khanabad.

The violence is the latest being reported from Central Asia's Fergana Valley, an ethnically⁴ diverse region that was divided during the Soviet⁵ era among Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Ethnic³ tensions erupted in the valley in the final years of the USSR. Four years ago, a protest against the Uzbek government in the city of Andijan resulted in a massacre⁶. Uzbek authorities say 187 people were killed, but international human rights groups put the death toll⁷ much higher, and blame the authoritarian⁸ government of President Islam Karimov of indiscriminately shooting protesters.

1 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 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。

4 ethnically   

adv.人种上，民族上

参考例句：

• Ethnically, the Yuan Empire comprised most of modern China's ethnic groups. 元朝的民族成分包括现今中国绝大多数民族。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• Russia is ethnically relatively homogeneous. 俄罗斯是个民族成分相对单一的国家。 来自辞典例句

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

7 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

8 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。