VOA标准英语2009年-London Urges Release of British Hostages i

On the second anniversary of the abduction of five Britons in Baghdad, their families remain hopeful they will be released. The British government has renewed its call for the men to be set free.

Dealing¹ with two years of uncertainty² has been incredibly stressful for the loved ones of the five Britons abducted³ in the Finance Ministry⁴ building by a group calling itself the Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq.

Pauline Sweeney is the stepmother of computer consultant⁵ Peter Moore who was taken at gunpoint along with his four British bodyguards⁶.

Interviewed on the BBC, Mrs. Sweeney said the latest hostage video released in March has given her hope.

"He looked a lot, lot healthier, a lot better than the first video which was very distressing⁷. All the way through the video he spoke⁸ in the plural⁹ which all the videos have been in the singular in the past which made us think that probably they are all together now, which is wonderful as far as I am concerned because they will all be there bullying¹⁰ each other along," she said.

A number of the hostages have children. Caroline is the sister-in-law of one of the men. She says not seeing the kids grow up is one of the toughest parts of the separation the families are enduring.

"I know that the biggest thing for him will be being away from his family. What I feel is that he has spent two years and he has missed two years of his children's lives," she said.

Ross is the brother of another hostage. His message to the captors is simple.

"Just secure their safe release, unconditional¹¹ release. Let them come back home to their families," he pleaded.
　
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband (File)

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says the Iraq of today is very different to the one of two years ago. On the anniversary, he maintains Britain is totally committed to securing the release of the men.

British combat forces will be gone from the country by the end of July and some observers say a changing climate in Iraq may make a release now more likely than in the past. But a fresh wave of bombings may have pushed that optimistic assessment¹² back a bit.

As for David Miliband, he says hostage-taking has no place in Iraq's future and he calls for those holding the men to release them immediately.

1 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

4 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。

5 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

6 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

7 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

10 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 unconditional   

adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的

参考例句：

• The victorious army demanded unconditional surrender.胜方要求敌人无条件投降。
• My love for all my children is unconditional.我对自己所有孩子的爱都是无条件的。

12 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？