VOA标准英语2009-US Envoy Says Pakistanis Turning Against Tal

A suicide bomber¹ killed at least 32 people at a mosque² in northwestern Pakistan on Friday just hours before top U.S. envoy³ Richard Holbrooke declared the Pakistani mood has turned decidedly against Islamic extremism.
　
Top U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke in Islamabad, Pakistan, 05 Jun 2009

Police say the attack came during Friday prayers at a mosque packed with worshippers in Upper Dir district, not far from Swat Valley where the Pakistani army has been fighting Taliban militants⁵.

There was no immediate⁶ claim of responsibility. But a top Taliban commander has vowed⁷ that militants will stage attacks across Pakistan to avenge⁸ the government offensive in Swat, where the army has captured a number of key militant⁴ strongholds.

As reports of the attack came in, the United State's top envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan was speaking to reporters in the capital, Islamabad, at the end of a three-day visit to the country. After a series of meetings with officials and a high-profile visit to a refugee camp in Mardan, envoy Richard Holbrooke said he is convinced the Pakistani public will no longer tolerate extremists.

"We found a tremendous change in Pakistan since I was here last just a few weeks ago," he said. "We saw evidence on the ground in the refugee camps and among the leaders of civil society we met here in Islamabad - we found evidence of a substantial change the public mood here in Pakistan against the miscreants⁹, the militants."

Holbrooke also praised the military for its strategic gains against Taliban fighters in the northwest over the past two weeks. But he stressed repeatedly that having "turned the corner" in Pakistan, it was now time to consolidate¹⁰ the gains.

"The test of this policy is whether the refugees can go home, go home quickly, and return to their normal lives," said Holbrooke.

"And that is going to be - it has to be - a large internationally supported reconstruction¹¹ effort. We've all seen refugee camps that start out as tent cities and harden into permanent towns, villages. It's happened in every part of the world. This cannot happen here."

Holbrooke said the United States, with Congressional approval, will provide more than $300 million in humanitarian¹² aid to Pakistan, but that no U.S. troops will be deployed¹³ here, adding that securing Pakistan was a task for the Pakistani government.

Holbrooke, whose portfolio¹⁴ includes Afghanistan, was asked if the imminent¹⁵ deployment¹⁶ of 17,000 new troops to southern and eastern Afghanistan, might create more instability along the border with Pakistan as militants try to seek refuge here.

"We are concerned that there may be some spill-over effect as there has been in the past. I've raised it repeatedly in Washington and here and in Kabul. I don't want to be an alarmist here," he said.

"But the one thing that is very important is that as the ISAF [NATO] forces operate in the areas near the Pakistan border that the impact on Pakistan be taken into account at all times, and that the Pakistani security forces are properly aware of the military actions are so they can do what is necessary to protect your border," he added.

Mr. Holbrooke's trip to Pakistan, his third since being appointed a special representative, was clearly designed to show support for the Pakistani army's campaign against the Taliban and to provide money to help deal with the humanitarian crisis that was unleashed¹⁷ as a result of the offensive.

But while Holbrooke's message of support may be welcome, there are still long-standing tensions between Washington and Islamabad that include the Obama administration's decision to continue missile strikes against suspected al-Qaida and Taliban bases in Pakistan's tribal¹⁸ areas, a policy that is deeply unpopular in Pakistan.

1 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

4 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。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 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。

7 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

8 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

9 miscreants   

n.恶棍，歹徒( miscreant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I ordered the miscreants to let me out. 我命令这些土匪放我出去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Local people demanded that the District Magistrate apprehend the miscreants. 当地人要求地方法官逮捕那些歹徒。 来自辞典例句

10 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

11 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

12 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。

13 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

14 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

15 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

16 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

17 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。