VOA标准英语2009年-Former Rebels Go to Court Over Plot to Kil

Former rebels have gone on trial in East Timor accused of the attempted murder of President Jose Ramos-Horta. He was seriously hurt in an assassination¹ attempt outside his home in February 2008, when gunmen targeted two of the fledgling country's most senior political figures.
　
Jose Ramos Horta (File)

Prosecutors² charge that the mastermind behind the assassination attempts on East Timor's leadership was an East Timorese-born Australian, Angelita Pires.

She was in a relationship with rebel leader Alfredo Reinado, who was killed in the attack on President Ramos-Horta.

The prosecutors say Pires urged Reinado to murder East Timor's political elite³.

She has gone on trial in the capital, Dili, along with 26 suspected rebel gunmen. The case is expected to last several months.

Pires strongly denies the charges and insists she is the victim of a conspiracy⁴.

"This whole thing is a charade⁵. It is a set up," Pires said. "I am innocent and I am going to stand up and I am going to tell the world that Timor Leste [East Timor] has no justice. It works to serve the interest of half a dozen powerful entities⁶. There is no justice for the common citizen."

Pires' legal team calls the case against her "hopelessly inadequate⁷ and unfounded".

She is accused of involvement in the 2008 attack on President Ramos-Horta outside his home in Dili, which left him with life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Only swift medical treatment from international peacekeepers saved him, before he was flown to the northern Australian city of Darwin for surgery.

The shooting of Mr. Ramos-Horta and the attempted assassination of then Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who escaped unharmed, forced the authorities to declare a state of emergency.

The suspects in the attacks are former soldiers, who had been on the run since violent anti-government demonstrations⁸ in 2006 left more than 30 people dead.

The protests were caused by the government's decision to fire 600 soldiers who went on strike complaining about pay and discrimination.

The unrest prompted the intervention⁹ of international peacekeepers from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal.

East Timor continues to struggle to build stability and boost its weak economy seven years after gaining independence from Indonesia in 2002.

1 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

2 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

3 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 charade   

n.用动作等表演文字意义的字谜游戏

参考例句：

• You must not refine too much upon this charade.你切不可过分推敲这个字谜。
• His poems,despite their dignity and felicity,have an air of charade.他的诗篇虽然庄严巧妙，却有猜迷之嫌。

6 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

7 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

8 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

9 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。