VOA标准英语2009年-Two British Hostages Held in Iraq Likely D

Families of two of the three remaining British hostages held in Iraq for two years are deeply troubled to hear the men are likely dead. The news was broken to them last week by British officials.

The loved ones of the British hostages are going through anguish¹ and torment².

While Foreign Office officials will not confirm or deny the widespread media reports here that two Britons employed as private security guards in Iraq have died in captivity³, various accounts point to the likelihood that Alan McMenemy and Alec MacLachlan are probably dead.
　
British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, 12 Jun 2009

Given the sensitive nature of the situation, details are not being made public, but as Business Secretary Peter Mandelson says the outlook does not look good.

"I do not want to disclose publicly the information we are getting, but we are intensively engaged through a whole variety of different channels, but I do not disguise the fact that we are extremely concerned for the safety of the hostages," said Peter Mandelson. "And while we will continue to do everything we can, we cannot be sure what the future will hold, but we are doing our absolute level best."

The two men were in a group of five Britons kidnapped from the Finance Ministry⁴ building in Baghdad in May 2007 by around 40 men disguised as Iraqi policemen.

Their captors are from a shadowy Shi'ite group known as the Islamic Shia Resistance in Iraq. The group has demanded the release of nine of its members held in prison.

Since their abduction, the British hostages have appeared occasionally in videos, but last month the bodies of two other security contractors⁵ in the group were released.

If this latest claim that the two remaining guards are also dead, that would leave only the plight⁶ of the man they were protecting unknown. He is 36-year-old Peter Moore, a computer instructor⁷ working for the U.S. management consultancy Bearingpoint in Iraq.

1 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

2 torment   

n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠

参考例句：

• He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

3 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

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 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

7 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。