VOA标准英语2010年-Thousands of Lebanese Greet Iran Presi

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was welcomed in Beirut by thousands of Lebanese supporters and dignitaries.

Children and teenagers waved Iranian flags and sang songs, welcoming President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's first visit to Lebanon. Lebanese officials, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry, lined a red carpet to greet the head of state.

But the most raucous¹ welcome for Mr. Ahmadinejad is expected later, when he is to appear alongside his ally Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah at a rally in southern Beirut, a mostly Shiite area, controlled by Hezbollah.

Mr. Ahmedinejad's visit underlines growing tensions between Iranian-backed Hezbollah and pro-Western political parties in Lebanon, such as March 14, the party of the son of slain² Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri. Several Hezbollah leaders are expected to be indicted³ in connection with the Hariri assassination⁴, who was killed with 22 others by a bomb in 2005.

Hezbollah denies involvement in the killings⁵, and says the U.N. court investigating the bombing is biased⁶.

VOA's Susan Yackee interviews Middle East Bureau Chief Elizabeth Arrott:

 

Mr. Harari's son, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, is expected to meet with the Iranian president and many people inside Lebanon say the visit is a sign of the growing strength of Hezbollah, a State Department designated terrorist organization.

American University of Beirut political science professor and author of "Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism", Judith Palmer Harik says the Iranian president's visit is a significant boost for Hezbollah.

"It is a very important, shall we say, shot in the arm for Hezbollah to have major power and a major supporter and ally like the president of Iran visiting," said Harik.

Hezbollah suffered major losses in a 2006 war with Israel, but many in Lebanon saw it as a victory for the organization. Since then, international and local donations have poured into the Hezbollah coffers, helping⁷ the organization re-arm and re-group.

Harik says that Hezbollah, the sworn enemy of Israel, has grown to be an "extremely significant Arab army." But she says, the organization is more likely to attack their southern neighbor, Israel, than attempt to take over the Lebanese government by force.

"Hezbollah does not have any designs in taking over, as you put it, Lebanon," added Harik. "Hezbollah must retain its image as a national resistance force.

Many Lebanese view the Ahmadinejad visit as a simple diplomatic visit between friendly countries. Iran is a major donor⁸ country to Lebanon, and is expected to invest $450 million into Lebanon's energy and water sectors⁹.

But some suspect Mr. Ahmadinejad came to Lebanon only to intimidate¹⁰ Israel by propping¹¹ up Hezbollah.

On the streets of Beirut, many people including Christians¹³ who do not traditionally support the Shi'ite organization, say Hezbollah is Lebanon's only defense¹⁴ if tensions along its southern border with Israel should flair¹⁵ again. The Lebanese Army, they say, does not have the resources or the power to defend the country.

While waiting for a bus in a busy commercial district, Jean, 21, a university student and a Christian¹², says he does not like Mr. Ahmadinejad because of his alleged¹⁶ nuclear designs for Iran. But he says he supports Iran's ally Hezbollah, because they are the only ones protecting southern Lebanon.
 

1 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

2 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

3 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

4 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。

5 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

6 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

9 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

11 propping   

支撑

参考例句：

• You can usually find Jack propping up the bar at his local. 你常常可以看见杰克频繁出没于他居住的那家酒店。
• The government was accused of propping up declining industries. 政府被指责支持日益衰败的产业。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。

16 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为