VOA标准英语2010年-Terror Bombing Hits Popular Bakery in

Indian police and rescue workers inspect the scene of an explosion in a German Bakery business close to the Osho Ashram in Pune, India, 13 Feb 2010

At least nine people died and more than 40 were injured in an explosion at one of the most popular hangouts in the western Indian city of Pune. Authorities say they believe the blast at a bakery, popular with foreign visitors, is the first terror attack in the country in 14 months.

The German Bakery, on a busy road in the bustling¹ city of Pune, was crowded on Saturday evening when it was hit by a large explosion and burst into flames. Several adjacent shops were destroyed.

Those who first came to help discovered a scene of carnage and a large crater² in the restaurant's interior.

This man says when he and others arrived just after the blast they came upon bodies that had been ripped apart.

Initially³ police believed that an exploded liquid propane gas tank might have been the cause. But the country's Home Secretary, Gopal Krishna Pillai, speaking to reporters in New Delhi, says it was subsequently determined⁴ to be a bomb blast.

"It appears that an unattended package was noticed in the German Bakery by one of the waiters who apparently⁵ went and attempted to open the package when the blast took place," he said.

India media reports say ammonium nitrate fuel oil mixed with a military-type high explosive, known as RDX, was used.

Authorities say foreigners are among the dead and injured. The bakery is about 200 meters from the Osho Ashram, a meditation⁶ commune frequented by overseas visitors.

The Home Secretary, in his brief remark to reporters, noted⁷ that the ashram was surveyed by terror suspect David Coleman Headley, who is facing charges in the United States for allegedly helping⁸ to plan the November, 2008 terror attack on Mumbai.

The Osho commune was founded by the late guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. In the early 1980's the movement relocated to the U.S. state of Oregon. There the community was embroiled⁹ in controversy¹⁰ and its leaders accused of a number of crimes, including poisoning hundreds of people by contaminating salad bars with salmonella at local restaurants.

The destroyed bakery is also on the same street as the Pune branch of Chabad House, which caters¹¹ to traveling Jews. The religious center was also one of the targets of the Mumbai attacks, in which more than 160 people died and are blamed on gunmen from the Lashkar-e-Taiba group in Pakistan.

India and Pakistan, later this month, are set to hold their first high-level talks since the siege of Mumbai, which froze the peace process between the two nuclear-armed neighbors and long-time rivals.

 

1 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

2 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

3 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 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。

9 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

11 caters   

提供饮食及服务( cater的第三人称单数 )； 满足需要，适合

参考例句：

• That shop caters exclusively to the weaker sex. 那家商店专供妇女需要的商品。
• The boutique caters for a rather select clientele. 这家精品店为特定的顾客群服务。