VOA标准英语2010年-Clashes Between Israeli, Lebanese Forc

Lebanese soldiers clear debris¹ at a damaged checkpoint after an exchange of fire between Israeli and Lebanese troops in the southern border village of Adaisseh, Lebanon, 03 Aug 2010

Clashes along the border between the Israeli military and the Lebanese Army have many Lebanese worried about a wider war between the two countries.  The fighting has produced casualties on both sides.  Many Lebanese leaders are accusing Israel of planning to attack its smaller neighbor.

 The sound of explosions and shelling along the border between Israel and Lebanon on an otherwise lazy summer day -  when many Lebanese were at the beach -  sent alarm bells ringing over the possibility of a wider conflict.

Possibility of new war

Most Lebanese remember the sudden, unexpected conflict between Israel and Hezbollah guerillas that broke out on a similar summer day four years ago.

The Beirut media has also been warning in recent weeks about the possibility of a new war between Lebanon and Israel.

The apparently² trivial cause of Tuesday's hostilities³ - the presence of a tree in the no-man's-land between Israel's security fence and the United Nations patrolled Lebanese border - demonstrated the degree of tensions that have built in recent weeks.

Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, says that the Israelis got a big surprise when Lebanese Army troops fired on them in the border zone.

"The Israelis were stunned⁴ by the reaction of the Lebanese Army," he said. "Because they used to enter this pocket between the blue line and the border with Lebanon with impunity⁵ after clearing the matter with [U.N. peacekeepers], and the Lebanese Army never opened fire on the Israelis before. This is the first time that the Lebanese Army and the Israelis clash head-on since 1972."

The Lebanese Army deployed⁶ along the border for the first time in years after the bloody⁷ 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah guerillas and at the insistence⁸ of both Israel and the international community.  Lebanese Army troops did not participate in that 2006 conflict.

Many Lebanese television stations added to the frenzy⁹ of Tuesday's clashes by interrupting their regular programming and showing flames and smoke from a brush fire that had been sparked by shelling along the border.

Call for UN intervention¹⁰

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri called on the United Nations to intervene to stop the fighting, while lesser¹¹ political figures ratcheted up tensions by accusing Israel of violating their country's sovereignty.

Hilal Khashan thinks that recent Israeli accusations¹² against Hezbollah concerning the alleged¹³ stockpiling of rockets and other weapons has created a feverish¹⁴ climate along the border.

"Most observers have been talking about some development along the border between Israel and Lebanon for the past month, and Israel has been sending signals. The Israelis for some time have been telling the world that Hezbollah is violating the terms of [U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701] and stockpiling ammunition¹⁵ in southern Lebanon.  Two weeks ago, they even released images and footage of Hezbollah positions right across the border," he said.

Timor Goksel, the former spokesman for U.N. peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon, argues that a timely U.N. intervention will probably prevent an escalation¹⁶ of hostilities:

"So far, this is between the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army, and as long as it remains¹⁷ between two armies, I'm sure it won't escalate¹⁸.  I'm sure that UNIFIL there is in touch with both sides and they'll find a way to calm it down," he said.

Goksel thinks that barring any outside intervention from regional political forces, Tuesday's clashes will be contained.  Khashan agrees, but warns that a wider conflict could ultimately be looming¹⁹ on the more distant horizon.
 

1 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

2 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。

3 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

4 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

5 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

6 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。

7 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

8 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

9 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

10 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。

11 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

12 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

13 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

14 feverish   

adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的

参考例句：

• He is too feverish to rest.他兴奋得安静不下来。
• They worked with feverish haste to finish the job.为了完成此事他们以狂热的速度工作着。

15 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

16 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

17 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

18 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

19 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望