VOA标准英语2011--Video Shows US Hostage Alive One Year Ago

Video Shows US Hostage Alive One Year Ago

Four years ago, American Bob Levinson disappeared mysteriously in Iran. Now, the family of the retired¹ FBI agent has released a video it received in late 2010, showing him to be alive. The video was not released earlier, because federal officials thought it would complicate² their investigation³.

"Please help me get home." Bob Levinson pleads for help from a makeshift cell. The retired FBI agent asks the U.S. government to answer the demands of his unnamed captors.

"Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something," says Levinson.

The Levinson family received the video a year ago - the first proof that Levinson was still alive after disappearing in 2007 while working as a private investigator⁴. The family has just released this on its website, along with a direct message from Levinson's wife and son.

"My mother has received your messages. Please tell us your demands so we can work together to bring my father home safely," says David Levinson.

"All I want is for our family to be whole again," says wife Christine Levinson.

The U.S. State Department said Friday that officials have been in touch with Iran where he was last seen.

"We're not in a position to confirm even where he is, what we have said, what the FBI has said, the Secretary [of State Hillary Clinton] said it in March, is that we've received indications that he is being held captive in Southwest Asia," said Victoria Nuland, U.S. State Department spokeswoman.

Two years ago, Christine Levinson met with U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida about her missing husband. She earlier spoke⁵ with the Iranian ambassador and answered questions about Bob Levinson's dealings in Iran..

"They have always said that they don't have any information. I'm hoping that as a result of them asking questions again that they have information and that they will share that information," said Christine Levinson.

Iranian officials deny any knowledge of Levinson's whereabouts. Christine Levinson said her husband was looking into cigarette smuggling⁶ for a private client. But his time may be getting short.

"I am not in very good health. I am running very quickly out of diabetes⁷ medicine," says Bob Levinson on the video.

That was a year ago. Meantime, Levinson's seven children and two grandchildren celebrate family traditions without him.

And, his wife continues to pay his cellphone bills - in hopes that he will someday call.

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

7 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。