VOA标准英语2011--NTC Forces Hammer at Gadhafi Stronghold

NTC Forces Hammer at Gadhafi Stronghold of Bani Walid

Forces loyal to Libya's National Transitional Council are making what they hope is the final push for Bani Walid, one of ousted¹ leader Moammar Gadhafi's last strongholds. NATO is providing the NTC with air support.
Anti-Gadhafi forces have converged² on Bani Walid in what appears to be the most serious attempt yet to take the town. An NTC commander said forces have "brought the revolution" to the Gadhafi stronghold, and at mid-afternoon they were going house to house to root out snipers fighting for Gadhafi.
But as NATO planes circled overhead, the sound of explosions and heavy fighting could be heard at a checkpoint 3 kilometers north of the town, indicating a situation more serious than a simple mopping-up operation. Pro-Gadhafi snipers also still held the high ground, at least briefly³, at the northern checkpoint.
Despite the continued fighting, NTC forces said they were confident they were close to victory.
One fighter returning from the battle said, God willing, things were going well.
Other fighters, some of them appearing to be weekend volunteers, piled into pickup⁴ trucks and headed toward the front, chanting "God is great" while their comrades fired off celebratory rounds.
Provisional authorities had given three main Gadhafi-held towns until Saturday to surrender. After a weeklong pause during which the sides held on-and-off negotiations⁵, the deadline came early in Bani Walid. NTC fighters began to move in late Friday after their positions came under attack by Grad rockets.
A provisional authority spokesman said Saturday it was still not too late for Gadhafi supporters to give up.
"Anyone, who lays his weapon down and doesn't fight the revolutionary [forces] and doesn't harm the civilians⁶, will be safe in our hands and we will protect him," and NTC commander said.
It was not clear if any high-ranking ex-officials, including Gadhafi himself or his relatives, are in Bani Walid or the other remaining strongholds, Sirte and Sabha. Gadhafi this week released an audio message saying he remains⁷ in Libya, and called on his followers⁸ to rise up against their opponents.

1 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

2 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 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。

8 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。