VOA标准英语2012--Militant Cleric Mocks US Bounty

Militant¹ Cleric Mocks US Bounty²

The 2008 terrorist bombing of an Indian hotel in Mumbai's financial district killed 166 people, including six Americans. The Pakistani-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba was allegedly behind the attack. 

Speaking publicly in Pakistan, Saeed says the money should go to him.

"To be honest, I am surprised that America doesn’t know where I am," he said. "Today I met the leadership of the Difa-e-Pakistan [Defense of Pakistan] Council here in Rawalpindi, and tomorrow I will be in Lahore and will release a schedule for the day after tomorrow, so America can contact me."

With U.S.-Pakistani relations already strained, Pakistani officials aren’t pleased.

"I will say that it will impact negatively because this is an added pressure on Pakistan from the U.S. side and it seems to be having done it at the Indian behest," said Pakistani Lawmaker Mushahid Hussain. 

At issue now: whether Pakistan will re-open its ground route for NATO supplies into Afghanistan. Saeed has lobbied hard against this.

Meantime, Pakistanis and others wonder: Why has the U.S. made this move now?

Rand Corporation analyst³ Jonah Blank says the timing⁴ may have little significance. 

"The decision may have been 'We are ready to present and there isn’t a pressing reason to hold off on presenting right now," he said.

Other analysts⁵ have suggested that the U.S. is especially concerned about Saeed's group, which they say is definitively⁶ linked to many terrorist acts. But what happens next is anyone’s guess.

"The question is whether the Pakistani state is going to make the political decision rather than the legal decision that it will provide full cooperation. And I think the more evidence we can present the more likely we are to get that result," said Blank.

The reward for information on the cleric is the second highest bounty ever offered by the U.S.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 definitively   

adv.决定性地，最后地

参考例句：

• None of the three super-states could be definitively conquered even by the other two in combination. 三个超级国家中的任何一国都不可能被任何两国的联盟所绝对打败。 来自英汉文学
• Therefore, nothing can ever be definitively proved with a photograph. 因此，没有什么可以明确了一张照片。 来自互联网