VOA标准英语2013--混乱和暴力充斥着中非共和国

 

CAR’s Chaos¹ Spawns² Sectarian Bloodletting 混乱和暴力充斥着中非共和国

BOSSANGOA, CAR — Chaos and violence have gripped the Central African Republic since March when a coup³ by Muslim rebels and former mercenaries installed the country's  first Muslim leader and then went on a rampage.

Joined by common criminals, the de facto state army, calling itself "Seleka", or alliance, has been murdering, raping⁴ and looting with impunity⁵. In the northern town  of Bossangoa, some 40,000 people have sought refuge - a fraction of those who have fled increasingly sectarian violence.

Deserted⁶, razed⁷ villages line more than 100 kilometers of road south of Bossangoa, where tens of thousands of people are seeking shelter in a Catholic mission. They  fled the Seleka, whose brutalities have driven some 400,000 people in the Central African Republic from their homes.

Bishop⁸ Nestor Aziagba said the foreign mercenaries that seized CAR's presidency⁹ for Michel Djotodia, are responsible for the many abuses against the population.

“So they started committing [abuses], against the local population, looting their properties, cows, ransacking¹⁰ their crops, burning down everything they have, and the  government is not doing anything to protect them,” said Aziagba.

This brutality¹¹ has turned a political conflict into a human rights catastrophe¹², involving sectarian bloodletting.

Among the new arrivals to the overcrowded camp is Dofio Rodriguez, who fled a Seleka attack that killed 30 people.

“After coming from their base and circling the village, one Friday morning at 5 a.m. the Seleka started firing, sustained gunfire, with bullets flying everywhere,  killing people, children, men. You had to run to escape,” recalled Rodriguez.

In the Muslim quarter, trader Saleh Garba says he has documented over 500 deaths carried out by Christians¹⁴ against Muslims, including a September attack on two  villages near Bossangoa. “They massacred all the Muslims living there. There were some who were over 50, 60, 70 [years old], who lived in the village. They killed  everyone -- men, women -- even pregnant women. They beat them until the babies came out,” said Garba.

A handful of some 3,000 regional peacekeepers guard the Catholic mission and a school where some 1,000 Muslims are also seeking refuge, mainly from Christian¹³ self- defense¹⁵ groups.

The defense groups are armed with bows and arrows, daggers¹⁶ and machetes. With all security forces and officials having fled months ago, a few thousand regional troops  have the seemingly impossible task of protecting CAR's people from heavily-armed, marauding gangs. The chaotic¹⁷ situation has left both Muslims and Christians praying  for a proper intervention¹⁸ that can quell¹⁹ the violence and stop the bloodshed. 

1 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

2 spawns   

（鱼、蛙等的）子，卵( spawn的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lava Spawns now require 15 attacks to replicate, up from 14. 火人现在需要攻击15下才会分裂，而不是14下。
• Idleness spawns discontent, whereas overwork leads to mental and physical exhaustion. 懒惰滋生不满，而过度工作导致精神和身体的疲劳。

3 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

4 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

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 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

7 razed   

v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The village was razed to the ground . 这座村庄被夷为平地。
• Many villages were razed to the ground. 许多村子被夷为平地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

9 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

10 ransacking   

v.彻底搜查( ransack的现在分词 )；抢劫，掠夺

参考例句：

• She was ransacking the stores for Jim's present. 她正在彻底搜寻各家店铺，为吉姆买礼物。 来自英汉文学 - 欧亨利
• Ransacking the drawers of the dresser he came upon a discarded, tiny, ragged handkerchief. 他打开橱柜抽屉搜寻，找到了一块弃置的小旧手帕。 来自辞典例句

11 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

12 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

13 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

14 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

16 daggers   

匕首，短剑( dagger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I will speak daggers to her, but use none. 我要用利剑一样的话刺痛她的心，但绝不是真用利剑。
• The world lives at daggers drawn in a cold war. 世界在冷战中剑拨弩张。

17 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

18 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。

19 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。