VOA慢速英语2011--A Tragedy in Norway Raises Questions for

IN THE NEWS - A Tragedy in Norway Raises Questions for Europe

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
Conservative extremists in Europe are facing new attention after the attacks last week that killed almost eighty people in Norway.
On Friday the country held the first funerals for victims of the attacks.
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Eighteen-year-old Bano Rashid was the first to be buried. She was Muslim but the ceremony also included Christian¹ prayers. Ms. Rashid was a Kurdish immigrant from Iraq with an interest in politics. She was one of the people shot to death at a summer youth camp organized by Norway's governing Labor² Party.
A sixty-ninth victim of that shooting died Friday.
Also Friday, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg led a national memorial service in Oslo, the capital. Mr. Stoltenberg said Norway had been hit by evil, and he called on the nation to unite around its values of democracy and peace.
The violence was Norway's deadliest since World War Two. 
Thirty-two-year-old Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik has admitted responsibility. But he has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges. He says he was part of a wider "crusade" against Muslim immigration and multiculturalism³ in Europe. Investigators⁴ say they believe he acted alone. They questioned him Friday for a second time.
Mr. Breivik exploded a car bomb in Oslo shortly before going to Utoeya island where the shootings took place last Friday. The deadly explosion wrecked⁵ the prime minister's office building.
Mr. Breivik's lawyer says his actions suggest he is out of his mind. Far-right groups across Europe have denounced his attacks.
European Union officials say they will form a team of experts to investigate non-Islamist threats in Scandinavian countries. The criminal intelligence agency Europol says the team may look at other European nations in the future.
A report this year from Europol said extreme left-wing groups carried out forty-five attacks in Europe last year. It said there were no terrorist attacks by right-wing groups, but extremists were increasingly active on the Internet.
K. Biswas from the New Internationalist magazine says far-right groups have become more influential⁶ in Europe in recent years.
K. BISWAS: “You’ve seen parties in Italy, in Denmark, in Holland have grown outside the mainstream⁷ conservative electoral vehicles in their countries, and they have had an effect. They have had an effect on immigration. They have had an effect on the language used by mainstream politicians.”
In the Norwegian parliament, the right-wing Progress Party is the second largest party. In Sweden, Democrats⁸ joined parliament last year declaring “Keep Sweden Swedish.”
Nigel Inkster is a director at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Britain. He says Islamic terrorism is the most serious threat to European security. And, he says, it is much more difficult to investigate than right-wing extremism.
He says in Britain the threat from the extreme right normally does not come in the form of a major terrorist attack.
NIGEL INKSTER: "I think most of the violence that we have seen from extreme right-wing groups has been of a more, if you will, casual, street variety targeted against demonstrations⁹ by immigrant groups or simple attacks on immigrants."
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 multiculturalism   

n.多元文化

参考例句：

• Switzerland is well known for cheese fondue, penguin parades and its multiculturalism. 瑞士一向以芝士火锅，企鹅游行和多元文化等特色闻名于世。
• That may be one reason why multiculturalism came easily to it. 这也是多元文化容易适应发展的原因之一。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

6 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

7 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。