voa标准英语2008年-Indian Forces Continue Battling Militants in Mu

In an unprecedented¹ response to a domestic terrorist attack, Indian military forces have taken over the battle against gunmen who plunged² Mumbai, a city of 18 million, into confusion. The siege, at 13 locations, has claimed 104 lives and wounded as many as 300 people. State officials say six foreigners are among those killed. Indian commandos are battling to regain³ control of two luxury hotels and a Jewish center in Mumbai, after coordinated⁴ attacks by armed militants⁵. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman in our South Asia bureau in New Delhi has details.
　

Army personnel outside one of the famous eateries in Colaba, near the Taj Mahal Hotel, in Mumbai, 27 Nov 2008

India's financial capital saw commerce paralyzed and the city turned into a virtual war zone after police were outgunned by insurgents⁶ who held the city hostage.

The state's chief minister acknowledged that control had been ceded⁷ to the military and National Security Guards, a federal counter-terrorism group under the Home Ministry⁸.

Commandos stormed luxury hotels where terrorists had taken guests hostage. Air force helicopters flew overhead along the shoreline. Navy and Coast Guard vessels⁹ pursued a ship, identified as the MV Alpha, suspected of possibly bringing in the terrorists from Pakistan.

As night fell, 20 hours after the initial attacks, elite¹⁰ troops conducted a room-to-room search inside the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, as well as the nearby Oberoi-Trident Hotel, for hostages and terrorists. The soldiers were joined by firefighters who battled intermittent¹¹ blazes at both hotels.

Army Major General R.K. Hooda, the commanding officer of Maharashtra state, cautioned reporters not to speculate on how long it would take for troops to end the siege by the heavily-armed gunmen.

"Our effort is to ensure that we bring back all people who are inside safe and also capture or eliminate the terrorists violence," he said.
　

Indian commandos take positions close to where Jewish families have been taken hostage in Mumbai, 27 Nov 2008

Special rangers¹² of an anti-hijacking squad¹³, who were flown into Mumbai, surrounded Nariman House, a residential¹⁴ and office building serving as the headquarters of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish outreach group. The rangers joined other special troops to try to free Israelis taken hostage by several gunmen.

A previously¹⁵ unknown group, Deccan Mujahideen, has claimed responsibility for the assault on Mumbai. One of the militants phoned an Indian television channel and expressed outrage¹⁶ over the deaths of Muslims in the disputed Kashmir region at the hands of the army.

News commentators¹⁷ here praised officials for dispatching elite units of Indian soldiers, sailors and airmen to battle terrorists in an urban environment.
　

Indian Army soldiers arrive in Mumbai, 27 Nov 2008

Police were criticized for a slow initial response to the Wednesday night shootings and grenade blasts. At one restaurant, popular with artisans and foreign travelers, which was sprayed with automatic gunfire, victims said police did not respond for 20 minutes.

Several of Mumbai's top law enforcement officers are being hailed as "martyrs¹⁸" for giving their lives while chasing gunmen, some of whom hijacked¹⁹ a police vehicle and opened fire on bystanders.

The attack is the worst in India since explosions on suburban²⁰ Mumbai commuter²¹ trains in July 2006 which killed 187 people and injured 800 others. But this strike is far different than the wave of bombings, blamed on Muslim extremists or, occasionally ultra-right wing Hindus, which have mainly targeted working class markets. This attack focused on locations frequented by the elite and the gunmen made a deliberate effort to take hostage foreigners, especially Americans, Britons and Israelis. Among the reported dead, besides Indians, are nationals of Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

3 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

4 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

7 ceded   

v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Cuba was ceded by Spain to the US in 1898. 古巴在1898年被西班牙割让给美国。
• A third of the territory was ceded to France. 领土的三分之一割让给了法国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

11 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

12 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

13 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

14 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

15 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

16 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

17 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

20 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

21 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。