voa标准英语2008年-Suicide-Bomber Attacks Shi'ite Mosque in Musayy

A suicide bomber¹ blew himself up among worshippers outside a mosque² loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the town of Musayyib, south of Baghdad, killing³ 12 people and wounding 15 others. The blast came just one day after the Iraqi parliament voted to approve a new military pact⁴ with the U.S. which extends the U.S. troop presence in Iraq for three more years. Edward Yeranian reports for VOA from Cairo.
　

Firemen hose down the site where a suicide bomber blew himself at a Shiite mosque, 28 Nov 2008

The explosion at the Shi'ite mosque appeared to be aimed at supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr who had criticized the military agreement and urged followers⁵ to wear black to mourn the passage of what he called, "a humiliating accord."

A police spokesman said that the bomber blew himself up amid a throng⁶ of some 300 worshippers, disrupting prayers, and laying waste to the building.

The same mosque was targeted almost three and a half years ago by a truck bomb that was detonated outside the building, killing 70 people.

Media reports said that the congregation of the mosque was mostly loyal to Moqtada Sadr, and that its top clerics belong to his movement.

A top Sadr deputy, Aws al Khafagi, told followers that his movement would "continue rejecting the humiliating accord," which the Iraqi parliament voted to approve Thursday.

Sadr's bloc⁷ of 30 deputies raised banners, chanted, and pounded tables with their fists Thursday, in a bid to block the vote to approve the new U.S.-Iraq pact, which takes effect on January 1.

Analyst⁸ Paul Salem of the Beirut-based Carnegie Center for Peace in the Middle East thinks that violence will continue in Iraq, following the vote to approve the new military pact.

"These bombings will continue," he said. "There's serious and ongoing⁹ security problems in Iraq and simmering civil wars of various types. Those never ended and are not likely to end any time soon," said Salem. "The agreement that was approved Thursday is very contentious¹⁰; many groups opposed it…. many groups had already been opposing the Maliki government and opposing the U.S. presence from before this agreement, so no, I don't think we've entered a fundamentally new phase."

Salem also thinks that Sadr will continue to oppose the U.S. presence in Iraq, if just to increase his own power base.
　

Followers of Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr hold his portrait during an anti-U.S. protest in Sadr City in Baghdad, 28 Nov 2008

"Well, I mean, I can't exactly predict how they'll react," he said. "I'm sure they will react somewhat negatively, but their position against the pact goes beyond being against the pact itself and being against the U.S. presence. It also reflects an internal struggle for power and clearly Muqtada Sadr has thrown in his fortunes with the opposition¹¹ to the [U.S.] presence and figuring that well, the presence will stay for now and he knows that, but he can capitalize politically a lot on being leader of the opposition and setting himself up for a wider political base," said Salem.

A demonstration¹² by Sadr loyalists in Baghdad's Firdous Square, exactly one week ago, brought together thousands of opponents of the Iraqi government and of the new military pact with the U.S. Sadr is now, once again, calling on supporters to close shops, offices and other institutions for "three days of peaceful protests."

　

1 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

2 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

5 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。

6 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

8 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。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

12 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。