VOA标准英语2009年-Pakistan Car Bombing Kills 30; Intelligenc

At least 30 people have been killed and more than 200 others injured when a car bomb exploded on a busy main street in Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's Punjab province.
　
The Lahore office of LG Pakistan, an electronics firm after the blast, 27 May 2009

It was mid-morning, Wednesday, when a van pulled up to a building housing a police department on Fatima Jinnah road, one the Lahore's busiest. The bomb-laden van failed to penetrate¹ the building's security barriers and its' occupants began shooting rounds of gunfire.

The van then exploded, flattening² the police department building, destroying scores of vehicles and shattering the windows of nearby offices, shops and buildings.

Taliban militants³ blamed

Scenes of destruction and chaos⁴ were repeatedly aired on Pakistan's 24 television news channels. Witnesses describe the bomb as "huge" and "intense."
　
Debris⁵ and broken glass are seen inside LG Pakistan electronics firm in Lahore after explosion, 27 May 2009

Four suspects have been arrested.

Pakistani officials immediately said the attack was the work of terrorists. Interior Minister Rehman Malik addressed allegations of a security lapse⁶ while speaking to reporters just after the attack.

"We are doing our best," said Malik. "Please do not forget we are in a state of insurgency⁷."

Malik blames Pakistani Taliban militants for the attack. So far, no one has claimed responsibility.

Pakistan has been bracing⁸ for terror attacks on its major cities ever since the military began an offensive, earlier this month, to eject Taliban militants in Swat Valley and surrounding areas.

Terrorists have targeted Lahore several times, in the past few months. The most high-profile attack took place in early March, when gunmen fired on the Sri Lankan national cricket team, wounding several players and killing⁹ six policemen.

1 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

2 flattening   

n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词

参考例句：

• Flattening of the right atrial border is also seen in constrictive pericarditis. 右心房缘变平亦见于缩窄性心包炎。
• He busied his fingers with flattening the leaves of the book. 他手指忙着抚平书页。

3 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。

4 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。

5 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

6 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

7 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

8 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

9 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。