VOA标准英语2009年-London Condemns Reception Lockerbie Bomber

The British government has condemned¹ the hero's welcome Libya gave to the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says it was deeply upsetting for the loved ones of the 270 victims of the Pan Am attack.
　
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi (top L) is escorted by Seif al-Islam el- Gadhafi, son of Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli, 20 Aug 2009

Abdel Basset al-Megrahi received a warm welcome from flag waving Libyan supporters as he stepped off the plane Thursday in Tripoli, after his release from custody² in Scotland on compassionate³ grounds. Such an option exists under Scottish law, and Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill, announcing Megrahi's release Thursday, said the convicted bomber⁴ and former Libyan intelligence officer is near death from prostate cancer.

The decision to release him early from prison elicited⁵ a firestorm of condemnation⁶ from many American family members of victims of Pan Am flight 103, which blew up over Lockerbie on December 21, 1988. In all, 270 people died.

In Washington, President Barack Obama called the release a mistake. In London, criticism was limited to the reception bestowed⁷ upon Megrahi at home in Libya.

Speaking on the BBC, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband criticized Libya's handing of Megrahi's arrival.
　
David Miliband (File photo)

"The sight of a mass murderer getting a hero's welcome in Tripoli is deeply upsetting, deeply distressing⁸, above all for the 270 families who grieve every day for the loss of their loved ones 21 years ago. But also for anyone who has got an ounce of humanity in them and I think that is the overriding⁹ emotion that people will be feeling today," he said.

Libya has maintained that it was not responsible for the downing of Pan Am flight 103 and Megrahi, who was serving a life sentence, has maintained his innocence¹⁰.

On Tuesday, Megrahi dropped his appeal, which would have opened the door to a close examination of the evidence. That might have shed more light on those responsible, and also, what warnings may have been known in the West regarding an imminent¹¹ attack.

According to Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, the dropping of that appeal had nothing to do with Megrahi's release.
　
A lone¹² protester holds up a placard as the convoy¹³ with freed Libyan bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi leaves Greenock Prison, 20 Aug 2009

"In terms of how the Scottish government approached this, then everything we have done was not about any deals or understandings or negotiations¹⁵, it was done on the basis of Scots law, what is there within our system," he said. "Our motives¹⁶ were the right ones. Other people must speak for themselves. And, in terms of Scotland's standing¹⁴ on the world stage, I am not ashamed in any sense of leading a government, which is prepared to put mercy at the heart of its legal system," Salmond added.

Not all of the families of the British victims are convinced that Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was responsible for the worst-ever terrorist incident on British soil. Dr. Jim Swire, who lost his daughter in the bombing, says he does not believe al-Megrahi was behind the bombing but with the appeal now gone, so too is the chance to answer the big vexing¹⁷ questions that linger to this day.

 

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

3 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

4 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。

5 elicited   

引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Threats to reinstate the tax elicited jeer from the Opposition. 恢复此项征税的威胁引起了反对党的嘲笑。
• The comedian's joke elicited applause and laughter from the audience. 那位滑稽演员的笑话博得观众的掌声和笑声。

6 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

7 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

8 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

9 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

10 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

11 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

12 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

13 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

16 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

17 vexing   

adj.使人烦恼的，使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• It is vexing to have to wait a long time for him. 长时间地等他真使人厌烦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Lately a vexing problem had grown infuriatingly worse. 最近发生了一个讨厌的问题，而且严重到令人发指的地步。 来自辞典例句