Slow and Steady Wins the Race!
IN THE NEWS - In
This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
这是美国之音特别英语的时事新闻。
The Sri Lankan army has been leading what it called a "final push" against Tamil Tiger rebels. A military spokesman told VOA that the army hoped to free all civilians trapped in rebel territory by Sunday. The military said troops were moving in from the north and the south on the narrow area of coastline still held by the rebels.
斯里兰卡政府军现已向猛虎组织展开所谓的“最后一击”。一位军事发言人告诉美国之音政府军希望在星期六之前能解救出所有的被困民众。军方称部队正向着现还被猛虎组织占据的狭长海岸地带的北部和南部推进。
On Friday, the United Nations human rights office called for an investigation of possible war crimes in
星期五，联合国人权办公室要求对斯里兰卡可能犯下的战争罪展开进一步调查。人权办公室称：政府军和反叛者的行为可能犯下法律意义上的战争罪和危害人类罪。
A U.N. spokesman expressed concern about reports that government shelling has killed civilians. He also expressed concern over reports of rebels shooting those trying to flee to safety.
一报道称由于斯政府军炮击而造成民众死亡，同时，又有报道称猛虎组织射击那些试图逃离（战区）寻找安全庇护所的民众，联合国一发言人对此深表示关切。
This week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent his top aide to press for an end to the Sri Lankan conflict.
本周，联合国秘书长潘基文派出特别助手，施压结束（政府军现与猛虎组织的）交战。
Almost two hundred thousand Tamil civilians in the north have been displaced since fighting intensified in January. Some people have been able to escape across the waters of a lagoon to a government-controlled area. But thousands of civilians reportedly have been killed and many thousands more wounded.
北部约有 20 万民众自 1 月份交战加剧以来已被迫离开。其中一部分人穿过礁湖来到政府军的所控区域；但是数以千计的民众，据报道称已经死亡；还有成千上万的民众受伤。
The International Red Cross has described the humanitarian situation as "unimaginable." The Red Cross has been unable to bring in food or remove the wounded and sick from the area of fighting.
国际红十字会用“令人难以想象”的字眼来描述（斯里兰卡的）人道局势。红十字会甚至不能运送进食物和从战区转移出那些受伤和生病的民众。
斯里兰卡正寻求从国际货币基金组织获取一笔 20 亿美元的贷款来帮助国内的经济。美国国务希拉里 . 克林顿，本周说到：“现在显然不是关心贷款的合适时机”。但国际货币基金组织总裁多米尼克斯劳特—卡恩星期五表示斯里兰卡确实需要帮助。路透社报道到：卡恩总裁表示国际货币基金组织正设法在接下来的几个星期内寻找出一个解决办法。
斯里兰卡是一个拥有 2 ， 100 万人口的 印度洋岛国。 3/4 的人口是锡兰族。早在 25 年前，坦米尔人为争取独立家园而战的时候，冲突就开始了。
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam once controlled a large area of the north and east. But now, military officials say the area held by the Tamil Tigers has been reduced to just a few square kilometers of beachfront.
从前，坦米尔伊拉姆猛虎解放组织控制了北部和西部的大片区域。但是现在，斯军政府军官员称猛虎组织控制的范围缩小到了只有靠海滨的几平公里。‘
The government says the military offensive is also a hostage rescue operation. It says the rebels are hiding among civilians. On Wednesday, President Obama deplored the rebels' use of civilians as human shields. But he also called on the Sri Lankan government to act responsibly.
斯政府称反叛者藏在民众中间，发动军事进攻也是为了解救人质。星期三，奥巴马总统谴责猛虎组织扣留民众作为“人盾”。他也要求斯政府作出负责人的反应。
There have been reports in recent days that shelling killed hundreds of civilians. On Wednesday, artillery shells hit the only remaining hospital in the area of fighting.
近来，不断有报道说到：许许多多的民众遭炮弹袭击而死亡。星期三，迫击炮弹击中了战区仅剩的一家医院。
The government promised last month to end its use of heavy weapons. It says the rebels are the ones killing innocent people. The rebels blame the government.
斯政府于上个月作出停止使用重型武器的保证，并称猛虎组织才是杀死无辜民众的罪魁祸首。但猛虎组织不予承认，并把它（指杀死无辜民众的的行为）归咎于政府。
