1
Palestine
Palestine usually refers to:
Palestine (region), a geographical andhistorical region in the Middle East
State of Palestine, a modern de juresovereign state in the Middle East recognized by 136 UN members and withnon-member observer state status in the United Nations
"Palestinian territories", or"occupied Palestinian territories", terms referring to the West Bank(including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip which are occupied or otherwiseunder the control of Israel
Palestinian National Authority, also known
as the Palestinian Authority, an interim self-government body established in
1994 to govern parts of the territories. Since 2013, the Palestinian National
Authority is officially referred to as the State of Palestine by most
international organisations.
2
perch
v.（动词）
v.intr.（不及物动词）
1. To alight or rest on a perch; roost:
栖息：站在栖木上；栖息：
A raven perched high in the pine
3
outpost
n.（名词）
1. A detachment of troops stationed at adistance from a main force to guard against surprise attacks.
前哨：派驻在离主力部队很远的地带的支队以防敌人的偷袭
The troops received orders to trench the
outpost.
4
The yoke of
Used to refer to something regarded as
oppressive or restrictive
"But still they will become his
servants, so that they may see how different my yoke is from the yoke of the
kingdoms of the lands."
5
Semitic people
In the racialist classifications ofCarleton S. Coon, the Semitic peoples were considered to be members of theCaucasian race, not dissimilar in appearance to the neighbouring Indo-European,Northwest Caucasian, Berber and Kartvelian-speaking peoples of the region.Aslanguage studies are interwoven with cultural studies, the term also came todescribe the religions (ancient Semitic and Abrahamic) and Semitic-speakingethnicities as well as the history of these varied cultures as associated byclose geographic and linguistic distribution.
Some recent genetic studies have found (byanalysis of the DNA of Semitic-speaking peoples) that they have some commonancestry. Although no significant common mitochondrial results have been found,Y-chromosomal links between modern Semitic-speaking peoples of the Middle Eastlike Arabs, Hebrews, Mandaeans, Samaritans, and Assyrians have shown links,despite differences contributed from other groups.
A DNA study of Jews and Palestinian Arabs(including Bedouins) found that these were more closely related to each otherthan to people of the Arabian Peninsula, Ethiopian Semitic-speaking people(Amharas, Tigrayans , Harari and Tigre people), and the Arabic speakers ofNorth Africa.
Genetic studies indicate that modern Jews (Ashkenazi,
Sephardic and Mizrahi specifically), Levantine Arabs, Assyrians, Samaritans,
Maronites, Druze, Mandaeans, and Mhallami, all have an ancient indigenous
common Near Eastern heritage which can be genetically mapped back to the
ancient Fertile Crescent, but often also display genetic profiles distinct from
one another, indicating the different histories of these peoples.
6
admixture
n.（名词）
1. The act of mixing or mingling.
混合：混合或相混的动作
He placed his whole ambition in those
speculations in whose beauty and subtlety there in no admixture of the common
needs for life.
7
massacre
n.（名词）
Theact or an instance of killing a large number of human beings indiscriminatelyand cruelly.
大屠杀，残杀：对人类大规模地和残暴地进行屠杀的行动或事件
He would have liked to massacre everyone of
them for having been witness to the degrading broil.
8
ascribe
v.tr.（及物动词）
1. To attribute to a specified cause,source, or origin:
归结：归结于某一具体原因，来源或根源：
I would not ascribe vice to him.
9
prophecy
n.（名词）
1. An inspired utterance of a prophet,viewed as a revelation of divine will.
预言：预言家传授的话，被看成是神的意志的启示
] His prophecy has come true.
10
intercourse
n.（名词）
1. Dealings or communications betweenpersons or groups.
往来交往：个人或群体间的交往或交际
Don't intercourse with that kind of man,
this is beneath you.
11
testimony
n.（名词）【复数】
. A declaration by a witness under oath, asthat given before a court or deliberative body.
证词：证人在誓言下所做的陈述，如在法庭或审议机构前做的证词
For many were giving false testimony
against Him, but their testimony was not consistent.
12
sift
v.（动词）
v.tr.（及物动词）
To put (flour, for example) through a sieveor other straining device in order to separate the fine from the coarseparticles.
筛分：将（如面粉）放入筛子或其它过滤装置中以便把精细的颗粒从粗颗粒中分离出来
I had to sift through a pile of papers
looking for the lost article.
13
illuminate
v.（动词）
v.tr.（及物动词）
To provide or brighten with
light.
照明，照亮：给予光亮或用光使发亮
Intelligent guessing saves time but even
wrong guesses illuminate the problem.
14
excavation
n.（名词）
1. The act or process of excavating.
挖掘：挖掘的动作或过程
A tiny excavation may remain.
15
erect
adj.（形容词）
1. Being in a vertical, upright position:
竖直的，直立的：处于垂直的，立直的位置
"It had to be somebody," she said
to the erect, austere missionary.
16
Homer
The chronological period of Homer dependson the meaning to be assigned to the word "Homer". Was Homer a singleperson, an imaginary person representing a group of poets, or the imaginaryauthor of a traditional body of oral myths? If the works attributed either whollyor partially to a blind poet named Homer, were really authored by such aperson, then he must have had biographical dates, or a century or otherhistorical period, which can be described as "the life and times ofHomer". If on the other hand Homer is to be considered a mythicalcharacter, the legendary founder of a guild of rhapsodes (professionalperformers of epic poetry) called the Homeridae, then "Homer" meansthe works attributed to the rhapsodes of the guild, who might have composed primarilyin a single century or over a period of centuries.
Much of the geographic and material content
of the Iliad and Odyssey appear to be consistent with the Aegean Late Bronze
Age, the time of the floruit of Troy, but not yet the time of the Greek
alphabet. In a third and last interpretation, the term "Homer" can be
used to refer to traditional elements of oral myth known to, but not originated
by the rhapsodes; from these they composed oral poetry, which transmitted
information concerning the culture of Mycenaean Greece. This information is
often called "the world of Homer" (or of Odysseus, or the Iliad). The
Homeric period would in that case cover a number of historical periods,
especially the Mycenaean Age, prior to the first delivery of a work called the
Iliad.
17
scrupulously
adv.小心翼翼地;多顾虑地
He fulfilled the round of his duties
scrupulously.
18
Judah (son of Jacob)
Judah is the fourth son of the patriarchJacob and his first wife, Leah: his full brothers are Reuben, Simeon and Levi(all older), and Issachar and Zebulun (younger) and one full sister Dinah, ; hehas six half-brothers.
Following his birth, Judah's next
appearance is in Gen 37, when he and his brothers cast Joseph into a pit out of
jealousy after Joseph approaches them, flaunting a coat of many colors, while
they are working in the field. It is Judah who spots a caravan of Ishmaelites
coming towards them, on its way to Egypt and suggests that Joseph be sold to
the Ishmaelites rather than killed. (Gen. 37:26-28, "What profit is it if
we slay our brother and conceal his blood? ... Let not our hand be upon him,
for he is our brother, our flesh.")
19
Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon (Akkadian: Aššur-aḥa-iddina
"Ashur has given a brother"; Hebrew:אֵסַרחַדֹּן;[1] Ancient Greek: Ασαραδδων;[2] Latin: Asor Haddan) was a king
of the Neo-Assyrian Empire who reigned 681 – 669 BC. He was the youngest son of
Sennacherib and the West Semitic queen Naqi'a (Zakitu), Sennacherib's second
wife.
20
Topic
The existence of Israel
The creation of a Jewish state in themiddle of the Arab world not only represents the continuation of Europeancolonialism in Palestine, it has also consisted of the ethnic cleansing ofPalestinians and the establishment of an apartheid system by a rogue nationthat has repeatedly violated international law. Given this reality, and thefact that Palestine is the Holy Land of three religions, the only just solutionto the Zionist project of the Israeli state and its Western backers is theestablishment of a single country: a democratic secular state of Palestine inwhich Jews, Arabs and Christians all have equal rights.
The Rise of the Zionist Movement
The Zionist movement emerged in Europe inthe late 19th century and encouraged European Jews to escape anti-Semitism bymigrating to Palestine, which was ruled by the Ottoman Turks at the time, withthe goal of creating a Jewish state in the Holy Land. This migration saw theJewish population in Palestine increase from 4 percent in 1850 to 11 percent in1917, the year that the British government’s Balfour Declaration stated: “HisMajesty’s government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of anational home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors tofacilitate the achievement of this object.”
Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire
in World War One, the countries of the region were ruled by Britain and France
under mandates from the League of Nations (predecessor of the United Nations).
But World War Two brought about the downfall of the European empires as
colonies throughout the world gained independence. Accordingly, Lebanon (1943)
and Syria (1946) gained independence from France while Jordan (1946) was liberated
from British rule. The exception was Palestine, which had been ruled by Britain
since 1922.
