高中英语 voa常速听力2012年09月合辑文本syrian-forces-turn-to-air-power-as-insurgency-gains素材.docVIP

VOA常速英语听力2012年09月合辑（文本）：Syrian-Forces-Turn-to-Air-Power-as-Insurgency-Gains Syrian government forces are coming in for fierce international criticism as they turn increasingly to air power to counter rebel strength on the ground. And both sides are using ever more brutal tactics, pushing casualty levels to new highs. Nearly a quarter of a million Syrians have fled their homes in recent weeks, as government bombs and mortar shells have begun targeting heavily-populated areas. Last week, amateur video on a social website, which could not be independently verified, purported to show the aftermath of attacks on the town of Deraa. This week, government raids struck Syrias largest city, Aleppo. Burying the victims is challenging authorities, as estimates of the death toll top 4,000 for August, the worst month since an opposition uprising began in March of last year. As fighting rages, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly civilians are increasingly the victims, as the conflict takes what he called a particularly brutal turn. Syrian government forces continue indiscriminate shelling of densely populate areas with heavy weapons, tanks and air assets, said Ban. Opposition groups have stepped up military activity. Civilians bear the brunt of the violence. Many experts see the increase in civilian casualties as a sign that the government of President Bashar al-Assad is growing desperate. The director of Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, David Schenker, says the bombing campaign is a last-ditch attempt to undermine morale and end the revolt. Its a scorched earth policy, said Schenker. Bashar Assad, the regime, understands that it cannot negotiate its way out of the problem. Schenker says the tactical switch to targeting civilian areas will complicate efforts to rebuild Syrias religiously-diverse society. This is going to be a shattered society, said Schenker. Its a society that had a history of religious coexistence