示威者要求美国会不干预叙利亚

 　　WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Protesters took to the streets of Washington on Saturday, urging Congress to reject President Barack Obama's plan of military action against Syria.

　　The protesters gathered around noon at the White House, loudly chanting slogans such as "You say more war, we say no war" and " Obama, hands off Syria, Congress, hands off Syria." They walked in circles on the pavement in front of the White House, holding placards reading "Bombing Syria doesn't protect people, it kills them."

　　Several protesters even played soccer in front of the White House, while chanting "make soccer, not war."

　　Radhika Miller¹, an activist² with anti-war group ANSWER Coalition³, said she is against the strike on Syria because "the bombs we drop around the world explode here at home," as many people in the United States still suffer from joblessness and other pains of a sluggish⁴ economy, while billions were squandered⁵ in military actions in distant land.

　　"We are against the war not because we are isolationists," said Miller, pointing to the White House behind her. "It's because the bombs dropped in Syria kill people, and we will not allow you to kill people in our name."

　　The Obama administration accuses Syrian President Bashar al- Assad's government of using chemical weapons against its own people, which Damascus denies, and Obama has asked Congress to authorize⁶ a punitive⁷ military strike.

　　Medea Benjamin, co-founder of anti-war group Code Pink, said in the coming week, the American public will be able to see if the Congress will listen to the voice of the people, or will just go ahead and authorize another war.

　　"This war will not help the Syrian people, it will not help the American people, and it will not help the international rule of law," said Benjamin, noting the use of force is only legal when it is in self-defense or with United Nations Security Council authorization⁸.

　　Without UN backing, a U.S. strike against Syria is illegal, Benjamin said.

　　Multiple polls show that the U.S. public is overwhelmingly against military action in Syria, and the Congress is deeply divided on the issue. The Senate is expected to debate and vote on a resolution to authorize military action next week, and the House of Representatives will vote later.

1 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

5 squandered   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squandered all his money on gambling. 他把自己所有的钱都糟蹋在赌博上了。
• She felt as indignant as if her own money had been squandered. 她心里十分生气，好像是她自己的钱给浪费掉了似的。 来自飘（部分）

6 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

7 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

8 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。