VOA慢速英语2013 美国新闻关注情报收集和泄露问题

 

Intelligence Gathering¹, Leaks Dominate US News 美国新闻关注情报收集和泄露问题

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.

美国之音慢速学英语节目，这里是时事新闻。

This week, a U.S. military judge ruled in the case of Army Private Bradley Manning. The soldier was found guilty of espionage² for providing secrets to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. The court also found him guilty of several other charges. The punishment for these crimes could add up to more than 100 years in prison. The Oklahoma native was found not guilty of aiding the enemy. That charge could have resulted in a life prison sentence.

本周，军事法庭一位法官对陆军士兵曼宁(Bradley Manning)一案作出裁决。这名士兵向维基解密网站提供了许多机密文件，犯有间谍罪。法庭还发现其他几项控罪成立。这些罪行的刑期加起来将超过100年。曼宁是俄克拉荷马州本地人，其协助敌人的罪名不成立。否则，他将被判处终身监禁。

Manning had admitted to what is called the largest leak of secret U.S. documents in history. The documents included secret diplomatic messages and military reports about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

曼宁面对美国历史上最大的泄露机密文件案件认罪伏法。这些文件包括机密外交信息，以及关于伊拉克和阿富汗战争的军事报告。

The case was tried at Fort Meade, Maryland, close to the grounds of the National Security Agency. That is where intelligence contractor³ Edward Snowden once worked. He recently leaked secret documents on government efforts to collect information about American citizens.

该案件在马里兰州米德堡进行审理，距离国家安全局很近。情报部门承包商爱德华·斯诺登(Edward Snowden)曾在这里工作。最近，他泄露了政府试图收集美国公民信息的机密文件。

On Wednesday, members of Congress met with intelligence and law enforcement officials. The officials said the U.S. government’s information gathering does not violate the privacy of citizens. And they said these activities help to identify and defeat terrorist threats.

周三，国会成员与情报和执法部门官员会面。官员们表示，美国政府收集信息的行为并未侵犯公民的隐私。他们说，这些活动帮助鉴别并打击恐怖主义威胁。

The officials spoke⁴ after the Obama administration released documents that described the government’s telephone data collection programs.

奥巴马政府公布了描述政府电话数据收集项目的文件后，这些官员们发表了讲话。

Patrick Leahy is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Patrick Leahy是美国参议院司法委员会主席。

“The patience of the American people is beginning to wear thin. But what has to be of more concern in a democracy is, the trust of the American people is wearing thin.”

“美国民众已经开始失去耐心。但是更令人担忧的是，在一个民主国家，美国民众开始对政府失去信任。”

On Wednesday, the administration released what once were secret documents about the government’s collection of telephone records. Deputy Attorney General James Cole spoke to the Senate committee.

周三，政府公布了原本属于机密的关于政府收集电话记录的文件。司法部副部长詹姆士·科尔(James Cole)向参议院该委员会发表了讲话。

“These are telephone records maintained by the phone companies. They include the number the call was dialed from, the number the call was dialed to, the date and time of the call and the length of the call. The records do not include the names or other personal identifying information. They do not include cell site or other location information, and they do not include the content of any phone calls.”

“这些是电话公司保存的电话记录。包括主叫号码，被叫号码，通话日期，时间和时长。该记录并未包含姓名或其他个人身份信息。并未提供电话地址或其他涉及位置的信息，也不包含电话内容。”

The government must have special court approval to get names or addresses linked to phone numbers. It also needs a court order to listen to phone calls.

政府要获得与电话号码相关的姓名和地址必须获得法庭特别批准，还需要法庭命令来窃听电话。

Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse questioned the lack of voluntary public disclosure by the government.

罗得岛参议员Sheldon Whitehouse怀疑政府披露这些信息并不是自愿的。

“We have a lot of good information out there that helps the American public understand these programs. But it all came out late. It all came out in response to a leaker [Edward Snowden]. There was no organized plan for how we rationally declassify⁵ this, so that the American people can participate in the debate.”

“我们有许多好消息，可以帮助美国民众理解这些项目。但是太迟了。这仅仅是对斯诺登泄密作出的回应。关于如何理性地解密，政府并没有有组织的计划，所以美国民众可以参加辩论。”

The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization that supports individual rights, has criticized the government for collecting so much information. The group says this will change the way people act and prevent them from enjoying their freedoms under the U.S. Constitution.

支持个人权利的美国民权联盟批评政府收集了如此多的信息。该组织表示，这将改变人们的行为方式，导致他们不能享受美国宪法规定的自由。

The top lawyer for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Robert Litt, told lawmakers he disagrees.

国家情报总监办公室高级律师Robert Litt告诉立法者，他并不赞同。

“Collection of this kind of telephone metadata from the telephone companies is not a violation⁶ of anyone’s constitutional rights.”

“这种从电话公司收集电话元数据的行为并未侵犯宪法规定的任何人的权利。”

Mr. Litt told the Senate committee that public disclosure of the programs has damaged the government’s ability to protect the nation.

Litt告诉参议院委员会，向公众公开这些项目危害了政府保护国家的能力。

And that’s In the News from VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

以上就是今天的美国之音慢速学英语时事新闻节目。我是Steve Ember。

 

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

3 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 declassify   

v.撤销保密

参考例句：

• These reports were only declassified last year.这些报告去年才被撤销了密级。
• Does the president have the power to declassify information?总统有权利解密相关信息吗？

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。