VOA慢速英语2015 伊斯兰武装分子占领两座主要城市

Islamic State Militants¹ Capture Two Major Cities 伊斯兰武装分子占领两座主要城市

The self-declared Islamic State has captured two major cities in less than a week. Islamic State fighters took control of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria on Thursday. The fall of Palmyra reportedly left the group in control of half of Syria. It came just days after the militants seized the Iraqi city of Ramadi.

自立为国的“伊斯兰国”组织在不到一个星期的时间里占领了两所主要城市。“伊斯兰国”武装分子在周四的时候控制了叙利亚中部巴尔米拉古城。巴尔米拉古城的沦陷使得“伊斯兰国”控制了叙利亚一半城市。而这仅仅发生在占领拉马迪几天之后。

Palmyra is famous for its historic ruins. Some date back nearly 2,000 years to the time of the Roman Empire. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recognizes Palmyra as a World Heritage Site.

巴尔米拉因古迹遗址而闻名于世。其中一些遗迹可以追溯到2000年前的罗马帝国时期。联合国教科文组织认定巴尔米拉古城遗址为世界遗产。

There were no immediate³ reports of damage to the ruins. But Islamic State militants destroyed a number of cultural treasures earlier in their offensive across Iraq and Syria. The militants claimed those artifacts violated Muslim beliefs.

关于城市建筑破坏情况没有进行直接报道。但是“伊斯兰国”武装分子在早些时候进攻伊拉克和叙利亚的时候大量损坏了历史文化宝藏。武装分子称这些建筑有违穆斯林宗教文化。

Maamoun Abdulkarim is Syria's antiquities⁴ director. He says hundreds of statues have been removed from Palmyra to safety. But other objects were too large and could not be moved.

Maamoun Abdulkarim是叙利亚古迹部主任。他说已经有数百件雕塑从巴尔米拉转移到了安全地带。但是还有一些体积较大物件无法移动。

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Middle East historian David Lesch is with Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

美国德克萨斯州三一大学中东历史学家David Lesch说。

"It is a huge loss to the history, to archeology. It pains me significantly, but more so, it's just aother symptom of this tragedy that's happening in Syria, and the loss of life, and the destruction of a country that really is, you know, one of the few places that indeed is a crossroads of history."

这对于历史和考古学来讲都是巨大的损失。这使我非常痛心，但更让人感到痛苦的是这只是发生在叙利亚的悲剧事件的其中一种痛症，还有很多无辜生命被夺走，国家的重创，这真的走到了历史的十字路口。

Mr. Lesch says the Syrian government has, up to now, been able to argue that it can only protect the Syrian people and cultural treasures. That, he says, may no longer be true. The fall of Palmyra marks the first time the Islamic State has seized a major city from Syrian government forces. Up until now, most of its military gains in Syria came as a result of victories over other militant² groups.

Lesch说叙利亚政府到现在一直在争论称其仅仅有保护叙利亚人民和文化宝藏的能力，现在看来这也不太可靠了。巴尔米拉的沦陷使得“伊斯兰国”武装分子首次从叙利亚政府力量手中占领一座主要城市。到目前为止，其在叙利亚境内取得的大部分军事胜利都是在战胜其他武装力量的结果。

In Britain, the Syrian Observatory⁵ for Human Rights said Thursday that the Islamic State now controls more than half of Syria. The group depends on activists⁶ inside the country for its information.

在英国，叙利亚人权观察员周四时候说“伊斯兰国”现在已经控制了叙利亚一半多的城市。该组织依靠叙利亚内部活动者提供的信息行动。

On Friday, the group said that armed militants of the al-Nusra Front had taken, in its words, complete control of a hospital near Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province. The al-Nusra Front is linked to the terrorist group al-Qaida. Government soldiers had been taking shelter in the hospital since April.

周五时候，“伊斯兰国”组织称努拉斯阵线已经完全占领了伊德利卜省吉斯尔舒古尔附近的一家医院。努拉斯阵线与恐怖组织基地组织存在联系。自从四月份来政府力量一直在这所医院庇护。

IS gains bring calls for a new plan to fight the group

The capture of Palmyra in Syria and Ramadi in Iraq raises questions about the effectiveness of American efforts to defeat the Islamic State. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama stated his support for Iraq's prime minister and the decision to plan an operation to retake Ramadi. His comments came as Iraqi government forces and Shi'ite militias⁷ surrounded the city for a possible attack.

“伊斯兰国”组织占领叙利亚城市巴尔米拉和伊拉克拉马迪之后引发了国际社会对美国领导的反伊斯兰联盟力量的质疑。周三时候美国总统奥巴马表示支持伊拉克总理制定作战计划重新夺回拉马迪的决定。这一言论发表在伊拉克政府力量和什叶派武装力量聚集拉马迪城市外部准备发动进攻之际。

Pat Ryder is a spokesman for the United States Central Command. He said on Wednesday that the Iraqis should be able to re-take Ramadi.

Pat Ryder是美国中央司令部发言人。他在周四的时候发表讲话称伊拉克应该能够重新收回拉马迪。

"The Iraqis have the numbers. They have the coalition⁸ backing them up. They have the advice and assist of the coalition. And so putting this in the bigger picture, and looking longer term, momentum⁹ will continue to be on our side."

伊拉克有足够的军队。他们有同盟军的支持。也有同盟军的作战建议和援助。所以从长远来看我们还是比较占优势的。

Colonel Ryder also said U.S.-trained Iraqi and Kurdish forces will help strengthen Iraq's security. He added that none of the troops trained by American soldiers were at Ramadi when it fell to the Islamic State group.

Colonel Ryder还说美国训练的伊拉克军队和库尔德部队将会帮助加强伊拉克的国防安全。他还说在“伊斯兰国”组织占领拉马迪城市的时候经美国训练的队伍都没有在场。

Some observers say the Islamic State gains show that the Obama administration needs a new plan of action to stop the militants. One administration critic is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner. He says President Obama should send Congress a new Authorization¹⁰ of Military Force request to permit U.S.-led operations against the militants. He said the current request would actually give Mr. Obama less power than he already has to fight the Islamic State.

一些观察人士称“伊斯兰国”作战胜利显示奥巴马政府需要重新拟定作战计划来阻止武装分子。其中一位奥巴马政府批评家是美国众议院发言人，约翰博纳。他说奥巴马总统应该向国会递交一份新的军队授权申请来允许美国领导的联盟军对抗武装分子。他说现在的申请实际上给予奥巴马的权利要比现在行驶的少。

"This is why the president frankly¹¹ should withdraw the authorization of use of military force and start over. We don't have a strategy."

这就是为什么总统坦白讲要撤回使用武力授权重新开始的原因。我们没有一个作战策略。

But White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest rejected Mr. Boehner's comments. He said the president and administration officials had met repeatedly with lawmakers to negotiate the language of the request. He said the House Speaker is simply looking for reasons not to act.

但是白宫新闻部秘书长厄内斯特驳回了博纳的这一评论。他说总统和政府官员多次会见了国会议员就申请用词进行了讨论。他说众议院发言人只是单纯地在寻找不采取行动的理由。

Words In The News

Heritage Site – n. a place considered important because of its cultural treasures

artifacts – n. something made by a human being, often one of cultural or historical interest

antiquities – n. the ancient past; buildings or works of art from the past

authorization – n. official approval

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

5 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

8 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。

9 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

10 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。

11 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。