VOA常速英语2013--中东动乱令以色列不安

 

Middle East Turmoil¹ Sparks Unease in Israel 中东动乱令以色列不安

JERUSALEM — The year 2013 saw more upheaval² in the Middle East as the effects continued from popular uprisings in a half-dozen countries. For Israel this brought a  mixed reaction of reassurance³ and uncertainty⁴.

The effort to end Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program caused Israeli leaders their greatest worry. Few believe Iran is serious about abandoning its program, whose  existence it denies. Ephraim Kam is at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

意在结束伊朗嫌疑核武器项目的努力使得以色列领导人非常担忧，没有人认为伊朗会真的放弃该项目，而且伊朗否则该项目的存在。Ephraim Kam就职于特拉维夫市国家安全研究所。

"They [the Iranians] have not invested so many efforts and money just to stop it now even if they are in economic trouble. So what they are trying to do is to  maneuver, to give something, to get much more than they give and when the time is appropriate to continue with their nuclear program," said Kam.

“伊朗人在这方面投入这么多精力和资金，即使是陷入经济问题也不会停止该项目。所以他们的所作所为就是交出一些东西，然后得到更多，在时间合适时继续进行核项目。”

Israeli leaders are also watching the war in Syria. They like that the fighting is distracting the attention and absorbing the resources of Syria's government and its  allies, Iran and Hezbollah. But the situation must be watched, said Ely Karmon of The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. "Who will control the vast  territory which now is under the control of dozens, dozens of small organizations," he questioned. "Jihadists, Salafists, some of them local warlords?

以色列领导人们也在关注叙利亚的战争，战争转移了人们的目光，同时消耗叙利亚政府及其盟友伊朗核真主党的资源。但国际反恐研究所的Ely Karmon说必须关注这一局势，“谁将控制那些 目前被十几个小组织控制的广大领土呢，圣战分子、沙拉菲，还是当地军阀呢？”

The Syrian conflict has aggravated⁵ tensions between the Sunni and Shi'ite branches of Islam across the region. Ephraim Kam said this, too, is benefiting Israel, though  the arrival of so many fighters is worrisome.

叙利亚冲突进一步恶化了该地区伊斯兰教逊尼派和什叶派的紧张局势，Ephraim Kam说尽管许多武装分子的到来令人担忧，但这对以色列有好处。

"Our concern is that at a certain point, when the struggle will decline, we are going to find these guys trying to challenge us. This is a problem. Not now. Not  immediately. What we have immediately, it's relatively⁶ small incidents but sometime in future it can change," Kam said.

“我们担心在某个时候，当战斗消退下去时，这些武装分子就会来挑衅我们，这是个问题，但眼下还好，我们眼下遇到的问题还较小，但未来情况会发生变化。”

Egypt's military coup⁷ was a relief to Israeli officials. The new government in Cairo has cracked down on terrorist activity in the Sinai near Israel and wants to  weaken the anti-Israel Hamas movement that rules Gaza.

埃及军方政变令以色列官方松了口气，开罗新政府镇压了与以色列接壤的西奈地区的恐怖活动，并希望削弱控制加沙的反以色列哈马斯运动。

The revival⁸ of peace talks with the Palestinians after a three-year freeze brought some hope but most observers are not optimistic.

经过三年冻结后恢复与巴勒斯坦的和谈将带来一些希望，但大多数观察家并不乐观。

Ely Karmon said each side is constrained⁹ by its hardliners. "So I think that we need an interim¹⁰ agreement which will give symbolic¹¹ territorial¹² gains to the  Palestinians over the very short term, much more freedom of movement and economic incentives¹³ and a very general framework which will speak about a final agreement," he  said.

Ely Karmon说各方都受到其强硬派的制约，“所以我想我们需要能在短期内给巴勒斯坦象征性领土的临时政府，以及活动自由、经济鼓励和非常笼统的框架，这些将有利于最后的协议。”

The Palestinians are pessimistic. They don't believe Israel is ready to make concessions¹⁴, like freezing West Bank settlement, said Hadi Abdul Mahdi of East Jerusalem's  PASSIA research institute. "We are contained and will continue to be contained in an autonomy-minus situation, governed militarily by Israelis, controlled by the  powers of the West and keeping mediocre¹⁵ people in offices like municipality arrangements," he added.

巴勒斯坦人很不乐观，他们认为以色列并未准备好让步，比如冻结西岸定居点，东耶路撒冷PASSIA研究所的哈·阿卜杜勒·迈赫迪说，“我们在自治程度最低的时候受到以色列军事手段的制 约，以后还要受到制约，被西方大国控制，像直辖市管理那样将平庸者留下。”

Israeli leaders said they are ready to make concessions but need security guarantees. But given the rising number of incidents in the past year, this appears less and  less likely.

以色列领导人称准备做出让步，但需要有安全保障。但考虑到过去一年事件进一步多发，让步看来越来越不可能。

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

3 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

8 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

9 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

10 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

11 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

12 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

13 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

14 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

15 mediocre   

adj.平常的，普通的

参考例句：

• The student tried hard,but his work is mediocre. 该生学习刻苦，但学业平庸。
• Only lazybones and mediocre persons could hanker after the days of messing together.只有懒汉庸才才会留恋那大锅饭的年代。