VOA常速英语2014--Violence Escalates as Libya Faces Oil Standoff 利比亚面临石油僵局和暴力升级

 

Violence Escalates² as Libya Faces Oil Standoff 利比亚面临石油僵局和暴力升级

A standoff between Libya’s central government and militias⁴ who control oil fields threatens to escalate¹ into conflict, after the rebels said they would sell oil directly to the world market despite a government ban. Militias in the east and south are demanding autonomy, threatening to derail Libya’s path to stability following the overthrow⁵ of Muammar Gadhafi in 2011. The lawlessness is feeding violence across the country.

利比亚中央政府和控制油田的民兵之间的对峙可能升级为冲突。此前，反政府武装声称，他们将不顾政府禁令、直接在世界市场出售石油。东部和南部的民兵要求自治，威胁要把利比亚从2011年推翻卡扎菲后走向稳定的道路上拉下来。没有法律控制导致暴力活动在全国各地蔓延。

The lines of cars waiting for gasoline snake through the streets of Tripoli. Libya may have among the world’s biggest oil reserves - but people are waiting for hours or even days to buy fuel. Among them is Tripoli resident Fatima.

利比亚拥有全世界一些最大的石油储备。但是，的黎波里的居民需要排几个小时甚至几天的队才能买到汽油。

Fatima says she has been waiting for days now. "This country… we will not be able to live here... the situation worsens every day," she says.

特里波里居民法蒂玛说：“我们已经等了几天了。这个国家真是……我是说我们在这里生活不下去了，我很难过。局势一天比一天坏。”

Militias in the east have blockaded ports and refineries⁶ - starving the country of its one primary source of cash - oil exports. Production is less than a fifth of the pre-revolution level of 1.6 million barrels per day.

东部地区的民兵封锁了港口和炼油厂，让这个国家失去了主要现金来源——石油出口。目前的产量还不足革命前160万桶日产量的五分之一。

Ibrahim al-Jathran, who leads the Benghazi-based militia³ that has led the oil blockade, says they stopped the oil shipments because the oil money goes out and comes back to suppress and terrify Libyan citizens.

扎斯兰带领班加西民兵实施了这次石油封锁。扎斯兰说：“我们为什么停止石油供应？因为他们用出口石油赚的钱镇压和恐吓利比亚人民。”

Jathran’s militia has declared its own autonomous⁷ government in the east and is trying to sell oil directly on the world market - risking confrontation⁸ with Libya's navy.

扎斯兰的民兵宣布在东部地区建立自治政府，并且冒着跟利比亚海军发生冲突的危险，试图直接向国际市场出售石油。

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has rejected giving any autonomy to the militias. But he has few options, says John Hamilton of analyst⁹ group Cross-Border Information.

总理扎伊丹拒绝给予民兵任何自治权。跨境信息分析集团的汉密尔顿说，扎伊丹没有什么选择。

“There’s really no prospect¹⁰ of the government moving against them militarily, that would be a disaster. They’ve tried bribing¹¹ them, they’ve tried persuading them. The government can’t meet their political demands and so it’s a deadlock¹²,” he said.

他说：“在军事上和他们对抗对政府来说没有好处，那将是一场灾难。他们试图贿赂他们，试图劝说他们。政府无法满足他们的政治要求，所以现在陷入了僵局。”

That deadlock must be broken if Libya is to become a stable democracy, says former U.S. diplomat¹³ Ethan Chorin, author of a book on the Libyan revolution titled Exit the Colonel.

美国前外交官科林通过Skype对美国之音说，如果利比亚要成为一个稳定的民主国家，必须打破这个僵局。

“If things keep going in this direction then some form of federalism is not only inevitable¹⁴, but probably a good idea,” said Chorin.

科林说：“如果事情继续朝这个方向发展，那么，某种形式的联邦化不仅无法避免，而且很可能是个好主意。”

Compounding economic, political woes¹⁵

Escalating¹⁶ violence is compounding Libya’s economic and political woes. This month a Briton and a New Zealander were shot dead near Tripoli. In December, Libya’s first suicide bomb attack near Benghazi killed seven soldiers.

不断升级的暴力正在加剧利亚比的经济和政治困境。这个月，一名英国人和一名新西兰人在的黎波里附近被人开枪打死。

Ethan Chorin says the deteriorating¹⁷ security situation can be traced to the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate¹⁸ in Benghazi, in which U.S. ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

去年12月，班加西附近发生的利亚比第一起自杀式炸弹袭击导致七名士兵丧生。科林说，不断恶化的安全局势可以追溯到2012年班加西美国领事馆遭袭击事件。美国大使史蒂文斯和另外三名美国人在那次袭击中丧生。

“Which essentially¹⁹ turned much of the east into a no-man’s land, not only for Westerners but for the central government. And certainly there are a collection of criminal and former regimist and Islamist factions²⁰ that are taking advantage of the chaos,” he said.

科林说：“这些袭击事件基本上把东部变成了一个无人区，不仅对西方人如此，对利比亚中央政府也是如此。当然，各种罪犯、忠于前政权的人和伊斯兰激进派系正在利用这场混乱。”

That lawlessness has turned parts of Libya into a haven²¹ for militants²², says Professor Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics.

伦敦经济学院的格杰斯教授说，失去法律控制，利比亚部分地区成了武装分子的天堂。

“Libya has emerged now as a major base, a flow, of fighters and arms to west Africa, to north Africa, even to Syria,” said Gerges.

格杰斯说：“利比亚现在变成了武装分子和军火进入西非、北非甚至叙利亚的一个主要基地。”

Bringing Libya’s factions and heavily-armed militias together under one flag continues to pose a great challenge - and analysts²³ say the consequences of failure would impact the entire region.

将利比亚各派系和全副武装的民兵集合在同一面旗帜下仍然是个巨大挑战。分析人士说，如果做不到这一点，整个地区都将受到影响。

1 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

2 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

3 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

4 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

5 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

6 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

7 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

8 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

11 bribing   

贿赂

参考例句：

• He tried to escape by bribing the guard. 他企图贿赂警卫而逃走。
• Always a new way of bribing unknown and maybe nonexistent forces. 总是用诸如此类的新方法来讨好那不知名的、甚或根本不存在的魔力。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

12 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

13 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

14 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

15 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

16 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

17 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

18 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

19 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

20 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

21 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

22 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。

23 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。