VOA标准英语2015--也门基地组织称美国无人机炸死了高级神职人员

Al-Qaida Says US Drone Killed Top Cleric in Yemen 也门基地组织称美国无人机炸死了高级神职人员

CAPITOL HILL—

The chaotic¹ situation in Yemen was the focus of a congressional hearing and United Nations Security Council action against the Houthi rebels Tuesday.  The attention came as the terrorist group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, said its top cleric had been killed in an airstrike.  

Widespread fighting continues in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab coalition² effort to push back a Houthi rebel assault against what is left of Yemeni government forces. 

Amid these deteriorating³ conditions, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula said that its spiritual leader, Ibrahim al-Rubaish, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, was killed in a drone strike.

Asked about the chaos⁵ in Yemen, former U.S. ambassador to that country Gerald Feierstein told a House Foreign Affairs panel the U.S. wants the parties to the conflict to return to the negotiating table. 

“Only through a negotiated resolution of the political conflict can we resume the cooperation with the government of Yemen to deter⁴, defeat and ultimately to eliminate the AQAP threat to Yemen and the United States and our partners around the world,” he stated.

Panel chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said the Obama administration is in danger of making the same mistakes in Yemen that it made in Syria, by not engaging right away. “And just like in Syria, today Yemen is in utter chaos,” she added. “In large part due to Iran’s antagonism⁶ and meddling⁷.”

Some Democrats⁸ on the panel said Republicans should not blame Yemen’s inherent instability on President Barack Obama.  Representative Gerald Connolly. “I don’t think throwing potshots at this administration, as if it were omnipotent⁹ on the world scene, especially in this region, is very helpful,” he said.

Some analysts¹⁰ said that while the world is focused on Iran’s nuclear activities and the self-proclaimed Islamic State, the danger posed by AQAP in Yemen cannot be underestimated.  

 “AQAP still to this day was deemed the biggest threat to homeland security in the United States. This chaos has only grown and will continue to grow, and I think the humanitarian¹¹ disaster for the poor Yemeni people will likely create a longer-term problem for the U.S,” said Brian Katulis of the Center for American Progress.

Also Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council imposed an arms embargo¹² against the Houthi rebels, citing the rapidly worsening humanitarian situation.

1 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 antagonism   

n.对抗，敌对，对立

参考例句：

• People did not feel a strong antagonism for established policy.人们没有对既定方针产生强烈反应。
• There is still much antagonism between trades unions and the oil companies.工会和石油公司之间仍然存在着相当大的敌意。

7 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 omnipotent   

adj.全能的，万能的

参考例句：

• When we are omnipotent we shall have no more need of science.我们达到万能以后就不需要科学了。
• Money is not omnipotent,but we can't survive without money.金钱不是万能的，但是没有金钱我们却无法生存。

10 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。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。