VOA标准英语2015--也门副总裁呼吁和平谈判

Yemen VP Renews Call for Peace Talks 也门副总裁呼吁和平谈判

CAIRO—

Yemeni Vice¹ President Khaled Bahah renewed calls for peace talks Thursday, saying he does not want foreign troops in Yemen.  And as Yemenis at home struggle to survive the airstrikes and battles, relatives trapped abroad say they will gladly suffer the consequences if they could find a way to get home.  

At this traditional restaurant, Yemeni people stranded² here in Egypt are divided.  Some think foreign intervention³ is necessary to end the war, and others think foreign intervention is the cause of the war.

But they agree on one thing.  They want to go back to Yemen.  

Yusuf Mohammad is a college student from Ibb, a picturesque⁴ mountain city in central Yemen.  

Sitting at a table in the Cairo restaurant he says he was born in Yemen, and he plans to die there.

Many Yemeni leaders are also out of the country now.  From Saudi Arabia Thursday, Vice President Khaled Bahah called for new peace talks.

"We are still hoping that there will be no ground campaign along with the air campaign.  This is what we are hoping.  And we are hoping that our people in Yemen will understand and the causalities that have already happened now it would be more if it happened on the ground," said Bahah.

He calls on Yemeni people to abandon tribal⁵ loyalties⁶ in favor of national unity⁷.

But the fighting rages on between Houthi militants⁸ and their allies and the allies of the internationally recognized government.  

Saudi Arabia has been conducting airstrikes in Yemen for weeks on the side of the government, and rival regional power Iran is believed to be on the Houthi side.

Aid workers say the humanitarian⁹ situation is getting “worse by the hour.”  Millions of Yemenis do not have enough food to survive, and there are widespread shortages of fuel, water and medical supplies.

In Cairo, Yemenis say there may be food, but many can no longer afford housing.

"I hope international organizations will find a way to help thousands of Yemeni people stranded abroad to get home," said Samar Amen, an aid worker who is trying to help.

But many Yemenis are also trying to flee the country, she adds, and families on both sides complain the war has robbed them of their freedom.  

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

3 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

4 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 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。

9 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。