VOA常速英语2020--解决南苏丹问题的关键在于政治稳定

Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government. After more than six years of civil war, the warring parties in South Sudan agreed in late February to form a Transitional Government of National Unity¹. This is a long-delayed, but necessary step toward ending a conflict that has left some 400,000 people dead and well over 4 million others displaced inside and outside of the country. South Sudan is a fragile state that is struggling with several challenges. Chief among them are a serious shortage of food that has pushed more than 9 million people into food insecurity and a sharp spike² in the number of COVID-19 cases that has overwhelmed the country’s health care system, one of the weakest in the world. To add to these problems, the parties to the February agreement are struggling to agree on solutions, and the political impasse³ could be costly⁴. According to Caroline Sekyewa, South Sudan Country Director at the International Rescue Committee, “community violence is raging in several states where the government is unwilling⁵ and unable to exercise political and administrative⁶ control. The political standoff is preventing the formation of critical institutions, including the appointment of state leadership required to lead a COVID-19 response at the local level.”

接下来是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。经过六年多的内战，南苏丹的交战各方在2月下旬就组建民族团结过渡政府达成一致。这是一个拖延已久的，但也是结束冲突的必要步骤，这场冲突已造成约40万人死亡，还有400多万人在国内外流离失所。南苏丹是一个脆弱的国家，正面临着多重挑战。其中最主要的挑战是严重的粮食短缺，导致超过900万人陷入了粮食无保障的境地，而且国内新冠肺炎确诊病例激增，压垮了南苏丹的医疗体系，使南苏丹成为世界上最脆弱的国家之一。问题还不止如此，2月份进行协议的各方正努力就解决方案达成一致，而解决政治僵局可能付出高昂的代价。据国际救援委员会南苏丹国家主任卡罗琳·塞基耶瓦说，“社区暴力在几个州肆虐，政府不愿意也无法对此行使政治和行政控制。政治僵局阻碍了关键机构的形成，包括任命必要的国家领导人来应对新冠肺炎疫情，发布地方一级响应。”

The key to begin fixing South Sudan’s problems is political stability, and the key to political stability is strong, democratic governance. On June 9, the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway -- also known as the Troika -- issued a statement urging South Sudan’s fledgling Transitional Government of National Unity to take the next step and fill vacant positions in local and state governments. The Troika noted⁷ that the increasing violence is causing immense suffering for the people of South Sudan. It hinders humanitarian⁸ access to those most in need and impedes⁹ the country’s COVID-19 response. “Now is the moment for the President and Vice¹⁰ Presidents, supported by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the guarantors of the peace agreement, to agree on the selection of governors and to move forward to govern together for the benefit of the people of South Sudan,” said the Troika in a statement. “Any further delay creates uncertainty¹¹ that undermines the transition process, slows the fight against COVID-19, and holds back efforts to end the violence that now threatens the hard-won peace.”On June 17, the parties reached agreement on the selection of state governors. While this is good news, there remains¹² an urgent need for follow-through and continued statesmanship by all sides. That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government

解决南苏丹问题的关键在于政治稳定，而政治稳定的关键是强有力的民主治理。6月9号，美国、英国和挪威三国政府（也叫三国集团）发表声明，敦促南苏丹刚刚成立的民族团结过渡政府采取下一步行动，填补地方和州政府的空缺。三国集团注意到，暴力事件的增加正在给南苏丹人民造成巨大的痛苦。它阻碍了对受困的人进行人道主义援助，并阻碍该国应对新冠肺炎。“现在，总统和副总统受到政府间管理局以及和平协议保证人的支持，要就州长的选举达成一致，并为了南苏丹人民的利益进行共同执政，”三国集团在一份证明中表示。“任何进一步的拖延都会造成不确定性，破坏过渡进程，减缓与新冠肺炎的斗争，阻碍结束对目前来之不易的和平产生威胁的暴力的努力。”6月17日，双方就州长人选达成协议。虽然这是一个好消息，但各方仍然迫切需要贯彻和继续保持政治才能。这是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。

1 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。

2 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

3 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 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。

9 impedes   

阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• High packing density greatly impedes the cooling of the array. 高存贮密度很不利于阵列的散热。
• The inflexibility of the country's labor market seriously impedes its economic recovery. 该国劳工市场缺乏灵活性，这严重阻碍了它的经济恢复。

10 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。

11 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。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。