纽约时报 亚美尼亚阿塞拜疆再陷冲突(3)

On Saturday, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced they had negotiated a truce¹, mediated² by France,

周六，亚美尼亚、阿塞拜疆宣布，他们在法国的斡旋下，通过谈判达成了休战协议，

to allow bodies to be collected and prisoners to be exchanged.

允许彼此收尸并交换囚犯。

But as with a Russian-brokered cease-fire reached a week earlier, the fighting has continued,

然而，与一周前在俄罗斯斡旋下达成的停火协议一样，谈判结束后，双方并未停止交战，

with each side accusing the other on Sunday of violating the truce.

还互相指责对方违反了停火协议。

"Their war effort against the Armenians is principally an attrition fight,"

“他们针对亚美尼亚人发动的战争其实是一场消耗战，”

Michael Kofman, a military analyst³ at CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis organization in Arlington, Va., said of Azerbaijan's campaign.

位于弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的非营利性研究分析机构CNA的军事分析师迈克尔·科夫曼在谈到阿塞拜疆的行动时说道。

"It's not really well organized with a clear theory of victory."

“他们的行动并没有很好的组织性，也没有清晰的取胜方针。”

Outgunned, Armenia has thrown conscripts and volunteers into the battle.

受到火力压制的亚美尼亚已经开始将征召入伍的平民和志愿者送上战场。

Some of the latter are veterans of the 1990s war, like Artur Aleksanyan,

部分志愿者还是阿图尔·阿列克桑扬那样从90年代那场战争的前线下来的退伍军人，

a retired⁴ special forces colonel who said he was in the hospital recovering from surgery when the current conflict began.

曾任特种部队上校的阿列克桑扬说，此次冲突爆发时，他正在医院等待术后康复。

He said he now leads a volunteer unit in the trenches⁵ to the north, battling to halt the Azerbaijani advance.

据他透露，如今他正带领一支志愿部队在北部的战壕作战，努力阻止阿塞拜疆的推进。

It has been 15 years since he last wielded⁶ a weapon, Mr. Aleksanyan said Saturday in an interview in Stepanakert,

上次拿起武器已经是15年前的事了，阿列克桑扬周六在斯捷潘纳克特接受采访时说道，

where he was picking up a bag full of radio equipment before driving back to the front.

接受采访时，他正在搬一个装满无线电设备的袋子，准备开车回前线。

He lifted his uniform to show the bandages around his belly⁷ which he has to change eight times a day

他掀起制服，露出了肚子上的绷带，那是他每天都要更换八次的绷带，

and rapped his knuckles⁸ against his artificial kneecap, a reminder⁹ of his last war.

接着，他又用手指敲了敲他的假膝盖，那也是上一次战争留下的印记。

But this conflict is nothing like the 1990s, Mr. Aleksanyan said.

不过，阿列克桑扬表示，此次冲突不同于20世纪90年代的那场冲突。

Then, the Kalashnikov rifle was the principal weapon.

90年代那场冲突使用的主要武器是卡拉什尼科夫步枪。

This time, there are few exchanges of small-arms fire.

而这一次，双方几乎没有用到任何轻武器。

Of his unit's 17 days at the front, he said, 15 days were spent in the trenches,

他还说，他领导的志愿者部队守在前线的17天中，有15天都是在战壕中度过的，

taking cover from artillery¹⁰ barrages¹¹ that came as frequently as every 20 minutes.

以躲避每隔20分钟就会出现一次的炮火袭击。

There they are surrounded by craters¹² where Azerbaijan has been systematically¹³ destroying Armenian tanks and other equipment,

战壕四面环山，阿塞拜疆持续系统地摧毁了亚美尼亚的坦克及其他装备，

using modern "suicide drones" that loiter over a battlefield before diving down to an opportune¹⁴ target.

他们使用现代的“自杀式无人机”在战场上空徘徊，一发现合适的目标就俯冲下去展开袭击。

"They're so fast that we can't manage to hunt them down," Mr. Aleksanyan said.

“它们动作太快了，我们根本就没机会把它们打下来，”阿列克桑扬说。

"I won't say that we are not afraid. We are all afraid."

“我并不会说我们不怕他们。我们都很害怕。”

Mr. Aleksanyan and other Armenian fighters said that despite Azerbaijan's fearsome firepower,

亚历克桑扬和其他亚美尼亚将士表示，虽然阿塞拜疆拥有强大的火力，

its foot soldiers proved easy targets when they tried to advance.

但事实表明，他们的步兵在推进的过程中很容易被命中。

Their bodies had not been collected, Mr. Aleksanyan said, and filled the battlefield with a putrid¹⁵ stench.

他们的尸体没人收走，阿列克桑扬说，战场上已经飘起来腐烂的恶臭。

1 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

2 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

3 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。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

6 wielded   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道，好人受气
• He was nominally the leader, but others actually wielded the power. 名义上他是领导者，但实际上是别人掌握实权。

7 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

8 knuckles   

n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。
• Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

10 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

11 barrages   

n.弹幕射击( barrage的名词复数 )；火力网；猛烈炮火；河上的堰坝v.火力攻击（或阻击）( barrage的第三人称单数 )；以密集火力攻击（或阻击）

参考例句：

• In many Basidiomycetes barrages develop. 在许多担子菌中也发生一些栅栏。 来自辞典例句
• It's fun to be able to run around and do instant Barrages. 一边瞬发奥术弹幕一边四处跑确实很有趣。 来自互联网

12 craters   

n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

14 opportune   

adj.合适的，适当的

参考例句：

• Her arrival was very opportune.她来得非常及时。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

15 putrid   

adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的

参考例句：

• To eat putrid food is liable to get sick.吃了腐败的食物容易生病。
• A putrid smell drove us from the room.一股腐臭的气味迫使我们离开这房间。