【英语语言学习】动乱

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

 

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

 

And I'm Renée Montagne. In Syria's Islamists have grown in influence as the rebellion grinds on against the Assad regime. These Islamists have proven to be effective on the battlefield - well armed and well funded - but more Syrians are now asking about their political ideas and what those ideas might mean for the country's future. NPR's Deborah Amos reports from Gaziantep on Turkey's border with Syria.

 

DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE¹: This confrontation², caught on video, between liberal protestors and Islamists, set off a heated online debate in Syria. These weekly demonstrations³ have become a battle of symbols. Most carry the green, red and white revolution flag adopted in the early days of the revolt. But these days, a black banner is also waved at Friday demonstrations. It represents Salafis who embrace an ultra conservative brand of Islam that is new in Syria. The chants and counter chants in the large town of Saraqeb are telling.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF DEMONSTRATION)

 

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (chanting in foreign language)

 

AMOS: The liberals shout for unity⁴, freedom, and a civil state - democracy is what they say they want.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF DEMONSTRATION)

 

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (chanting in foreign language)

 

AMOS: Islamists turn up the volume with calls for religious rule. An Islamic state is what they demand. More than 40,000 viewers downloaded this street debate. Secular⁵ activists⁷, especially in Damascus, raised this question on Facebook: Are the Salafis hijacking⁸ the revolt? In some parts of Syria, they are, says Andrew Tabler at the Washington Institute for Near East Studies, as Salafis move to the mainstream⁹ of the revolution.

 

ANDREW TABLER: The role of Salafis, in general, publicly, has skyrocketed. They have a donor¹⁰ base, they are organized and they're able to carve out a niche¹¹ in parts of Syria.

 

AMOS: Their funding comes from private sources in the Arabian Peninsula. Moderate rebel groups, who hoped the West would back them, haven't gotten nearly the same support, says Tabler.

 

TABLER: The Salafis stepped in to fill the gap, they did, and they are simply making advances and capturing weapon stocks. People like what those groups are doing, they are pushing Assad back. And nothing sells like success.

 

AMOS: That success has prompted other Syrian groups to debate Salafis directly. This meeting in a hotel in southern Turkey was the first of its kind. On one side of the table, a Salafist leader who came from inside Syria. On the other side, a group of Syrian Christians¹³; that included a female activist⁶, a respected political writer, and a priest.

 

FATHER SPIRIDON TANOUS: My name is Father Spiridon Tanous, we are Orthodox. Of course, my origin is Syrian.

 

AMOS: Father Tanous explained he wanted a dialogue between Muslims who say they want an Islamic state, and Christians who insist that democracy is the only system that guarantees the rights of minorities in Syria.

 

TANOUS: It's not easy discussion, not easy discussion.

 

AMOS: Did you expect it would be? This is the first time you've ever met.

 

TANOUS: Yeah, this is first time. Of course, personally, I don't accept to see my country as an Islamic country, because it's not like that. But we have to discuss. You cannot say no and just leave. No, because they are Syrian also.

 

AMOS: Getting to know each other was positive, said Michel Kilo, a veteran dissident, a Syrian Christian¹². It's my duty to talk to them, he added. The difference in age was striking. Kilo is part of an older generation that long opposed the Assad regime. These young Salafis have been empowered by the war, he, said, and insist on an Islamic state.

 

MICHEL KILO: (through translator) They did not put beautiful words or package things for us. They said their opinion with clarity and honesty. Even though they know their opinions will not please us, they spoke¹⁴ with honesty.

 

AMOS: Kilo spoke honestly, too. The majority of Syrians want democracy - elections, he told them - to decide what Syria will become. Deborah Amos, NPR News, Gaziantep.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 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。

3 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

4 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。

5 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

6 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。

9 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

10 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

11 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。