VOA慢速英语 2007 0602

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

What exactly is genocide? The word was invented by Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish lawyer who fled Poland at the start of World War Two and came to the United States. He lost almost every member of his family to the Holocaust¹ carried out by Nazi² Germany.

 
Sudanese women in a refugee camp in Chad in July 2004 protesting the violence in Darfur 
In a nineteen forty-four book, Raphael Lemkin wrote that by "genocide" he meant the destruction of a nation or an ethnic³ group. But not necessarily the immediate⁴ destruction. It can also describe a plan of actions taken against groups with the aim, in the end, to destroy the groups themselves.

His efforts led in nineteen forty-eight to a United Nations treaty against the crime of genocide. It took effect in nineteen fifty-one. It defines genocide as actions taken with the goal to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

The acts listed include killing⁵ or causing serious physical or mental harm. Creating conditions that are designed to cause the destruction of a group is also considered genocide. This includes taking measures to prevent births or forcibly removing the children of one group to another group.

So far, the Web site preventgenocide.org says one hundred thirty-seven countries have accepted the treaty. All countries that approve it are required to prevent and punish acts of genocide.

As the example of Darfur shows, there can be international disagreement about what represents genocide.

Four years ago, ethnic Africans rebelled in Darfur, in western Sudan. They said their needs were not getting attention from the government in Khartoum.

Since then, more than two million people have fled their homes to escape government forces and allied⁶ Arab militias⁷. The United Nations estimates that at least two hundred thousand people have been killed, a charge that Sudan disputes.

In two thousand four, the United States Congress declared the violence to be genocide. But the United Nations does not use that term for the conflict.

This week, President Bush ordered more restrictions⁸ on Sudan. The new sanctions will bar dealings by Americans with about thirty companies tied to the government. He also called for stronger international pressure on Sudan to end the violence.

Sudan condemned⁹ the new sanctions. And China urged restraint. It said there has been recent progress thanks to the joint¹⁰ efforts of all parties. Sudan has agreed to a proposal for a large United Nations presence in Darfur. But critics say the government has been delaying the peacekeeping plan.

Critics accuse China of protecting Sudan from U.N. sanctions. China buys oil from Sudan. It also has other investments there and sells weapons to the government.

China has deplored¹¹ calls by some activists¹² to boycott¹³ the Olympics next summer as a protest over Darfur. Some activists call the Beijing Games the "Genocide Games."

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

1 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

2 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

7 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 deplored   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They deplored the price of motor car, textiles, wheat, and oil. 他们悲叹汽车、纺织品、小麦和石油的价格。 来自辞典例句
• Hawthorne feels that all excess is to be deplored. 霍桑觉得一切过分的举动都是可悲的。 来自辞典例句

12 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》

13 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。