VOA慢速英语2014 奥巴马向伊拉克派遣300名军事顾问

 

Obama Sending 300 Military Advisers¹ to Iraq 奥巴马向伊拉克派遣300名军事顾问

From VOA Learning English, this is In The News.        

美国之音慢速学英语节目，这里是时事新闻。                                   

President Barack Obama has announced a plan to help the Iraqi government stop unrest in the country.  His plan is aimed at increasing intelligence-gathering and improving security in Iraq.  It also includes sending up to 300 United States military advisers to support the government against Islamic militants².

奥巴马总统宣布了帮助伊拉克政府平息国内动荡的计划。他的计划旨在加强情报收集工作，改善伊拉克安全状况。计划还包括派遣300名美国军事顾问，支持伊拉克政府打击伊斯兰激进分子。

The president spoke³ to reporters at the White House on Thursday.  He said the plan does not involve sending U.S. combat forces to Iraq.

周四，奥巴马总统在白宫向记者发表讲话。他表示，他的计划并不包括向伊拉克派遣作战部队。

“American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again.  We do not have the ability to simply solve this problem by sending in tens of thousands of troops and committing the kinds of blood and treasure that [have] already been expended⁴ in Iraq.  Ultimately, this is something that is going to have to be solved by the Iraqis."

“美国作战部队不会重返伊拉克参加战斗。我们没有能力通过派遣数万名士兵，通过抛洒热血和耗费无数资金来解决这个问题。最终，这个问题必须由伊拉克人自己来解决。”

Just two and one-half years ago, the president ordered the last U.S. ground troops in the Iraq war to leave the country.  The order followed eight years of fighting.

就在两年半以前，奥巴马总统下令最后一批驻伊拉克地面部队撤退。奥巴马发出该命令之前，伊拉克战争已经持续了八年。

Recently, Mr. Obama has been considering what to do in Iraq because of Sunni Muslim militants.  Militant fighters have taken control of major Iraqi cities and territory.  A group called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is leading the offensive.

最近，由于逊尼派穆斯林激进分子的活动，奥巴马总统正在考虑采取何种措施。激进分子战士已经控制了大部分伊拉克城市和领土。进攻由伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国领导。

In his speech, Mr. Obama made an appeal to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.  He urged Mr. Maliki, a Shi’ite, to rise above religious differences and make the government more inclusive. 

在讲话中，奥巴马总统向伊拉克总理马利基发出呼吁。他敦促身为什叶派教徒的马利基超然于宗教分歧之上，使政府更加包容。

“Iraqi leaders must rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq’s future.  Shia, Sunni, Kurds, all Iraqi must have confidence that they can advance their interests and aspirations⁵ through the political process rather than violence.”

“伊拉克领导人必须克服宗教分歧，为伊拉克的未来制定出政治计划。什叶派，逊尼派，库尔德人，所有伊拉克人必须有信心，他们一定能够通过政治渠道，而非暴力方式，来维护自己的利益和抱负。”

On Wednesday, U.S. Vice⁶ President Joseph Biden spoke with Mr. Maliki by telephone.  Mr. Biden urged him to govern in what he called an “inclusive manner, promote stability and unity⁷ among Iraq’s population, and address the legitimate⁸ needs of Iraq diverse communities.”

周三，美国副总统拜登与马利基通电话。拜登敦促他以更加包容的态度来执政，促进伊拉克人口的稳定和团结，解决伊拉克不同群体的合法需求。

An American official told VOA the U.S. military has been ready to direct with several plans of action.  The military has held back because of Iraq’s political situation.  The official said any military operation must be supported by political actions and goals that would help deal with the crisis.

一名美国官员告诉VOA，美国军队已经准备通过几套行动计划来提供指导。由于伊拉克的政治形势，军队已经撤退。这名官员表示，任何军事行动都必须由能够帮助解决这场危机的政治行动和目标来支持。               

Sheik Nasser Bin⁹ Hamad Al-Khalifa is a former Qatari Ambassador to the United Nations and to the U.S.  The Sheik offered his opinion on the political situation.

He said “instead of really opening up Iraq and making it a model for the region, Maliki became beholden to the Iranians’ strategic goals in the region, i.e. to dominate the whole Middle East and the Gulf,” and “he created a sectarian state.” 

“马利基没有发展伊拉克，使其成为该地区的楷模，而是被伊朗在该地区的战略目标所负累，例如主宰整个中东和海湾地区。他创建了一个宗派国家。”

On Friday, Iraqi troops continued fighting Islamic militants over control of a major oil refinery¹⁰.  Since Tuesday, the two sides have fought more than 200 kilometers north of Baghdad for control of the Beiji refinery.  As of late Thursday, each side held part of the factory.

周五，伊拉克军队继续与伊斯兰激进分子争夺一个主要炼油厂的控制权。自周二以来，双方已经在巴格达北部200多千米外开战，争夺Beiji炼油厂的控制权。截止到周四晚，双方各占领了该炼油厂的一部分。

In another development, the U.S. State Department confirmed that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has taken control of a chemical weapons center.  A State Department official said the U.S. is “concerned about the seizure¹¹ of any site by the ISIL."   She added that the center likely does not contain chemical weapons of military value.

另外，美国国务院证实伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国已经控制了一座化学武器中心。国务院一名官员表示，美国非常担忧ISIL占领任何地方。她补充说，该中心可能并不包含有军事价值的化学武器。

 

1 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

2 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。

3 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。

4 expended   

v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
• The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

6 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。

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 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

11 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。