VOA慢速英语2021 塔利班攻占更多城市 美国派兵帮助撤离使馆人员

As Taliban militants¹ gained control of Afghanistan's second and third largest cities on Friday, the United States and western nations are preparing to send troops to help evacuate² workers from embassies in the capital, Kabul.

随着塔利班武装分子周五控制了阿富汗第二和第三大城市，美国等西方国家正准备派遣军队帮助工作人员从驻首都喀布尔的大使馆撤离。

The capture of Kandahar in the south and Herat in the west after days of clashes is a major loss for the Afghan government. The Taliban also captured the towns of Lashkar Gah in the south and Qala-e-Naw in the northwest, security officers said.

南部的坎大哈和西部的赫拉特在经过数天的交锋后被占领，这是阿富汗政府的重大失利。塔利班还占领了南部的拉什卡尔加和西北部的瑙堡等城镇。

Ghulam Habib Hashimi, a council member, told Reuters by telephone from Herat, "The city looks like a front line, a ghost town. Families have either left or are hiding in their homes."

市议员古拉姆·哈比卜·哈希米在赫拉特通过电话对路透社表示：“这座城市看起来就是前线，就是鬼城。各个家庭要么逃离，要么躲在家里。”

In Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, witnesses said the militants seized the governor's office and other buildings. An official said government forces still controlled Kandahar's airport, which was the U.S. military's second biggest base in Afghanistan.

在塔利班的发源地坎大哈，目击者称武装分子占领了州长办公室和其它建筑。一位官员表示，政府军仍然控制着坎大哈机场，这是美军在阿富汗的第二大基地。

Since Aug. 6, the militants have taken control of 14 of Afghanistan's 34 provincial³ capitals. Of Afghanistan's major cities, the government still holds Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif in the north and Jalalabad near the Pakistani border in the east.

自8月6日以来，武装分子已经控制了阿富汗34个省会城市中的14个。在阿富汗的主要城市中，政府仍然控制着喀布尔，北部的马扎里沙里夫和东部靠近巴基斯坦边境的贾拉拉巴德。

The defeats have raised concerns that the U.S.-supported government could fall to the militants, as international forces complete their withdrawal⁴ after 20 years of war. And U.S. intelligence reports said this week that the Taliban could isolate⁵ Kabul within 30 days and take it over in 90 days.

随着国际部队在经过20年的战争后完成撤军，这些失败让人们担忧美国支持的阿富汗政府可能会落入武装分子手中。美国情报报告本周表示，塔利班可能在30天内隔断喀布尔，并在90天内接管它。

On Thursday, U.S. defense⁶ officials announced that 3,000 extra troops would be deployed⁸ to Afghanistan within 48 hours to help evacuate U.S. embassy workers.

美国国防官员周四宣布，将在48小时向阿富汗增派3000名士兵，以帮助撤离美国大使馆的工作人员。

Britain said it would send about 600 troops to help its citizens leave. The Associated Press reported Canada would also deploy⁷ special forces troops to Kabul to help in the evacuation of embassy workers. Other embassies and aid groups said they were also getting their people out.

英国表示将派遣约600名士兵帮助其公民撤离。美联社报道称，加拿大也将向喀布尔部署特种部队帮助疏散大使馆工作人员。其它大使馆和援助团体也表示，他们正在撤离他们的人。

The speed of the Taliban offensive has raised criticism of U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw American troops - 20 years after they ousted⁹ the Taliban following the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S.

塔利班的进攻速度引发了对美国总统拜登在美国911事件后驱逐塔利班20年之后做出撤军决定的批评。

Biden said this week he did not regret his decision. He noted¹⁰ that the U.S. has spent more than $1 trillion in America's longest war and has lost thousands of troops.

拜登本周表示，他并不后悔自己的决定。他指出，美国在这场美国耗时最久的战争中消耗了超过1万亿美元，还牺牲了数千名士兵。

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke¹¹ to President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday. They told him the United States remained "invested" in Afghanistan's security and stability and is working in support of a political solution.

美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯和国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀周四与阿富汗总统阿什拉夫·加尼进行了交流。他们告诉加尼，美国仍然致力于阿富汗的安全和稳定，并将努力支持政治解决方案。

The fighting has also raised fears of a refugee crisis. A U.N. official said about 400,000 civilians¹² have been forced from their homes since the beginning of the year.

这场战争也引发了难民危机的担忧。一名联合国官员表示，自今年年初以来，大约有40万平民被迫离开家园。

In a deal with former President Donald Trump's administration last year, the Taliban agreed not to attack U.S.-led foreign forces as they withdrew.

在去年与前美国总统川普达成的协议中，塔利班同意在以美国为首的外国军队撤离时不攻击他们。

The Taliban also made a promise to discuss peace. But meetings with government representatives have gone nowhere.

塔利班还承诺共商和平。但与政府代表的会晤无果而终。

1 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。

2 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

5 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

8 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

9 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

10 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。

11 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。

12 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。