2006年VOA标准英语-Europe Being Drawn Deeper into Cartoon Fir

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
09 February 2006

Since European newspapers began reprinting editorial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, Europe is finding itself the target of Muslim ire. 

Muslim protesters chant slogans during a demonstration¹ outside  French embassy in London  
  
Embassies set ablaze², goods boycotted³, citizens warned not to travel to certain volatile⁴ regions for fear of their safety, this time the target is Europe, where more than a dozen newspapers have reprinted controversial cartoons of the Muslim prophet, Muhammad.

Middle East and North Africa specialist at the International Study and Research Center in Paris, Luis Martinez, says it is a troubling sign for Europe. He says, until now, Europe has been able to convince Arab societies in particular to forget certain historical facts, such as the Christian⁵ Crusades and European colonization⁶ of their countries. Europe now has a more peaceful image as a soft power in the Arab world, which has functioned more or less successfully.

But that appears to be changing. In the past two weeks, angry protesters have torched and attacked European embassies and staged angry demonstrations⁷ in the Middle East, Asia, and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Much of their ire has been directed at Denmark, where a newspaper first printed the cartoons last September. 

Pakistani protesters step on Danish flag to protest offensive cartoon of Prophet Muhammad   
  
Several Middle Eastern countries have recalled their ambassadors from Denmark to protest the drawings.

A Middle East expert at the Royal Institute of International Relations in London, Richard Whitman, says many of the protests target Europe as a whole.

"It does not matter, perhaps, if people in your country did not reproduce the cartoons. It looks as if Europeans collectively are being hit hard. And the response is going to have to be a collective one. All governments are going to have to decide how they want to respond to such strident public opposition⁸ in third countries," he said.

European leaders have joined pleas for calm by religious and other international figures. Many have balanced support for free speech with calls for the media and others to respect religious sensitivities.

The newspaper that published the cartoons originally, apologized, but Muslim anger against the cartoons does not appear to be dying down.

Some experts like Antoine Basbous, the director of the Paris Observatory⁹ of Arab Countries, believe that Muslim anger could leave a lasting¹⁰ diplomatic impact, particularly when it comes to Europe's ties with North Africa and the Middle East.

He says that, at the moment, relations between Europe and the Arab world are under control. But that may change, he says. And what he calls "regimes in difficulty", notably¹¹ Syria and Iran, may try to use anger on the Muslim streets to suit their own, political purposes.

Publicly, European officials argue the cartoons are unlikely to erode¹² their ties with the Muslim world.

European Commission spokeswoman Emma Udwin notes these bonds are long standing¹³.

"Our efforts to bridge across the Mediterranean¹⁴, to deepen our links with the Islamic world are not something new, they are not something recent. They are something which stretches back over more than a decade. And our partnership¹⁵ is well known and well understood in Islamic countries, not only in the Middle East, but in Indonesia, Afghanistan. We have Islamic partners all over the world who know us as a major donor¹⁶, as a major investor¹⁷, as a major trade partner," she said.

Those ties include a Europe-Mediterranean partnership between the European Union and Middle Eastern and North African countries. Europe is also the Palestinian Authority's biggest source of foreign funds and North Africa's largest trade partner.

But Europe's relationship with the Middle East is changing, and not just because of the cartoons.

Just a few years ago, Europe split bitterly over the war in Iraq, with a number of countries joining in protesting the U.S.-led conflict. Now, the European Union has joined the United States in calling for sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program.

Washington and Brussels also have sharply criticized Syria for meddling¹⁸ in Lebanon, and expressed misgivings¹⁹ over Hamas' recent victory in the Palestinian elections.

The Royal Institute's Whitman suggests the cartoons push Europe and the United States closer in other ways.

"I do wonder whether the long-term consequence will actually be not to reverse the hostility²⁰ the U.S. faces, but for Europeans to be bracketed much more closely with the United States in a kind of demonology of 'nasty forces' impacting on Islam. The United Kingdom already feels this of course, because it is already much more closely associated with the U.S. in the war on terror and the war in Iraq. And I do wonder now whether the honeymoon²¹ period for Europe's relationship with the Islamic world is now going to be over," he said.

The biggest impact from the cartoons on Europe has been economic.

There have been scattered²² boycotts²³ of European, and particularly, Danish products. Iran has severed²⁴ its trade ties with Denmark, and Iraq has refused to accept Danish transportation funds or give contracts to Danish companies.

Some analysts²⁵ question whether there will be more severe, long-term harm to economic relations between Europe and the Muslim world.

But some experts doubt the cartoons will leave much long-term impact when it comes to Europe's relationship with Islamic countries. That includes University of Copenhagen International Relations Professor Fabrizio Tassinari.

"I honestly do not think this specific issue has to do with the European policy on, for instance, the Israeli-Arab conflict or generally speaking the policy of a number of European countries toward Arab-Muslim countries," he said. "It has to do with how to deal with issues of freedom of speech and freedom of press, and how to do that in a multi-cultural society,"

Many European countries hope Tassinari's predictions prove correct, but that still leaves them with the dilemma²⁶ of how to calm the anger in the Muslim world.

1 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

2 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

3 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

4 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

5 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。

6 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。

7 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。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

10 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

11 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

12 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

15 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

16 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。

17 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

18 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

19 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

21 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

22 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

23 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

24 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

26 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。