VOA常速英语2013--美国国会议员质疑暂停对埃及的援助决定

 

US Lawmakers Question Wisdom of Withholding² Aid to Egypt 美国国会议员质疑暂停对埃及的援助决定

STATE DEPARTMENT — Some U.S. lawmakers think President Obama's decision to withhold¹ some military assistance to Egypt, pending³ what the administration calls "credible⁴ progress" toward a democratically-elected government following a July coup⁶, may undermine U.S. security interests in the Middle East.

美国国务院—— 一些美国国会议员认为奥巴马暂停对埃及的一些军事援助的决定，可能会削弱美国在中东的安全利益。在埃及七月政变之后，等待政府所谓的“可信的进步”朝向民选政府。

With the violence in Egypt continuing, Democratic Congressman⁷ Eliot Engel and other lawmakers are questioning the timing⁸ of Washington's decision to hold back major weapons from a long-time ally.

埃及国内暴力事件持续不断，民主党议员艾略特?恩格尔和其他国会议员质疑在这个时期华盛顿暂停向这个长期盟友提供重要武器的决定。

"The region is falling apart. Syria is spiraling out of control. Iran looms⁹ as a significant threat. It just seems to me it's not very wise to risk alienating¹⁰ our traditional allies and friends," said Engel.

恩格尔说：“这个地区正四分五裂，叙利亚局势失控，伊朗组织是最大的威胁，而这个时候疏远我们传统的盟友是很不明智的。”

Withholding tanks and attack helicopters punishes a military that toppled an increasingly-authoritarian Muslim Brotherhood¹¹-led government, said Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher.

共和党国会议员达纳·罗拉巴克认为，扣押坦克和武装直升机是在惩罚推翻了日益独裁的穆斯林兄弟会领导政府的埃及军队。

"We're hanging General [Abdel Fattah] al-Sissi and the people that we are applauding for defeating radical¹² Islam in Egypt, we're leaving them hanging out to dry," said Rohrabacher.

罗拉巴克说：“我们正在绞杀国防部长塞西将军和我们鼓掌为打败了埃及激进的伊斯兰教派的那些人，任凭他们干涸消亡。

Despite Rohrabacher’s comments, the administration has taken a more nuanced view of the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president.  Since his overthrow¹³, human rights groups have deplored¹⁴ the crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood supporters, mass arrests and other widespread abuses.  

不考虑罗拉巴克的言论，政府对穆尔西埃及第一位自由选举产生的总统的下台已经采取了一些微妙的看法。自从他下台之后，人权组织已经谴责对穆斯林兄弟会支持者的镇压、大规模的逮捕和其他滥用权力的行为。

The U.S. says the decision to hold back tanks, missiles, and attack helicopters does not affect its support for counter-terrorism efforts in the lawless Sinai peninsula, which borders Israel.

美国说，暂停交付坦克、导弹和武装直升机的决定不影响美国支持在与以色列相邻的西奈半岛的反恐势力。

"They have considerable operational capability¹⁵ in the Sinai that they are using, and we are assisting them with sustaining those weapons systems that they do have which do overpower the extremists," said Assistant Secretary of Defense¹⁶ Derek Chollet.

助理国防部长德里克乔列特说：“他们所使用的武器有相当强的作战能力，我们正帮住他们维持这些武器系统，他们拥有可以压制极端分子的武器。

Since Morsi's ouster, the Obama administration has been trying to reassure¹⁷ both pro-democracy activists¹⁸ and the military-led government that replaced him, says American University professor Akbar Ahmed.  Ahmed feels that trying to play to both groups weakens U.S. standing¹⁹ in Cairo.

美国大学教授阿克巴·艾哈迈德说，自从穆尔西下台，奥巴马政府一直试图安抚民主活动人士和取代他的军阀领导的政府。艾哈迈德觉得这削弱了美国在开罗的地位。

“If Egypt has a vacuum of power, authority, finances, someone is going to fill that.  It's going to be either Russia, maybe China, or more immediately the Saudis," said Ahmed.

艾哈迈德说：“如果埃及出现权力、权威、财政真空，那么将有人去填补,。这个人要么是俄罗斯,也许是中国,或者沙特阿拉伯速度更快。”

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have both moved to help fund Egypt's interim²⁰ government.

沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯联合酋长国都向埃及临时政府提供资金帮助。

Considering the levels of funding coming from the Gulf²¹ monarchies²², Democratic Congressman Ted⁵ Deutch feels the U.S. must take action to maintain relevance²³.

"Given the vast resources that Gulf states have provided to the interim government, we must act in a way to preserve our influence.  Part of that is through assistance.  Part of that is continuing to advocate for democracy," said Deutch.

民主党众议员特德·多伊奇说:“考虑到海湾国家为埃及临时政府提供的大量资源，我们必须采取行动，一部分通过援助，一部分通过继续推动民主。

Nonetheless, Acting²⁴ Assistant Secretary of State Beth Jones says Washington is pushing for democracy.

尽管如此,代理助理国务卿贝丝·琼斯说,华盛顿正在推动民主。

"We have explained this in great detail to the interim government.  And as we re-calibrated our assistance, [we] focused on core national interests of the United States," said Jones.

琼斯说：“我们已对临时政府作了详细说明。当我们再重新评估我们的援助时,[我们]关注的核心是美国的国家利益。”

The Obama administration says its partnership²⁵ with Egypt will be strongest when there is an inclusive, democratically elected civilian²⁶ government based on the rule of law. 

奥巴马政府表示，当埃及出现一个有包容性的、建立在法治基础上的民选文官政府时，美国与埃及的关系将是最牢固的。

1 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

2 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

3 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

4 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网

11 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

12 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

13 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

14 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

15 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

16 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。

17 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

18 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》

19 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。

20 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

21 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

22 monarchies   

n. 君主政体, 君主国, 君主政治

参考例句：

• It cleared away a number of monarchies. 它清除了好几个君主政体。
• Nowadays, there are few monarchies left in the world. 现在世界上君主制的国家已经很少了。

23 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

24 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

25 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。

26 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。