VOA标准英语2013--Kerry Fears Fallout From Fighting in Syrian Town

Kerry Fears Fallout From Fighting in Syrian Town

With fighting for control of the border town of Qusair now in its third week, Kerry says civilians¹ are under near-constant assault by forces of President Bashar al-Assad and allies from Iran and the Lebanese-based militant² group Hezbollah.

"Today in Qusair, which is under siege by his forces and the surrogate forces, you have an extraordinary number of civilians who are trapped, and he will not allow the Red Cross and humanitarian³ aid to go in until the military has finished what it intends to do," he said. 

Kerry says President Assad's conduct is unacceptable by any standard. "The world is seeing the actions of a person who has lost touch with any reality except his own and who is willing to wreak⁴ any kind of punishment on the people of his country simply so that he can maintain power," he said. 

Kerry says "all civilized⁵ countries" call on President Assad to engage in a legitimate⁶ peace process "by which the people of Syria can protect minorities, be inclusive, and have the people of Syria decide their future."

"This is a very difficult process which we come to late. We are trying to prevent the sectarian violence from dragging Syria down into a complete and total implosion⁷ where it has broken up into enclaves and the institutions of the state have been destroyed with God knows how many more additional refugees and how many innocent people killed," he said. 

The United States and Russia are pushing for face-to-face talks between representatives of the Assad government and its opponents to establish a transitional authority for Syria.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday that the United States is not putting enough pressure on the Syrian opposition⁸ to participate in the international talks and to drop its demand for President Assad's exit.

The Syrian government has said it is willing to attend such a conference in principle. But the main opposition coalition⁹ has rejected the idea, saying talks are meaningless while Syrian, Hezbollah, and Iranian forces commit alleged¹⁰ atrocities¹¹ against the Syrian people.

Kerry says Russia's planned sale of advanced missile technology to Assad forces could put prospects¹² for a peace conference at risk.

He says U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman will travel to Geneva Tuesday to meet with Russian counterparts "to continue to lay the groundwork for the possibility of a negotiated resolution."

1 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。

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

5 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

6 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。

7 implosion   

n.向内破裂，内爆

参考例句：

• The population explosion is accompanied by a population implosion.人口爆炸还伴随着人口爆聚。

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 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

11 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。