VOA标准英语2013--印度思考未来在阿富汗的角色

 

India Ponders Future Role in Afghanistan 印度思考未来在阿富汗的角色

美国副总统乔•拜登本周在新德里与印度领导人就阿富汗安全局势举行会谈.

In a busy shopping area of New Delhi - businesses line the streets catering¹ to Afghans who have come to India for medical treatment, work or tourism.

Afghan Saeed Abdullah has seen the tight Afghan-Indian relationship up close. The Herat resident, in India for his father’s surgery, saw firsthand the benefits of Indian investment in Afghanistan as a worker on the 218-km long Delaram-Zaranj highway in Nimroz province - a $150 million project funded by India.

“It was three years ago. I worked with them [India] and they built a road and it was very good," he recalled. "And they have invested so much money, I have seen.”

India has provided more than $2 billion in development aid to Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Analysts² here in New Delhi say this kind of assistance and investment should continue not only to ensure a stable Afghanistan, but to ensure a stable region.

Delhi Policy Group Director Radha Kumar says in light of previous attacks on Indian interests both in and outside of Afghanistan, New Delhi cannot afford to walk away from the war-torn country.

“An escalation³ of efforts to target us would be, in my opinion, an almost inevitable⁴ corollary of our departure," she said. "So the presence is very much required, from purely⁵ a security point of view.”

But what type of presence? Abhijit Iyer-Mitra says as the United States withdraws from Afghanistan, India can no longer be passive and instead, must adopt a gutsy Afghan policy that safeguards its own vital interests.

The program coordinator⁶ at the New Delhi-based Observer Foundation says India’s involvement in Afghanistan has nothing to do with countering Pakistan in a so-called proxy⁷ war.

“What are our interests out there? It’s just a stable, independent Afghanistan, full stop," said Iyer-Mitra. "It does not have to be subservient⁸ to India, it’s not that our writ⁹ has to function there or anything like that. It’s just an independent, sovereign country.”

Indians and Afghans here in New Delhi say India can play an important role in Afghanistan, such as advising the country on its upcoming election or investing more in the country’s education system.

Kabul resident Afzal Totakhail - on a sightseeing trip to India - says the bottom line is simple:  “I hope [for] a peaceful Afghanistan; that’s my hope," he said. "And I hope Afghanistan becomes a good country like India, like America and Canada.”

 It’s a hope shared by many here as Afghanistan faces an uncertain future. 

1 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

2 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。

3 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

4 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

5 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

6 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

7 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

8 subservient   

adj.卑屈的，阿谀的

参考例句：

• He was subservient and servile.他低声下气、卑躬屈膝。
• It was horrible to have to be affable and subservient.不得不强作欢颜卖弄风骚，真是太可怕了。

9 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。