VOA常速英语2014--聚焦华盛顿:关注古巴和朝鲜

 

Washington Week: Focus on Cuba, North Korea 聚焦华盛顿:关注古巴和朝鲜

President Barack Obama and U.S. lawmakers have left Washington for the remainder of the year, but the city remains¹ focused on historic and unprecedented² developments on the world stage.  The coming week is expected to bring continued scrutiny³ of a diplomatic opening between the United States and Cuba, as well as North Korea’s alleged⁴ role in hacking⁶ media giant Sony.

While some Cuban exiles protest in Miami, and Cubans on the island hope for an economic boost, President Raul Castro says renewed ties between Washington and Havana do not signal an end to communism in Cuba.

尽管一些古巴流亡者在迈阿密举行抗议及古巴人民希望经济得以发展,但总统劳尔·卡斯特罗表示华盛顿和哈瓦那的新关系并不会结束古巴的共产主义。

“In the same way that we have never demanded the United States change its political system, we will demand respect for ours,” said he.

“正如我们从未要求美国改变其政治体制一样,我们当然也会要求尊重我们自己的政体。”

Such comments confirm the worst fears of President Obama’s critics, like Republican Senator Marco Rubio.

这样的评论证实了像是共和党参议员马可·卢比奥等奥巴马总统批评人士最坏的担心。

“Engagement by itself does not guarantee or even lead to political freedoms.  The Cuban government controls every aspect of their economy.  They intend to follow the model of Vietnam and China where they can grow their economy, but they do not grow political freedoms.  In fact, they repress them,” said Rubio, speaking on ABC’s This Week program.

“约定本身并不能保证,甚至走向政治自由。古巴政府掌控经济的方方面面。他们打算仿效越南和中方发展自己的经济,但是古巴并无政治自由可言。事实上,他们是在制约自己。”

Late last week, Obama departed for a holiday vacation in Hawaii.  Before leaving, he defended the decision to rebuild relations with Cuba.

上周晚些时候奥巴马开始享受夏威夷的假期。在出发之前,他重申了与古巴关系破冰的决定。

“I do not anticipate overnight changes [in Cuba], but what I know deep in my bones is that if you have done the same thing for 50 years and nothing has changed, you should try something different if you want a different outcome,” said Obama.

“我不会期望一夜之间发生改变,但是我深知如果你同样的事情做了50年后什么都没有改变, 如果你想要截然不同的结果，你就应该尝试截然不同的东西。”

Meanwhile, Sony is defending its decision not to release a movie that ridicules⁷ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.  Appearing on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS program, Sony Pictures chief Michael Lynton remained steadfast⁸.

同时,索尼正在捍卫其不公布恶搞朝鲜领导人金正恩电影的决定。索尼影业主席迈克尔·林顿做客CNN主持人法里德·扎卡利亚的GPS节目时说道。

“We have not caved.  We have not given in.  We have always had every desire to have the American public see this movie,” said Lynton.

“我们没有屈服。我们没有让步。我们一直渴望每一位美国公民都能看到这部电影。”

Washington has become increasingly alarmed over America’s vulnerability to cyber-theft and cyber-attacks - concerns now heightened after federal officials concluded that North Korea was behind a massive digital breach⁹ at Sony.

在联邦官员断定朝鲜是索尼大量数码泄露的幕后黑手后，华盛顿方面对美国网络盗窃及网络攻击弱势的日益警觉现在愈加严重。

President Obama pledged a response.

“Our first order of business is making sure that we do everything to harden sites and prevent those kinds of attacks from taking place.  We will respond [to North Korea] in a place and time and manner that we choose.”

“我们的第一要务是确保我们竭尽所能加强网站安全并防止这样的袭击再次发生。我们会通过自己所选择的地点、时间和方式回应。”

North Korea has denied any involvement in the Sony hack⁵.  The episode, along with the opening to Cuba, will be subjects of intense congressional scrutiny when lawmakers return to Washington in January.

朝鲜已经否认参与黑客袭击索尼事件。这一事件,以及同古巴关系的破冰,将是国会议员们在1月份回到华盛顿时讨论的热点问题。

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

4 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

5 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

6 hacking   

n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动

参考例句：

• The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
• We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

7 ridicules   

n.嘲笑( ridicule的名词复数 )；奚落；嘲弄；戏弄v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

8 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

9 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。