VOA常速英语2014--Saudi Arabia Offers Sophisticated Weapons to Syrian Rebels 沙特阿拉伯向叙利亚反对派提供先进武器

 

Saudi Arabia Offers Sophisticated Weapons to Syrian Rebels 沙特阿拉伯向叙利亚反对派提供先进武器

Saudi Arabia reportedly is offering to provide Syrian rebels more sophisticated weapons, including shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles that can take down fighter planes and helicopter gunships.

据报道沙特阿拉伯正在向叙利亚叛军提供更加精密的武器，其中包括肩扛式反飞机导弹。这种武器可以把战斗机和武装直升机击落

They could be a game changer in the Syrian civil war.

这可能会改变叙利亚内战的战局

Known as MANPADS or man-portable air defense¹ systems, the shoulder-fired missiles are a highly-effective weapon.

肩扛式导弹被称为便携式防空体系或者是单兵式防空体系，是一种威力强大的武器

Now, Saudi Arabia is offering to supply moderate rebels with these weapons. That could tip the balance on the battlefield.

现在，沙特阿拉伯正在向温和的叛军提供这些武器。这可能会打破战场的平衡

Senior Middle East analyst² David Weinberg said, “They [Saudis] see Sunnis, their compatriots being slaughtered³ by Shi'ites whom they perceive as heretics, and they see a religious obligation to rise to the side of their compatriots who have been struggling on the battlefield.”

高级中东问题分析专家大卫·温伯格说“他们（沙特）看到逊尼派，他们的同胞，被他们所称的异教徒什叶派所屠杀，因此他们把为艰苦作战同胞提供帮助视为宗教义务。

Potent⁴ missiles

威力强大的导弹

American supplied shoulder-fired Stinger missiles helped the mujahedeen drive the Soviets⁵ from Afghanistan in the 1980s. U.S. officials, however, oppose arming Syrian rebels with such weapons. They are concerned the missiles could fall into the hands of extremists who might use them to fire at commercial airliners⁶.

1980年美军所提供的肩扛式“蛰针”导弹帮助穆斯林游击队把苏联军队赶出了阿富汗。但是，美国的官员反对为叙利亚叛军提供这样的武器，他们担心武器会落入极端分子的手中，他们可能会使用这样的武器袭击民用飞机

Because of U.S. opposition⁷, the Saudis have not supplied MANPADS in the past.

由于美国的反对，沙特在过去没有提供这种便携式防空体系

Middle East expert David Schenker at the Washington Institute said, “It is just too dangerous. There is too much leakage⁸. And there is already a huge surplus from Libya that is out there in the open market that is moving around the Middle East, that poses a tremendous threat to civilian⁹ aircraft.”

华盛顿的研究机构中东问题专家大卫·斯库那说，“这太危险了。武器被泄露的可能性太大了。利比亚剩下了很多这样的武器，正在整个中东的公开市场上流通，这对民用飞机构成了巨大的威胁。”

The rebels cannot compete with Syria's Russian-made helicopters that have been dropping barrel bombs on the civilian population.

叛军无法与叙利亚政府所使用的已经向平民投下了大量炸弹的俄制直升机相对抗

Russia's role

俄罗斯的角色

Failed peace negotiations¹⁰ have disappointed the Obama administration, which no longer believes Russia will play a constructive¹¹ role.

奥巴马政府对和平谈判感到很失望，已经不相信俄罗斯会发挥建设性的作用

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, "Russia needs to be a part of the solution and not be contributing so many more weapons and so much more aid that they are in fact enabling [Syrian President Bashar al] Assad to double down."

美国国务卿约翰·克里说，”俄罗斯需要推动解决问题，不要向叙利亚政府提供这么多的武器和这么多的援助，以至于实际上使巴沙尔·阿萨德总统实力增加一倍。”

Wealthy Persian Gulf¹² states also are offering to supply moderate Syrian rebels with anti-tank guided missiles.

富裕的波斯湾国家也正在向叙利亚叛军提供反坦克制导导弹

Some analysts¹³ say it is time to strengthen them.

一些分析人士说是时候增强他们实力了

“We've wasted a lot of time. And there has been a lot of suffering because the rebels have not been as successful as they could be. I think we have got to help change the dynamic on the ground,” said Schenker.

“我们已经浪费很多的时间了。因为叛军的表现没有预想的那么成功，已经造成了太多的苦难。我认为我们必须改变战场上的实力对比。”

Reaching out to Riyadh

向沙特请求援助

The Syrian war and disagreements over Iran's nuclear program have strained relations between Riyadh and Washington.

叙利亚内战和在伊朗核项目上的分歧已经造成沙特和美国之间关系紧张。

Kerry has made two recent visits to reduce tensions.

最近克里两次出访以缓解紧张关系

“Relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia are quite poor right now," said Weinberg. "They are going through a rough patch. They are not going through a divorce.”

“美国和沙特的关系现在很紧张。”温伯格说“他们正在进行艰难的关系修复。他们正在走向分离。”

President Barack Obama is said to be rethinking U.S. strategy toward Syria.

据说布兰克·奥巴马总统正在重新考虑美国解决叙利亚问题的策略。

No doubt arming the Syrian rebels will be on the agenda when Obama travels to Saudi Arabia in late March.

 

当奥巴马在3月末出访沙特时，为叙利亚武器提供武器的问题毫无疑问会被提上议程。

1 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。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

5 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

6 airliners   

n.客机，班机( airliner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fog grounded the airliners. 大雾迫使班机停飞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They placed very stable and accurate atomic clocks on regularly scheduled jet airliners. 他们将非常稳定、准确的原子钟装在定期飞行的喷气式班机上。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 leakage   

n.漏，泄漏；泄漏物；漏出量

参考例句：

• Large areas of land have been contaminated by the leakage from the nuclear reactor.大片地区都被核反应堆的泄漏物污染了。
• The continuing leakage is the result of the long crack in the pipe.这根管子上的那一条裂缝致使渗漏不断。

9 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。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

12 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。

13 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。