VOA常速英语2014--美国大使呼吁LGBT权利

 

US Ambassador Calls for LGBT Rights 美国大使呼吁LGBT权利

The U.S. ambassador to Australia said it should not be a crime to be a member of the LGBT community. Ambassador John Berry told the 20th international AIDS Conference that the fight against the disease cannot be won by relegating¹ segments of the population to the shadows.

美国驻澳大利亚大使说，成为LGBT(同性恋、双性恋及变性者)群体中的一员并非罪行，约翰·贝利大使在第20届国际艾滋病大会上说，将这部分人推入阴影，是不能战胜艾滋病的。

Ambassador Berry said the world has reached a critical moment in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

贝利大使说，在抗击艾滋病方面全世界已进入关键时刻。

“We are now on the brink² of an AIDS-free generation. But reaching that goal will depend on all of us working together and being able to get the preventative care and treatment that everyone needs.”

“我们马上就要进入无艾一代，但要实现这一目标，需要我们团结一致，让每个人都获得预防性护理和治疗。”

However, he said there are many barriers around the world blocking access to prevention, care and treatment.

不过，他说全世界在获得预防、护理和治疗方面仍存在许多障碍。

“Unfortunately, the criminalization of certain at risk populations and those who are HIV positive – and the stigma³ associated with HIV – are the very things that will prevent us from eliminating this disease entirely,” he said.

“不幸的是，对一些危险人群和艾滋病阳性人群的歧视，以及对与艾滋相关的羞耻感，将阻碍我们从整体上消除这种疾病。”

The U.S. Ambassador said that criminalization is bad health policy and bad public policy. He says it does not stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and, in fact, does just the opposite.

这位美国大使说，这种歧视就是糟糕的卫生政策和糟糕的公共政策。他说歧视并不能阻碍艾滋病的蔓延，却起着相反的作用。

“Criminalization laws undermine public health approaches that we need to fight this disease and limit its spread. These laws don’t reflect current scientific knowledge. They undermine our ability to get people into screening and treatment. And more fundamentally, these laws wrongly stigmatize⁴ and marginalize those living with HIV and AIDS.”

“歧视性的法律削弱了对付这种疾病所需的公共卫生措施，限制了措施的推广。这些法律没有反映当前的科学知识，却削弱了我们对这些人进行检查和治疗的能力。更根本的来说，这些法律错误地羞辱了艾滋病携带者和患者，并将之边缘化。”

More than 80 countries around the world have criminal laws against sexual activity by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Some of those laws contain very harsh penalties.

全世界有80多个国家有针对同性恋、双性恋和变性者性行为的刑法，其中一些刑法的惩罚力度很重。

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association says 13 U.S. states still have not repealed⁵ their anti-sodomy laws. That’s despite a 2003 ruling by the U.S. Supreme⁶ Court declaring such laws unconstitutional.

国际同性恋、双性恋和变性者协会称，美国13个州仍没有废除反同性恋法，尽管美国最高法院2003年的判决已宣布此类法律违宪。

The Center for HIV Law and Policy says 32 states and two U.S. territories “have HIV-specific criminal statutes⁷ and thirty-six states have reported proceedings⁸ in which HIV-positive people have been arrested and/or prosecuted⁹ for consensual sex, biting, and spitting.” The center says there have been at least 80 such prosecutions¹⁰ in the last two years alone.

艾滋病法律与政策中心称32个州和两个美国领地“有特别针对艾滋病的刑法，据悉36个州有过艾滋病阳性患者因性行为、咬和吐痰而被捕或被起诉的案例。”该中心称单过去两年就有至少80起此类起诉。

Ambassador Berry said the U.S. still has more to do in this regard.

贝利大使说美国在这方面要做的仍很多。

“Now while the United States still has laws that criminalize HIV status, we are working to become better – to do better – and to remedy our mistakes. We believe that one of the most productive public policy actions that we can take is removing outdated¹¹ criminalization laws from the books. The president in his national HIV/AIDS strategy has called for the review and reform of all HIV criminalization laws across our country,” he said.

“尽管美国现在仍存在将艾滋病刑事化的法律，我们会努力改善并修正错误。我们认为我们所能采取的最富有成效的公共政策之一，就是将过时的歧视法明文删除掉，总统在他的全国艾滋病战略中呼吁重申和改革全国各地所有艾滋病歧视法。”

Ambassador Berry called that a good step, but added more needs to be done at home and abroad. He noted¹² that new HIV infections are on the rise in the United States and the AIDS conference host country Australia, particularly among young men.

贝利大使呼称这是正确的一步，但称国内外还需要做更多。他指出，新的艾滋病感染病例在美国和艾滋病会议主办国澳大利亚都在增加，尤其是年轻人中。

He said, “Those of us who remember the funerals of the 80s and 90s have no wish to repeat that era. It falls to us to ensure that the next generation does not repeat these mistakes.”

他说，“目睹过80后和90后葬礼的人都不想重蹈覆辙，我们要确保下一代不再重蹈这样的错误。”

He said that means educating young people about HIV prevention and transmission, supporting research, lifting travel restrictions¹³ on those living with HIV and supporting the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis¹⁴ and Malaria¹⁵.

他说这意味着教育青年人有关艾滋病预防和传播的知识，支持相关研究，取消对艾滋病携带者的旅行限制，支持对付艾滋病、肺结核和疟疾全球基金。

Berry also praised PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, for helping¹⁶ to get 6.7-million people on treatment.

贝利还赞扬了总统艾滋病救助应急计划(PEPFAR)，该计划已帮助670万人获得治疗。

1 relegating   

v.使降级( relegate的现在分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类

参考例句：

2 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

3 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

4 stigmatize   

v.污蔑，玷污

参考例句：

• Children in single-parent families must not be stigmatized.单亲家庭的孩子们不应该受到歧视。
• They are often stigmatized by the rest of society as lazy and dirty.他们经常被社会中的其他人污蔑为懒惰、肮脏。

5 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

9 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

10 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

11 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

14 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

15 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

16 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。