VOA常速英语2015--巴黎袭击提醒人们,圣战组织或已回归

Paris Attacks Reminder¹ of Threat of Returning Jihadis 巴黎袭击提醒人们,圣战组织或已回归

WASHINGTON—

Top security and intelligence officials are warning the deadly attacks in Paris - claimed by the Islamic State terror group - are likely not a “one-off event.” And fear of more plots in the pipeline² is again putting the spotlight³ on the problem of foreign fighters returning from the battlegrounds of Syria.

With the wounds still raw from Paris and much of Europe on edge, there’s the question that won’t go away – have more foreign fighters returned to the West to wreak⁴ havoc⁵ in the name of the group known as Islamic State?

巴黎伤痛尚未平息，欧洲国家危机重重，我们不禁要重复这样一个问题，外国武装分子是不是假以“伊斯兰国”极端组织之名“洗劫”欧洲？

In Europe, the challenge is great.

欧洲面临重大挑战。

David Sterman of New America said jihadist networks are expanding.

奔赴叙利亚的人数与日俱增，大多数人已返回欧洲，“圣战”网越做越大。

“You have far greater numbers of people who have gone over to Syria, greater numbers of people have returned, and more developed jihadist networks that they’re drawing upon,” said Sterman.

Experts say there’s no single psychological profile for who is likely to become a foreign fighter, let alone come back as part of a sleeper⁶ cell.专家认为圣战分子没有很明显的心理表征，更不要说回来更是危机四伏。

But some patterns are known: the average male Western foreign fighter is 25. The typical female is 21.

西方男性“圣战”分子的平均年龄为25岁。女性为21岁。

One-third were active in online jihadist forums⁷, and more than 80 percent have joined Islamic State.

三分之一活跃在“圣战”论坛，参加“伊斯兰国”的人数超过了80%。

Lahur Talabani, intelligence director for the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, thinks the appeal of Islamic State is falling.

“The attraction is not as much as it was at the beginning. For sure we’ve seen this through intelligence. But they may be still attractive to some people,” he said.

“圣战”的吸引力大不如前。这是我们的情报信息。但对于某些人群，它仍然具有吸引力。

U.S. intelligence officials worry that attraction is still substantial – and combined with Islamic State’s flexibility⁸ could help the group pull off more attacks in the West.

美国情报官员担心这种吸引力依然非常强大，再加上“伊斯兰国”的伸缩性，这些都将助涨他们在西方再次发动袭击。

And there’s precedence -- the brothers who carried out the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris in January had ties to al-Qaida, but were also connected to Ahmedy Coulibaly, who died in a shootout at a French grocery store having pledged himself to Islamic State.

今年一月份，制造巴黎《查理周刊》袭击案的兄弟与“基地”组织有关，还与阿哈穆迪·库利巴利有关，此人在法国市场宣称自己属于“伊斯兰国”，并在与警方的对峙中身亡。

1 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

2 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

3 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

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 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

6 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

7 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

8 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。