VOA常速英语2017--美国助力津巴布韦排雷

The United States is a leader in supporting the clearance¹ of dangerous remnants of war all over the world. Since 1993, we have invested more than 2.6 billion dollars to clear or destroy landmines³, unexploded ordnance⁴, and other dangerous conventional weapons and munitions⁵. In doing so, we are helping⁶ post-conflict communities to recover and to rebuild.

美国一直牵头支持排查遍布全球的危险残留物。自1993年以来，为排查清除地雷、未燃爆军火和其他危险的传统武器和军火，美国已投资26亿多美元。这样的做法正在帮助战后的各个社区恢复重建。

One of our success stories is Zimbabwe's Burma Valley. Located on Zimbabwe's border with Mozambique, Burma Valley is a hot, low-lying area where generation after generation of farmers planted tobacco and grew fruit trees. But due to its strategic position, in the 1970s, during Zimbabwe's war of liberation, thousands upon thousands of landmines were sown throughout the area, to prevent cross-border raids by guerilla fighters. By the time the war ended in 1980, Zimbabwe was peppered with very dense⁷, unfenced minefields. Even to this day, Zimbabwe is one of the most highly mine-impacted countries in the world.

其中一个成功的例子就是津巴布韦的缅甸谷(burma valley)。缅甸谷坐落在津巴布韦与莫桑比克的边境线上，这里气候炎热，地势较低，农民们世世代代在这里种植烟草和果树。但由于其位置具有战略性意义，上世纪70年代，津巴布韦解放战争期间，这片地区埋下了无数地雷，以防止游击战士穿越边境进行突袭。等到1980年解放战争结束之时，津巴布韦已遍布浓密的地雷，且无防御设施阻隔。即便今天，津巴布韦依然是全球受地雷影响最深的国家之一。

Left-over landmines and unexploded munitions stand in the way of post-conflict stabilization⁸ and inhibit⁹ long-term development. They render thousands of acres of land unusable and destabilize communities, and the remnants of war continue to claim new victims. Since 1980, more than 1,500 Zimbabwean people and 120,000 livestock¹⁰ have been killed in landmine² accidents. Indeed, in some districts, the cattle are trained to move to pasture in a single file to minimize their exposure to anti-personnel landmines.

残留的地雷和未燃爆的军火阻碍了战后稳定和长期发展。还导致大片土地无法使用，让无数社区失去稳定，除此之外，这些战争残留物还继续让更多人受害。自1980年以来，已有1500多名津巴布韦人民和12万家畜在地雷燃爆事件中致死。事实上，一些地区的人们还训练禽类集体移动到草场上，以减小遇到伤人地雷的几率。

One of the organizations working to clear landmines in Zimbabwe is Norwegian People's Aid. With support and funding provided by the United States, this group surveyed Burma Valley and cleared the landmines, completing operations in 2015. This effort to help Zimbabwe safely clear landmines and unexploded munitions has made a life-changing difference for area residents. The farmers have moved back, rebuilding homes and cattle corrals, and tilling and planting the recently-demined fields.

挪威民众救援组织就是津巴布韦排雷组织中的一个。在美国的支持和资助下，该组织走访了缅甸谷，并在那里进行排雷，完成了2015年的行动。该组织帮助津巴布韦安全排雷之举对该地区人民产生了改变终生的影响。农民们已迁回故地，重建家园和牛栏，在近日经过排雷的土地上耕种。

Over the last four years, the United States has provided more than 7.6 million dollars for humanitarian¹¹ demining in Zimbabwe, 3 million of it in 2016 alone.

过去4年中，美国已为津巴布韦的人道主义排雷行动提供了760多万美元，其中仅2016年一年就提供了300万美元的援助。

The United States is investing in mine and explosives clearance because by doing so, we not only protect civilians¹² from explosive remnants of war, but we also enable lasting¹³ peace.

美国对排雷行动进行资助是因为通过这样的做法，我们不仅能够保护百姓不受战争残留军火的影响，还能实现持久的和平。

1 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

2 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

3 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

4 ordnance   

n.大炮，军械

参考例句：

• She worked in an ordnance factory during the war.战争期间她在一家兵工厂工作。
• Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce,ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer.军队很缺鞋和衣服，武器供应和药品就更少了。

5 munitions   

n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品

参考例句：

• The army used precision-guided munitions to blow up enemy targets.军队用精确瞄准的枪炮炸掉敌方目标。
• He rose [made a career for himself] by dealing in munitions.他是靠贩卖军火发迹的。

6 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。

7 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

8 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

9 inhibit   

vt.阻止，妨碍，抑制

参考例句：

• Don't let ego and greed inhibit clear thinking and hard work.不要让自我和贪婪妨碍清晰的思维和刻苦的工作。
• They passed a law to inhibit people from parking in the street.他们通过一项法令以阻止人们在街上停车。

10 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

13 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。