VOA常速英语2017--伊拉克辛贾尔镇大屠杀3周年纪念

August marks the third anniversary of the assault by ISIS terrorists on the Yezidi community in northern Iraq, during which they sought to destroy this people and their culture. The brutality¹ of the events marked both a disaster for the Yezidi community, and a turning point in the fight against ISIS.

8月是IS恐怖分子袭击伊拉克北部雅兹迪族社群的三周年纪念。在3年前的袭击中，IS企图摧毁雅兹迪族人及其文化。这些事件残忍至极，是雅兹迪族的灾难，也是抗击IS之战的转折点。

On August 3, 2014, ISIS terrorists overran the city of Sinjar in northern Iraq. The town had a population of 90,000 people, most of them Yezidis, with a small Shia minority.

2014年8月3日，IS分子践踏了伊拉克北部的辛贾尔镇。该镇有9万人口，大多数人都是雅兹迪族，有少数人是什叶派。

Yezidis are a non-Muslim religious and ethnic² minority. They have been viciously targeted and persecuted³ by ISIS for their beliefs, and have been frequently attacked throughout their history by others.

雅兹迪族是非穆斯林的宗教少数群体。由于信仰的原因，他们受到IS针对，遭到恶意迫害。除了IS之外，雅兹迪族在历史上也曾不断受到其他方的频繁袭击。

When ISIS seized control of Sinjar and the surrounding countryside, they immediately began to destroy Yezidi shrines⁴, and to slaughter⁵ Yezidi civilians⁶. Thousands of people, particularly men and boys, were executed, while thousands more, especially women and girls, were abducted⁷ and raped⁸ as sex slaves by ISIS fighters.

IS刚一控制辛贾尔及其周边乡村后，就开始破坏雅兹迪的神殿，屠杀雅兹迪的百姓。上万人，其中大多是成年男性甚至是男童，也遭到处决。还有上万人，其中大多是女性甚至是女童，遭到绑架强奸，成为IS分子的性奴。

Of the 200,000 people who fled from their homes in the city and the surrounding villages, some 50,000 took refuge on Mount Sinjar. There they were surrounded and trapped by ISIS fighters. Within three days, dozens of Yezidis, nearly all of them children, began to die of dehydration⁹. They called family around the world, including in America, begging for help to escape the siege.

从辛贾尔及其附近村庄逃离的20万人中，近5万人在辛贾尔山上避难。他们在那里遭到了IS分子的围追设陷。在3天的时间内，数十名雅兹迪人，其中大多数人还是孩子，都死于脱水。这些人呼唤世界各地的亲人们，包括美国的亲人们，以寻求帮助，逃离IS的围追堵截。

On August 4, 2014, the Emir of the Yezidi called on world leaders for assistance. The United States responded, conducting airstrikes against ISIS militants¹⁰, supporting the delivery of humanitarian¹¹ assistance through air drops of food and water, and working with Iraqi and other partners.

2014年8月4日，雅兹迪酋长呼吁世界各国领导人给予援助。美国做出了回应，向IS分子发动了空袭，通过空投食物水源来进行人道主义援助，同时还与伊拉克和其他合作伙伴进行合作。

This was the first action that led to the formation of the international coalition¹² to defeat ISIS, and the beginning of the end for ISIS. By mid-December of 2014 Kurdish forces launched the first phase of the campaign to expel ISIS from Sinjar, liberating¹³ part of Sinjar city before the year's end. On November 13, 2015, a day after launching a second offensive, Kurdish and Yezidi forces, backed by coalition airstrikes, fully¹⁴ regained¹⁵ control of Sinjar from ISIS.

此举是国际上的首次响应，并助力了国际反IS联盟的成立，也开启了剿灭IS的进程。2014年12月中旬为止，库尔德力量发起了将IS驱逐出辛贾尔的第一阶段，在年底之前解放了辛贾尔的部分地区。2015年11月13日，在发起第二轮进攻的一天后，库尔德和雅兹迪军力在联盟的空袭的支持下，从IS手中完全收复了辛贾尔。

The fight against ISIS is a fight of civilization against barbarism. Nowhere was this more clearly demonstrated then in Sinjar.

与IS的战斗是文明与野蛮之间的抗衡。辛贾尔这个地方最好地诠释了这一点。

1 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

4 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

5 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

6 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。

7 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

8 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

9 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

10 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

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 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

13 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。