VOA常速英语2020--不可剥夺的权利及其重要性

Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government. In the Declaration of Independence, America’s founders¹ defined unalienable rights as including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” These rights are considered “inherent in all persons and roughly what we mean today when we say human rights,” said Peter Berkowitz, director of the State Department Policy Planning Staff. These rights don’t just protect Americans at home but form the basis for a moral foreign policy abroad, said Mr. Berkowitz: “We took obligations to champion them in 1948. Presidents from both political parties who have championed human rights. And America’s founding commitments involved respect for the dignity that inheres in all human beings.”

以下是一篇反映美国政府政策立场的社论：美国开国元勋们在《独立宣言》中，将不可剥夺的权利定义为包括“生命权、自由权和追求幸福的权利”。美国国务院政策规划办公室主任彼得·博尔考维茨表示，这些权利被视为“所有人与生俱来的权利，大致就是我们今天所说的人权。”博尔考维茨说，这些权利不但保护美国国内民众，还构成了在国外实行外交政策的道德基础。“我们在1948年曾履行倡导这些权利的义务。美国两党总统都曾支持人权。美国的建国承诺包括尊重所有人与生俱来的尊严。”

A year ago, U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo convened² the Commission on Unalienable Rights with a specific mandate³, said Director Berkowitz: “Secretary Pompeo asked the members of the Commission to investigate, to reground America’s undoubted commitment to human rights in foreign policy, in America’s founding documents - the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States - in the American Constitutional tradition and also to help us understand America’s undoubted commitment to human rights in light of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which we signed onto in 1948.” Unalienable rights directly affect U.S. relations with individual countries, said Director Berkowitz: “We saw it in the 1980s when Ronald Reagan championed the human rights of the dissidents that the Soviet⁴ Union had cruelly imprisoned⁵ in their gulags. We hear it when the administration takes on the Islamic Republic of Iran, which also represses its own citizens.” While “human rights are certainly not the totality of American foreign policy,” noted⁶ Director Berkowitz, they are “one essential component⁷, one key part of the mix of American foreign policy.” That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.

博尔考维茨主任说，一年前，美国国务卿蓬佩奥召集了“不可剥夺权利委员会”，并赋予了具体的授权。“国务卿蓬佩奥要求委员会成员研究，并再次明确美国在外交政策，《独立宣言》、《美国宪法》等开国文献，以及美国宪政传统中对人权的坚定承诺。同时根据我们1948年签署的《世界人权宣言》的原则帮助我们理解美国对人权的坚定承诺。”博尔考维茨主任说，不可剥夺的权利直接影响到美国与个别国家的关系。“我们看到，在20世纪80年代，里根总统倡导尊重持不同政见者的人权，这些异见者被苏联残酷关入劳改营，我们听到，美国政府抨击压迫本国公民的伊朗伊斯兰共和国。”博尔考维茨主任说，“人权当然不是美国外交政策的全部”，然而，人权“是美国外交政策的一项重要组成部分、一个关键部分”。这是一篇反映美国政府政策立场的社论。

1 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

2 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

3 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

6 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。

7 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。