美国会对叙利亚问题存分歧

 　　U.S. lawmakers say they are far from unified¹ on whether to vote for military strikes against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Legislators spoke² after receiving a classified briefing on Syria from administration officials.

　　The full Congress does not return from recess³ until September 9. But several dozen lawmakers scrambled⁴ to get to Washington in time for Sunday’s closed-door briefing at the Capitol, in which the administration presented its case for intervention⁵ in Syria.

　　Afterwards, several lawmakers said they are convinced that chemical weapons were used. But questions remain, according to Democratic Congresswoman Janice Hahn. “Is this a reason to go to war? What are the objectives of going to war? What authorization⁶ are we actually giving our president?”

　　Hahn said the United States should not have to act alone. “Where is the international community," she said, "if this is such an outrage⁷, if this is so abhorrent⁸ to everyone?”

　　Republican Congressman⁹ Scott Rigell praised the president’s decision to seek congressional approval, but said he is a “no” vote for now. “I am a ‘no’ because the clarity of where all of this goes, the definition of accomplishing the mission - that is still unclear to me," he said.

　　By contrast, Democratic Representative Sandy Levin backs military intervention in Syria. “I have confidence that members of Congress will step up to the plate [vote yes]. Because if we do nothing, it sends a very wrong message," he said.

　　On Saturday, President Obama said he does not need Congress’ permission to order a strike, but nevertheless wants the backing of the nation’s representatives in Washington.

　　Before Sunday’s classified briefing, Secretary of State John Kerry appeared on multiple U.S. television programs to present what the administration has learned about last month’s deadly attacks on civilians¹⁰ in and around Damascus.

　　“Hair and blood samples that have come to us from individuals who were engaged as first responders in east Damascus - I can report to you today they have tested positive for signatures of sarin (the deadly nerve gas)," he said.

　　Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Kerry defended Obama’s decision to seek congressional approval for military action. “We do not lose anything. We actually gain. And what we gain is the legitimacy¹¹ of the full-throated response of the Congress of the United States and the president acting¹² together after our democratic process has worked properly," he said.

　　Kerry said U.S. inaction would have the effect of “granting impunity¹³ to a ruthless dictator to continue to gas his people.”

1 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

4 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

6 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

7 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

8 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 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。

11 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。