美国呼吁释放关押在古巴的美国人

 　　The United States called on Monday for the immediate¹ release of an American contractor² jailed for the past four years in Cuba, saying his continued captivity³ was "gravely disappointing."

　　"Tomorrow, development worker Alan Gross will begin a fifth year of unjustified imprisonment⁴ in Cuba," the US State Department said in a statement.

　　"It is gravely disappointing, especially in light of its (Cuba's) professed⁵ goal of providing Cubans with Internet access, that the Cuban government has not allowed Mr Gross to return to his family, where he belongs."

　　Gross was arrested in Havana on December 3, 2009, for his work on a semi-covert US program promoting political change on the island. Cuba has said it considered the work to be subversive⁶.

　　Gross said he was in Cuba to set up communications equipment to give unrestricted Internet access to Jewish groups. A judge said that activity was a crime against the Cuban state and sentenced Gross to 15 years behind bars.

　　"Mr Gross is a 64-year-old husband, father, and dedicated⁷ professional with a long history of providing aid to under-served communities in more than 50 countries. We reiterate⁸ our call on the Cuban government, echoing foreign leaders and even Cuba's allies, to release Alan Gross immediately and unconditionally," the State Department said.

　　Gross's wife, Judy, will hold a vigil in Washington's Lafayette Park, across from the White House, at midday on Tuesday to press for help from President Barack Obama to win her husband's release, a lawyer for the Gross family told Reuters.

　　The vigil would be led by Jewish Council leaders and was to include the broadcast of a video recording⁹ from Gross, who has personally written to the president seeking his intervention¹⁰ in the case, said the lawyer, Scott Gilbert.

　　"Our view is that unless President Obama becomes personally involved in this matter, Alan Gross will die in jail."

　　Gilbert said Cuba had agreed to sit down with US government officials, without any pre-conditions, to discuss possible terms leading to Gross's release and return home. But the State Department has rejected any negotiated settlement of the Gross case out of hand.

　　"It's a great puzzlement to me why no decisive action has been taken on Alan Gross, particularly when Alan is imprisoned¹¹ in Cuba solely¹² because of his work on a US government project," Gilbert said.

　　The Gross case has often been described as an obstacle to any serious improvement in US relations with Cuba after more than 50 years of hostility¹³.

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

3 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

4 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

5 professed   

公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的

参考例句：

• These, at least, were their professed reasons for pulling out of the deal. 至少这些是他们自称退出这宗交易的理由。
• Her manner professed a gaiety that she did not feel. 她的神态显出一种她并未实际感受到的快乐。

6 subversive   

adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子

参考例句：

• She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
• The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。

9 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

10 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。

11 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。

12 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

13 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。