美国将古巴从支恐黑名单中去除

 　　The removal of Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism is seen as a step toward normalizing relations between the US and Cuba.

　　The change of status follows a 45-day congressional review of the decision and was a prerequisite¹ for opening a US Embassy in Havana, which is now expected to happen within weeks.

　　Peter Hakim, President of the private think-thank Inter-American Dialogue says the decision will have a positive spin-off effect on the United Sates volatile² relationship with Latin America.

　　"It removed a tremendous, long-standing irritant from U.S.- Latin American relations. One has to understand that every country in the hemisphere, including Canada, every Latin American, every Caribbean country, recognized Cuba."

　　On the streets of Havana, the reaction was bittersweet, especially for some Cubans who had lost family members in hostilities³ between the two countries.

　　美国将古巴从支恐黑名单中去除

　　Iraida Malbert's husband was a crew member onboard an ill-fated Cuban Airlines flight that was shot down in 1976 by US backed anti-Castro militants⁴.

　　She says this decision was long-overdue.

　　"We have dedicated⁵ our lives, some of our people, some of our family, to matters such as this one, and now that they have taken us off the list, it's being treated like a favor on the part of the United States. It's a just decision which should have been made a long time ago."

　　Cuba has been on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1982, alongside Syria, Sudan and Iran.

　　The Cold War-era designation had cut-off the island country from much of the world's financial system.

　　Its removal from the terror list will make it easier for Cuba to do business with the world despite the ongoing⁶ US economic embargo⁷. But other restrictions⁸ on foreign and humanitarian⁹ aid remain in place.

　　There have been several rounds of negotiations¹⁰ between the two countries to iron out differences and pave the way to reestablishing diplomatic ties.

　　Washington has expressed concerns over Cuba's Human rights situation. Havana for its part has been vocal¹¹ in its opposition¹² to US-funded democracy programs on the island.

　　Both sides say they are making progress.

　　But the White House faces a tough challenge ahead.

　　Republicans have criticized the decision to normalize ties with Cuba, with House Speaker John Boehner saying the Obama administration had "handed the Castro regime a significant political win in return for nothing."

　　They have also vowed¹³ to block any nomination¹⁴ to the post of ambassador to Cuba.

　　Even though Cuba has finally been removed from the U.S. black list after 33 years, it is only a symbolic¹⁵ step as President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro try to revive a relationship that has been frozen for over half-a-century.

　　For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara.

1 prerequisite   

n.先决条件；adj.作为前提的，必备的

参考例句：

• Stability and unity are a prerequisite to the four modernizations.安定团结是实现四个现代化的前提。
• It is a prerequisite of entry to the profession that you pass the exams.做这一行的先决条件是要通过了有关的考试。

2 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

3 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

4 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。

5 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。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 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。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

14 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

15 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。