时代周刊:拜登系伊朗唯一希望(2)

But Iran also got some much needed good news when Joe Biden won the presidential election. Now there is reason for hope among those in Iran who desperately¹ want the U.S. to return to the nuclear deal—and the economic relief it might bring if sanctions are eased. With a presidential election in Iran next year, and Iran's hard-liners working to undermine President Hassan Rouhani, Iran's negotiators won't want to look weak at the table. But Rouhani knows that Biden's top diplomat², Tony Blinken, and National Security Adviser³, Jake Sullivan, are veterans of the Obama Administration negotiations⁴ that made the original deal in 2015.

不过，在乔·拜登赢得总统大选之时，伊朗也得到了一些急需的好消息。如今，那些迫切希望美国重返核协议的伊朗人又有了希望——如果制裁放松，经济可能获得喘气之机。伊朗明年将进行总统选举，强硬派正极力削弱总统哈桑·鲁哈尼，伊朗的谈判代表不希望在谈判桌上显得软弱。但鲁哈尼知道，拜登的首席外交官托尼·布林肯和国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文都是奥巴马政府谈判的老手，他们在2015年达成了最初的协议。

THIS TIMING⁵ HELPS explain why Israel might have moved to kill the nuclear scientist now. Donald Trump⁶ is still President. Any displeasure from the incoming Biden team can be managed, and at the very least, Iran's nuclear program has likely been set back once again. (Israel has been blamed for killing⁷ Iranian scientists in the past, though none of Fakhrizadeh's stature⁸.) Perhaps Israel is hoping that Iran's hardliners will persuade the Supreme⁹ Leader to try to launch a showy retaliatory¹⁰ attack that will make it much more difficult for the Biden Administration to re-enter the nuclear deal. But the timing also helps explain why Iran's retaliation¹¹ will be measured carefully to avoid escalation¹². Biden represents the one hope Iran has of getting its economy back on track anytime soon.

鉴于这个时间点，以色列现在杀死这位核科学家也就说得通了。唐纳德·特朗普还未下台，那么来自即将上任的拜登团队的任何不满都是可以控制的，至少伊朗的核计划会再次受挫。(以色列过去一直被指责杀害伊朗科学家，只是品级没有法赫里扎德高。)或许以色列希望伊朗的强硬派能够说服伊朗最高领袖发动一场举世瞩目的报复性袭击，阻挠拜登政府重新签署核协议。同时这一时机也有助于解释伊朗为何谨慎进行报复行动、避免升级。拜登代表着伊朗经济尽快回到正轨的唯一希望。

Iran's accusations¹³ that Israel killed Fakhrizadeh are made plausible¹⁴ by the sophistication of the attack, and therein lies a worrisome sign of things to come. It appears the nuclear scientist and his security detail were attacked with a remote-controlled machine gun. It's the kind of "lethal¹⁵ autonomous¹⁶ weapon" we're used to seeing in movies. New technologies, particularly the increasing sophistication of drone aircraft, will make asymmetric¹⁷ warfare¹⁸ more common and more effective.

鉴于该次袭击的复杂程度，伊朗指责以色列杀死了法赫里扎德似乎合乎情理，同时也显现了一个令人担忧的迹象。看来这位核科学家和他的安保人员遭到了遥控机关枪的袭击，就是我们在电影里经常看到的那种“自动致命武器”。新技术，特别是日益先进的无人机技术，将使非对称战争更加普遍和有效。

1 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

2 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 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。

5 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

11 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

13 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

14 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

15 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

16 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

17 asymmetric   

a.不对称的

参考例句：

• Most people's faces are asymmetric. 大多数人的脸不对称。
• We have made no reference to asymmetric carbon atoms. 我们未曾涉及不对称碳原子。

18 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。