VOA双语新闻 Increased Dangers in Iraq, Afghanistan

A panel of British lawmakers warns that Afghanistan could "implode¹" and Iraq become a "failed state," without strong support from the West and neighboring countries.

英国议会一个委员会警告说，如果得不到西方国家和邻国的有力支持，阿富汗可能会产生内乱，伊拉克可能变成一个“失败的国家”。

The British parliament's foreign affairs committee issued its warnings based on six months of hearings and field investigations² into the war on terrorism. Among its key findings, the report says Afghanistan could "implode with terrible consequences," unless friendly governments provide sufficient forces and equipment to maintain security.

英国议会外交事务委员会是半年来就反恐战争进行听证以及实地调查后发布这份报告的。报告的重要发现之一是，如果一些友好的政府不能提供足够兵力和武器来保持安全局面，阿富汗可能会“内乱而导致非常可怕的后果”。

The senior Conservative party member on the committee, John Stanley, told a news conference, Afghanistan urgently needs support as it prepares for an election later this year. "Afghanistan is absolutely on the knife-edge," he said. "We could end up in a situation in which everything that we have tried to achieve in that country since the removal of the Taleban regime, almost all of that could be set back, conceivably, almost to square one [the start]."

该委员会保守党资深成员斯坦利在一个记者会上说，阿富汗目前在准备今年晚些时候举行选举，在这个时候尤其需要支持。
他说：“阿富汗绝对是在悬崖边上。我们可能会陷入这样一个结局，那就是，当塔利班政权被赶下台时我们想在这个国家取得的一些成果可能都会倒退，我认为很有可能会回到最初的状态。”

The committee report also expresses concern about the slow progress in curbing³ opium⁴ poppy production in Afghanistan. About 90 percent of the heroin⁵ sold in Britain originates in Afghanistan, and Britain is leading a drive to try to eradicate⁶ poppy cultivation⁷ there by 2013.

外交事务委员会的报告还对阿富汗制止鸦片生产的缓慢进程感到担忧。在英国销售的海洛因大约有百分之九十是从阿富汗来的，英国正努力在2013年之前杜绝阿富汗的罂粟种植。

Regarding Iraq, the committee says it could become a failed state and spawn⁸ regional insecurity, if militants⁹ fighting the transition to a free and democratic state are not defeated. Committee members say the al-Qaida terrorist network took advantage of the post-invasion security vacuum to infiltrate¹⁰ into Iraq and launch a campaign of sabotage¹¹ and suicide bombings.

在伊拉克方面，这个委员会说，如果不能打败那些阻挠伊拉克转变成自由民主国家的激进分子，伊拉克可能会变成一个失败的国家，并导致整个地区的不稳定。这个委员会成员说，基地组织利用伊拉克战争后的安全真空渗透伊拉克，并发起了破坏和自杀式爆炸袭击的行动。

The committee also commends Pakistan's contribution to fighting terrorism, and it urges the British government to provide moral and material assistance to Pakistan to support those efforts. The report concludes that al-Qaida continues to pose a very serious threat to Britain, and the fight against international terrorism must remain a top foreign policy priority.

这个委员会赞扬巴基斯坦在和恐怖份子的斗争中所做的贡献，并且敦促英国政府对巴基斯坦提供道义和物质帮助。该报告最后总结说，基地组织继续对英国构成严重威胁，与国际恐怖主义的战争必须继续成为外交政策中的首要任务之一。
 

1 implode   

v.内爆，剧减

参考例句：

• The engine imploded.发动机内爆了。
• He has nightmares about the tanks imploding.他老是做油箱爆炸的噩梦。

2 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

3 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

4 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

5 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

6 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

7 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

8 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

9 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。

10 infiltrate   

vt./vi.渗入，透过；浸润

参考例句：

• The teacher tried to infiltrate her ideas into the children's minds.老师设法把她的思想渗透到孩子们的心中。
• It can infiltrate as much as 100 kilometers into enemy territory at night.可以在夜间深入敌领土100千米。

11 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。