VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-06-23 Russia and U.S. Clash on Stopping Violence in Syria

 

AS IT IS 2013-06-23 Russia and U.S. Clash on Stopping Violence in Syria

Hi again. Nice to have you with us on As It Is from VOA Learning English. I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

There was more talk this week about how to stop the civil war in Syria. Tens of thousands of people have already died since the conflict began in March 2011. Journalist Andrew Tabler wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine this month that Syria is expected to reach 100,000 dead in August.

The U.N. High Commissioner¹ for Refugees says the number of people who have fled Syria so far this year is about the same as the total number of refugees all over the world in 2012.

President Barack Obama says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost the right to rule. Mr. Obama says he believes Syria has used chemical weapons on its people. He says the United States will now provide military support to the rebels.

Leaders of major industrial countries discussed how to end the violence in Syria at the Group of 8 summit meeting in Northern Ireland this week. The biggest disagreement appeared to be between the United States and Russia.

Russia continues to provide weapons and other support to the Syrian government. President Vladimir Putin says it is important that Mr. al-Assad’s government remain to provide stability for the country.

One observer, Chris Phillips of Queen Mary University, London, says Russia is defending Syria's right to govern itself.

“The Russians have always backed the principle of state sovereignty. As they see it, the Syrians have the right to conclude their affairs inside Syria as they wish. Russia itself is an autocratic regime and his not very keen on any major attempts to undermine the principle of state sovereignty, and they are going to stand by that.”

Russia says there is no proof that the Syrian government has used c  hemical weapons on its citizens.

The Russian and American presidents did agree, however, to pressure the Syrian government and rebels to hold peace talks. The European Union and many Arab states, including Egypt, support a negotiated solution.

But a few days later, Russia’s foreign minister said Russia may not support the peace talks if the United States seeks a no-fly zone over Syria. And Vladimir Putin later criticized the American plan to give rebel groups weapons. Mr. Putin said he is concerned about who will take power if President al-Assad leaves. “Who will fill it?” Mr. Putin said. “Terrorist groups?” 

Mr. Obama has not described the kind of military support the United States will provide to the rebels. But he told reporters that the United States is not starting a new Middle East war in Syria.

Also this week, the United Nations Children’s Fund warned that hot summer weather is putting millions of children in Syria at risk of disease.

A UNICEF spokeswoman said children in Syria do not have safe water and good sanitation². These conditions put them at risk of diarrhea, measles³ and other diseases.

The spokeswoman said the availability of safe water in Syria is one-third what it was before the conflict.

Flamenco music is often associated with Spain. Gypsies from north India brought the music to Europe in the 18th century. But one American band is adding Arabic traditions, too. La Ruya includes sounds from Turkey, the Black Sea, Persia and North Africa. Christopher Cruise tells about their music.

Can you hear the Spanish guitar and heeled shoes in this music? They are some of the classic sounds of flamenco music. But a California band called La Ruya is transforming flamenco.

One of the band’s founding members is Sam Foster. He is a drummer who became interested in Arabic and Turkish drumming. From there, he learned about flamenco. He brought in flamenco dancer Melissa Cruz and other musicians to create the unusual sound of La Ruya.

“We are taking forms and in some cases actual songs from other parts of the world and flamenco-izing them, so you have something new, a sound I haven’t heard before.”

“We have oud, which is the Middle Eastern lute⁴. We have a flute⁵ player…

The cajon, the box drum. And darbouka, the gourd⁶ drum, also known as dumbek.”

And, says Melissa Cruz, they have the palmas.

“Palmas are flamenco hand claps. And typically it is the flamenco singer and the flamenco dancer who are doing the palmas.”

Wherever La Ruya performs, they find an interested audience.

“Flamenco is really improvisational⁷, so there aren’t any strict rules or regulations. The point is to create one cohesive⁸ piece of music.”

Some say traditional Spanish flamenco should stay the way it is.

But Melissa Cruz says La Ruya’s style -- with its Arabic rhythms and instruments -- is not changing flamenco. Instead, it is bringing the music back to its Moorish⁹ roots.  

I’m Christopher Cruise.

And I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

1 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

2 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

3 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

4 lute   

n.琵琶，鲁特琴

参考例句：

• He idly plucked the strings of the lute.他漫不经心地拨弄着鲁特琴的琴弦。
• He knows how to play the Chinese lute.他会弹琵琶。

5 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

6 gourd   

n.葫芦

参考例句：

• Are you going with him? You must be out of your gourd.你和他一块去？你一定是疯了。
• Give me a gourd so I can bail.把葫芦瓢给我，我好把水舀出去。

7 improvisational   

adj. 即兴的

参考例句：

• I have never been at games like charades or improvisational acting. 您从来都唔擅长玩“有口难言”或者“即席表演”之类既游戏。
• I'm practicing self-control, those random and improvisational acts aren't allowed. 我在练习控制自己，那些随意的、即兴的举动是不允许的。

8 cohesive   

adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的

参考例句：

• She sealed the parcel with cohesive tape.她用粘胶带把包裹封起来。
• The author skillfully fuses these fragments into a cohesive whole.作者将这些片断巧妙地结合成一个连贯的整体。

9 moorish   

adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的

参考例句：

• There was great excitement among the Moorish people at the waterside. 海边的摩尔人一阵轰动。 来自辞典例句
• All the doors are arched with the special arch we see in Moorish pictures. 门户造成拱形，形状独特，跟摩尔风暴画片里所见的一样。 来自辞典例句