VOA慢速英语2019 美伊似有意避免局势升级

US, Iran Appear to Avoid Military Conflict

American President Donald Trump¹ says the United States did not have to necessarily answer Iran's attack on American bases in Iraq.

美国总统特朗普表示，不一定会对伊朗袭击美国位于伊拉克的基地做出回应。

Speaking at the White House Wednesday, Trump said, "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime... All of our soldiers are safe and only minimal² damage was sustained at our military bases."

特朗普周三在白宫表示：“昨晚，在伊朗的袭击中，没有美国人受伤……我们所有的士兵都是安全的，我们的军事基地只是遭到轻微的破坏。”

The president added, "Our great American forces are prepared for anything. Iran appears to be standing³ down." Trump also said that the U.S. will place more economic sanctions on Iran.

特朗普补充说：“我们伟大的美国军队已为一切做好准备。伊朗似乎有收手迹象。”特朗普还表示，将对伊朗实施更多经济制裁。

Iran fired missiles at U.S. airbases

伊朗导弹袭击美国空军基地

Trump's comment came after Iran fired 15 missiles at two airbases that house U.S. soldiers in Iraq. U.S. military officials said al-Asad and Erbil were targeted early on Wednesday.

在特朗普发表这番言论之前，伊朗向驻伊拉克美军的两处空军基地发射了15枚导弹。美国军方官员称，周二早些时候，阿萨德和埃尔比勒基地成为袭击的目标。

The missile attacks were in answer to the U.S. killing⁴ of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week in Iraq.

导弹袭击是对美国上周在伊拉克暗杀伊朗军事指挥官苏拉曼尼的报复。

Iranian government media said the attacks killed 80 "American terrorists" and damaged U.S. helicopters and military equipment. Iran's Supreme⁵ Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the attacks a "slap on the face" of the U.S. and said American troops should leave the area.

伊朗政府媒体称，袭击造成80名“美国恐怖分子”死亡，并摧毁了美国直升机和军事装备。伊朗最高领袖哈梅内伊称，这些袭击是给美国的“一记耳光”，并表示美国军队应该离开该地区。

Iran's foreign minister said the country's attacks were in self-defense⁶ and that Iran did not seek to increase hostilities⁷.

伊朗外长称，伊朗的袭击属于自卫，伊朗不寻求增加敌对行动。

The Associated Press reported that Iran appeared to have warned about the strikes. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi said Iran told him that the missile attacks "would start soon" and would target only on U.S. positions. The militaries of Finland and Lithuania also said they received information about a coming attack and had time to move to shelters or leave the base.

美联社报道称，伊朗似乎曾就袭击发出了警告。伊拉克总理阿卜杜尔-马赫迪说，伊朗方面告知，导弹袭击“很快会开始”，而且只针对美国的基地。芬兰和立陶宛军方还表示，他们也收到了即将发生袭击的信息，有时间转移到避难所或离开基地。

Henry Rome is an Iran expert with Eurasia Group. He told the AP the attacks appeared designed to avoid human injury and any increase in hostilities.

亨利·罗马（Henry Rome）是欧亚集团的伊朗问题专家。他告诉美联社，这些袭击看来是为了避免人员伤亡和任何敌对行动的增加。

"For a president who wants to avoid a war in the Middle East during an election year, the Iranians have provided an off-ramp he will likely take," Rome said. Trump, who is facing reelection in November, has repeatedly said he wants to keep the U.S. from involving itself in "endless war."

罗马表示，“对于一位希望在选举年避免中东地区战争的总统来说，伊朗人提供了一个他可能会选择的台阶”。即将在11月面临连任的特朗普一再表示，他希望美国不要卷入“无休止的战争”。

Tensions between U.S. and Iran

美伊紧张局势

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have increased since Trump's 2018 decision to withdraw the U.S. from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers.

自从特朗普2018年决定退出伊朗与世界大国的核协议以来，美国和伊朗之间的紧张关系有所加剧。

Last year, Iran shot down a U.S. military drone, seized several oil tankers⁸ and interfered⁹ with international ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. also blamed Iran for a September missile attack on a large Saudi Arabian oil processing center.

去年，伊朗击落了一架美国无人驾驶飞机，截获了几艘油轮，并干扰了霍尔木兹海峡的国际航运。美国还指责伊朗9月份对沙特一个大型石油加工中心发动导弹袭击。

Recently, a large group of protesters attacked the outer edge of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The embassy attack followed U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 Kataeb Hezbollah fighters, an Iranian-supported militia¹⁰ which operates in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. said it acted to answer the killing of an American defense contractor¹¹ in Iraq.

最近，一大群抗议者袭击了美国驻巴格达大使馆的外围。大使馆遇袭之前，美国发动的空袭导致25名卡塔伊卜真主党武装人员身亡。卡塔伊卜真主党是伊朗支持的民兵组织，在伊拉克和叙利亚活动。美国称，这是对一名美国国防承包商在伊拉克被杀一事的回应。

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke¹² to the Iranian cabinet after the strikes on American bases. He said, "if America commits a crime, no matter how much she threatens us, she must know that we will act decisively as we have already shown."

伊朗总统鲁哈尼在美军基地遇袭后对伊朗内阁发表讲话。他说：“如果美国犯下罪行，无论其对我们的威胁多大，对方必须得知道我们将采取果断行动，就像我们已经表明的那样。”

Words in This Story

regime - n. a form of government

minimal - adj. very small in amount

sustain - v. to deal with or experience

stand down - phrasal verb, to leave a position

slap - v. to hit someone or something with an open hand

off-ramp - n. a short road that is used to slow down or leave

commit - v. to do something that is illegal or harmful

1 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。

2 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 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。

5 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。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 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。

8 tankers   

运送大量液体或气体的轮船[卡车]( tanker的名词复数 )； 油轮； 罐车； 油槽车

参考例句：

• They should stop offloading waste from oil tankers into the sea. 他们应当停止从油轮上往海里倾倒废弃物。
• The harbour admits large tankers and freighters. 这个港口容得下巨型油船和货轮。

9 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

11 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。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。