欧洲－英国拒绝提前从伊拉克撤军

 

Britain Rejects Early Pullout from Iraq

 

British Foreign Secretary Jack¹ Straw says it would be "utterly² irresponsible" to remove the U.S.-led multinational³ force from Iraq while work remains⁴ to train Iraqi security forces and reconstruct the war-ravaged country.

 

Mr. Straw made a statement in Parliament on the Iraq elections, in which he praised the determination of Iraqis to vote, despite the threats from Islamic militants⁶.

 

Jack Straw: In Sunni areas in central Iraq, large groups of people defied terrorist intimidation⁷, and walked several kilometers to polling stations to cast their votes. These elections were a moving demonstration⁸ that democracy and freedom are universal values to which people everywhere aspire⁹.

 

Mr. Straw also rejected calls from anti-war lawmakers that Britain set a timetable to pull its troops out of Iraq.

 

Jack Straw: It would be utterly irresponsible for this House or this government to make a premature¹⁰ decision about the withdrawal¹¹ of British or other forces. It is for the Iraqis themselves to make that judgment¹². If the Iraqi government today wanted to say that our mandate¹³ had ended, we would leave tomorrow. But they understand fully¹⁴ that, without foreign forces on their soil for a period, they cannot rebuild their country and create the freedom and security and democracy that they all so desperately¹⁵ need.

 

In a related development, the Iraqi ambassador to Britain, Salah al-Shaikhly, told reporters Iraq needs support from the international military coalition¹⁶, while it trains its own security forces. He also praised Iraqi voters for braving the terrorist threats.

 

Salah al-Shaikhly: All in all, I believe it was a day of triumph for the Iraqis. And I'm so glad to say that the voters have silenced the voices of doom¹⁷ and gloom, the prophets of misery¹⁸, who were forecasting all sorts of destruction and mayhem in the country.

 

Meanwhile, the British Defense¹⁹ Ministry²⁰ says nine airmen and one soldier are missing and presumed killed in the crash late Sunday of a military transport plane northwest of Baghdad.

 

A militant⁵ group, called Ansar al-Islam, claims it shot the plane down with an anti-tank missile. Britain says the cause of the crash remains under investigation²¹.

 

Michael Drudge²², VOA news, London.

注释：

war-ravaged 被战争蹂躏的

Sunni [5suni:] n. 伊斯兰逊尼派

intimidation [in7timi5deiFEn] 胁迫

aspire [Es5paiE] vi. 热望

premature [7premE5tjuE] adj. 未成熟的

mandate [5mAndeit] n. 要求，委任托管，委任统治

desperately [5despEritli] adv. 拼命地，强烈地

triumph [5traiEmf] n. 胜利，成功

mayhem [5meihem] n. 故意的伤害罪行

Ansar al-Islam 伊斯兰辅助者组织

 

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

3 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 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。

7 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

8 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

9 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

10 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

11 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

12 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

13 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 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。

16 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

17 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

18 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

19 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。

20 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

21 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

22 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。