美洲—加拉加斯与华盛顿之间持续紧张

Tensions Persist between Caracas and Washington

加拉加斯与华盛顿之间持续紧张

 

In a recent interview on U.S. television, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claimed to possess evidence that the Bush administration is planning to invade his country, and repeated threats to cut off oil shipments to the United States. It was the latest volley in a war of words between Caracas and Washington that seems to reach new rhetorical heights almost daily, yet one that does not seem to be impeding¹ commercial and energy ties between the two nations.

 

In downtown Caracas, a speaker takes to the podium at a rally organized by local political groups allied² with President Hugo Chavez.

 

He says, "Unity³ with the revolution! The united people will never be defeated! But defeat will come to the empire!"

 

Everyone there knows the "empire" means the United States.

 

Standing⁴ in the crowd, Julia Martinez echoes the anti-American sentiment.

 

She says, "The United States invaded Iraq citing the threat of nuclear weapons, but none were found. Who knows what reason the United States could find to attack Venezuela? All Venezuelans must be alert, and all Latin Americans united, because imperialism⁵ is on the march."

 

For several years, President Chavez has railed against the Untied⁶ States in general and the Bush administration in particular. Some of the strongest pronouncements have come during the president's weekly appearances on the state-run television program "Alo Presidente" ["Hello President'], where he recently blasted President Bush for, in his words, "having done absolutely nothing" as Hurricane Katrina approached the U.S. Gulf⁷ Coast.

 

Hugo Chavez: And Mr. Bush on vacation. On vacation in Crawford. On a horse.

 

President Chavez has offered $5 million in aid to the hurricane victims, and offered to sell heating oil at a reduced price to America's poor. The U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, William Brownfield, says aid is welcome, but criticism is a two-way street.

 

William Brownfield: We [the U.S. and Venezuela] have some fundamental differences. We should not try to conceal⁸ these differences. Nor should we try to muzzle⁹ ourselves on these differences. As the government of Venezuela expresses its views, which it expresses with great regularity¹⁰ and at considerable volume - its views on the United States government, U.S. policies, U.S. activities throughout the world - we are going to express our views, as well.

 

While urging a continued close relationship in energy, the Bush administration has been critical of Venezuela's growing ties with Cuba, and voiced concerns about allegations of Venezuelan backing for leftist movements in the Americas. Most recently, President Bush declared Venezuela uncooperative in the war on illegal drugs, but waved most penalties proscribed¹² by U.S. law.

 

In an interview with VOA, Venezuelan Vice¹³ President Jose Vicente Rangel says the only thing his nation demands is respect.

 

Mr. Rangel says, "The Bush administration believes Venezuela should follow the policies Washington lays out. And this cannot be. We will do as we feel is best. And that is all. There are no other points of contention¹⁴. We have no desire to attack the United States. We have no phobia of the United States. But we want Washington to respect our sovereignty."

 

Allegations of U.S. interference and an undercurrent of anti-U.S. sentiment are not new in Venezuela. While visiting Caracas in 1958, then-U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon was met by mobs that attacked his motorcade and chanted for his death. But today, some Venezuelans, like computer technician Freddy Hernandez, see President Chavez' anti-American stance as political opportunism.

 

He says, "Poorer people absolutely love this confrontation¹⁵. [President Chavez is saying,] 'Look, I am making a fool of this country.' It is just a game to keep him in power. It is like a soap opera. And, in the meantime, Chavez is making deals with the United States on oil. So this is all words, not actions."

 

Yet even some of Mr. Chavez' fiercest critics describe U.S. policy toward Latin America in general, and toward Venezuela in particular, as lacking.

 

One opposition¹⁶ leader expected to challenge Mr. Chavez in next year's presidential elections, newspaper publisher Teodoro Petkoff, told VOA, in his words, "President Chavez is eating the United States alive in Latin American affairs."

 

Another opposition leader who has already declared his candidacy, Julio Borges of the Primero Justicia (Justice First) Party, says U.S. engagement with the region must extend beyond free-trade accords.

 

He says, "Chavez wants to cut the historic ties with the United States and make Venezuela into an island, like Cuba. And the way to do that is to portray¹⁷ the United States as the enemy. And I think the United States is inept¹⁸ in dealing¹⁹ with Latin America, and especially with Venezuela. It cannot be that the only proposal from Washington for the region is the Free Trade Area of the Americas - this is a poor and incomplete agenda. We want more profound proposals to strengthen human rights, [democratic] institutions, and the civil society."

 

Political analysts²⁰ say President Chavez has always harbored anti-American passions, but that they came to the forefront after the United States was perceived as being slow to condemn²¹ a failed coup²² that briefly²³ removed Mr. Chavez from power in 2002.

 

The president has also accused the United States of taking sides in last year’s referendum in which Venezuelans were asked whether Mr. Chavez should remain in power. Most recently, American evangelist and one-time Republican presidential aspirant²⁴ Pat Robertson called for Mr. Chavez' assassination²⁵. U.S. officials deny any U.S. campaign to remove the Venezuelan leader from office in any fashion, and say that Mr. Robertson's comments in no way reflect U.S. policy.

 

Michael Bowman, VOA news, Washington.

 

注释：

volley [5vCli] n. 齐发，（质问，咒骂等的）迸发

impede²⁶ [im5pi:d] v. 阻止

podium [5pEudiEm] n. 乐队指挥台

muzzle [5mQzl] vt. 使缄默，封住……的嘴

leftist [5leftist] adj. 左翼的

proscribe¹¹ [prEu5skraib] v. 禁止

phobia [5fEubjE] n. 恐惧病，恐惧症

undercurrent [5QndE7kQrEnt] n. 潜在倾向，暗示

motorcade [5mEutEkeid] n. 车队

inept [i5nept] adj. 不适当的，无能的，不称职的

evangelist [i5vAndVilist] n. 福音传道者

1 impeding   

a.(尤指坏事)即将发生的，临近的

参考例句：

• Fallen rock is impeding the progress of rescue workers. 坠落的石头阻滞了救援人员的救援进程。
• Is there sufficient room for the kiosk and kiosk traffic without impeding other user traffic? 该环境下是否有足够的空间来摆放信息亭？信息亭是否会妨碍交通或者行走？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 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。

5 imperialism   

n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策

参考例句：

• They held the imperialism in contempt.他们鄙视帝国主义。
• Imperialism has not been able to subjugate China.帝国主义不能征服中国。

6 untied   

松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决

参考例句：

• Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来，我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
• He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

9 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

10 regularity   

n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐

参考例句：

• The idea is to maintain the regularity of the heartbeat.问题就是要维持心跳的规律性。
• He exercised with a regularity that amazed us.他锻炼的规律程度令我们非常惊讶。

11 proscribe   

v.禁止；排斥；放逐，充军；剥夺公权

参考例句：

• They are proscribed by federal law from owning guns.根据联邦法律的规定，他们不准拥有枪支。
• The sale of narcotics is proscribed by law.法律禁止贩卖毒品。

12 proscribed   

v.正式宣布（某事物）有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are proscribed by federal law from owning guns. 根据联邦法律的规定，他们不准拥有枪支。 来自辞典例句
• In earlier days, the church proscribed dancing and cardplaying. 从前，教会禁止跳舞和玩牌。 来自辞典例句

13 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

14 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

15 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

18 inept   

adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的

参考例句：

• Whan an inept remark to make on such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，怎么说这样不恰当的话。
• He's quite inept at tennis.他打网球太笨。

19 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

20 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

21 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

22 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

23 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

24 aspirant   

n.热望者；adj.渴望的

参考例句：

• Any aspirant to the presidency here must be seriously rich.要想当这儿的主席一定要家财万贯。
• He is among the few aspirants with administrative experience.他是为数不多的几个志向远大而且有管理经验的人之一。

25 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

26 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。