VOA常速英语2008年-Britain's Prince Harry Withdrawn From Afghan Du

By Tom Rivers
London
29 February 2008

British defense¹ chiefs have decided² to pull Prince Harry³ out of Afghanistan in the wake of news reports about his deployment⁴ in Helmand Province. The decision centered on security concerns for the third in line to the British throne and those around him. For VOA, Tom Rivers reports from London.

For 10 weeks, Prince Harry's deployment was a well-kept secret. The British media had agreed to a news blackout throughout that time, but when a U.S. website ran with the story, Defense officials here in London were forced to act.

Following a rapid risk assessment⁵, the decision was made to withdraw Harry from Afghanistan and return him to Britain so he and his unit would not become a target of the Taliban.

His commanders in Helmand Province described the third in line to the throne as a model soldier and Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he has served with great distinction.

"I think everybody wants to thank him and all our serving forces for the courage and the professionalism and dedication⁶ that they show," he said.

The original plan was for the prince to be deployed⁷ for three months. But as British Defense Secretary Des Browne says, it was always understood that that could be cut short if his deployment became common knowledge.

"It is disappointing that the story has broken in the way in which it did however, we expected that this may happen," he said. "There was a contingency⁸ for this possibility. Those who command him had plans in place for the possibility that the story may break and so people should be reassured⁹ that those plans were designed to keep him safe and those who work with him safe."

Although Harry loves the army it is hard to say whether he will ever see forward position duty again given the risks not only to him but to those immediately around him.

Currently some 7,800 British troops are serving in Afghanistan, the second largest NATO contingent¹⁰ in the country, with most of them based in the tough Taliban-supported south.

1 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。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

4 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

9 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。