VOA标准英语2008年-Report Says Somalia, Sudan Destabilizing East A

Earlier this week, a global survey of states most at risk of failure named Somalia and Sudan as the top two most unstable¹ countries in the world. As VOA correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, both African countries are embroiled² in complex internal and external conflicts that are destabilizing neighboring countries and threatening tens of millions of people.
　
Ethiopian soldiers man a position in Somalia's embattled capital following a fresh outbreak of violence, 17 Jun 2008

Somalia took the top spot in this year's Failed States Index, replacing Sudan, which had held the dubious³ distinction for the past two years.

In the annual survey compiled by the U.S.-based Foreign Policy magazine and independent research organization Fund for Peace, Somalia scored higher than Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in terms of its vulnerability to violent internal conflict and the deterioration⁴ of its civil society.

Conflict-resolution specialist Jan van Eck in South Africa says Somalia's problems are particularly challenging, because they are caused by conflicts between numerous groups trying to fill an enormous power vacuum.

The Horn of African country has been without a functioning government since 1991 when factional leaders overthrew⁵ dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and began fighting amongst themselves for control of the capital Mogadishu and elsewhere.
"In Somalia now, you have two conflicts - between the internal parties themselves and then between some of the internal parties and Ethiopia and America," he noted⁶. "It is a failing state - you can even say there is no state - where there is just no progress."

In 2004, a U.N.-backed-but-unpopular transitional government was formed in exile, but it was too weak to challenge Somali Islamists, who were rapidly consolidating⁷ power. By late 2006, the Islamists had control over much of southern and central Somalia and had largely restored order. But hard-line elements in the movement were suspected of strengthening their ties to terror groups.

With the support of the United States, neighboring Ethiopia intervened militarily in December 2006 and ousted⁸ the Islamists. That sparked an Islamist-led insurgency⁹ against the unpopular government and Ethiopian forces. The fighting has claimed the lives of thousands and has created what the United Nations calls the worst humanitarian¹⁰ disaster in the world.

The crisis has been further complicated by allegations that Eritrea is fighting a proxy¹¹ war against archenemy Ethiopia in Somalia by supporting Islamist rebels. Eritrea denies the charge.

Earlier this month, several moderate figures in the Somali Islamist movement severed¹² their ties with Eritrea and signed a U.N.-sponsored peace deal with the interim¹³ government in Djibouti. The Islamist hardliners, who boycotted¹⁴ the talks, rejected the deal and has vowed¹⁵ to continue fighting.

Eck says the peace deal effectively isolated¹⁶ the hardliners, who are likely to create more instability, not less.

"The group remained outside the meeting and that means whatever agreement has been reached between the government and some of the opposition¹⁷ group will not hold," he added. "We still do not have a platform whereby inclusive negotiations¹⁸ between the two sides can take place and so the conflict will continue."
　
An aerial view showing fire at the village of Abyei, Sudan, which is seen mostly burned down, 23 May 2008, and looters roam the village freely, after days of fighting last week

Professor Eric Reeves at Smith College in the United States says second-ranked Sudan suffers from the opposite problem in that there is too much power concentrated in one group in the center. Reeves has been observing the African country for more than a decade.

He says despite a peace agreement in 2005 that ended Sudan's two decade-long civil war between Sudan's Arab-dominated government in Khartoum and African rebels in the south, Khartoum is still refusing to share power and cracking down on anyone trying to challenge its rule.

"The history of Sudan is a history of conflict between the center and the periphery¹⁹, between Khartoum and the peripheral²⁰ areas that have been marginalized politically and economically," he explained. "I am not sure how the regime does survive, except by ruthless control of the military and the security apparatus²¹."

Sudan is Africa's largest country with multiple ethnic²², religious, and socio-economic groups. It is home to three regional conflicts - in the south, west, and east - which pits local rebel groups against the ruling Islamist National Congress Party in Khartoum.

The conflict in the western Darfur region has been the main focus of international attention in recent years. Since rebels rose up against Khartoum in 2003, attacks by government forces and allied²³ militias²⁴ have led to the deaths of 200,000 civilians²⁵ and the displacement²⁶ of more than two million others.

Security in Darfur has continued to deteriorate²⁷, exacerbated²⁸ by fighting between rebel factions²⁹ and an escalating³⁰ proxy war between Sudan and neighboring Chad, which is also threatening to destabilize the Central African Republic.

Reeves says Sudan's future as a nation appears uncertain at best.

"We are in a period of time, where there seems to be no exit from a disastrous³¹ Darfur strategy other than to continue to keep four million people on the verge³² of destruction," he added. "There is no real peace in the east. And we have a great deal of instability in south Sudan with the crisis around Abyei on the border between south and north Sudan. We have to pay attention because this is a very, very important country. It borders nine other countries in Africa and its collapse³³ would have an enormous impact from Kenya to Libya to Chad to the Central African Republic."

Five other countries in sub-Saharan Africa - Zimbabwe, Chad, Congo-Kinshasa, Ivory Coast, and the Central African Republic - were among the top 10 most unstable in the Failed States Index.

 

1 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

2 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

4 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

5 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网

8 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

9 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

11 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

12 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

14 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

15 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

16 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

17 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。

18 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

19 periphery   

n.(圆体的)外面；周围

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe.从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。
• The periphery of the retina is very sensitive to motion.视网膜的外围对运动非常敏感。

20 peripheral   

adj.周边的，外围的

参考例句：

• We dealt with the peripheral aspects of a cost reduction program.我们谈到了降低成本计划的一些外围问题。
• The hotel provides the clerk the service and the peripheral traveling consultation.旅舍提供票务服务和周边旅游咨询。

21 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

22 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

23 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。

24 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

25 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

26 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

27 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

28 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

30 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

31 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

32 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

33 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。