VOA标准英语2009年-New US Offensive in Southern Afghanistan P

As thousands of U.S. Marines push deep inside Taliban territory in southern Afghanistan, there is concern in Pakistan that fleeing Afghan insurgents¹ will cross the porous² border, putting more pressure on the army as it wages its own campaign to rid Pakistan of Islamic extremists.
　
U.S. Marines cross a bridge in the Nawa district in Afghanistan's Helmand province, 04 Jul 2009

Before this week's surge of 4,000 Marines and hundreds of Afghan forces into Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, the issue of how such a bold move would impact Pakistan was already on the minds of top U.S. policy makers³.

The top U.S. envoy⁴ to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, was very public about his concerns regarding the possible influx⁵ of Islamic fighters into Pakistan during a visit to Islamabad last month.

"We are concerned that there may be some spillover effect, as there was in the past," he said. "I've raised it repeatedly in Washington and here [Pakistan] and in Kabul. I don't want to be an alarmist here."
　
Richard Holbrooke (file photo)

"But the one thing that is very important is that as the ISAF (NATO) forces operate in the areas near the Pakistan border, that the impact on Pakistan be taken into account at all times and that the Pakistani security forces are properly aware of what the military actions are so they can do what is necessary to protect your border," he added.

Just hours after the announcement of "Operation Strike of the Sword," aimed at securing Helmand province, the Pakistani military deployed⁶ soldiers to the rugged⁷ and porous border in southern Baluchistan, situated⁸ directly across from Helmand.

Pakistan's concerns come at a particularly challenging time for the army. The military is trying to complete a two-month offensive to dislodge Taliban fighters in the Swat Valley region, and will soon begin a similar operation to hunt down top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan.
　
Major General Athar Abbas (File photo)

Top army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas says Pakistani officials have been speaking to U.S. and Afghan officials about how to prevent the infiltration⁹ of insurgents.

"We are coordinating¹⁰ with each other. We are sharing intelligence," he said. "Whenever there is an operation close to the border area where there is a possibility of either exchange of firing or crossing. So we keep each other informed and both sides remain well-informed so that they can avoid the possibility of accidental fire or friendly fire. "

But the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is long and notoriously easy to cross, especially in southern Baluchistan.

Pakistan is facing other burdens, too. Among them: how to repatriate¹¹ the more than two million people displaced by the Swat Valley offensive.

Although an estimated 87 percent of those who have been displaced are not in camps, those who are will soon be confronted by Pakistan's monsoon¹² (rainy) season. Humanitarian¹³ relief officials warn that heavy rains could spread water-borne diseases in the camps, which are made up of tents that will not be able to withstand pounding rains.

Martin Mogwanja is the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator¹⁴ in Pakistan.
　
Displaced children from Pakistan's Swat Valley wait to receive food at Shiekh Yasin camp in Mardan, 03 Jun 2009

"We will also need possibly additional resources," he said. "There may have to be some camps or parts of camps that would have to be moved. As you know, some of the camps are in the low lying areas and the most flood-prone districts are Swabi, Mardan, Nowshera and Peshawar. Those are the same districts where there are a majority of IDP camps."

As U.S. Marines continued their new offensive across the Pakistani border in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, militants¹⁵ targeted a military base in the east with a truck bomb. The attack in Paktika province sparked a long battle that left two U.S. soldiers dead. Airstrikes were called in to end the fighting, which local officials say killed more than two dozen Taliban fighters.

 

1 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

2 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

5 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

6 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。

7 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

8 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

9 infiltration   

n.渗透；下渗；渗滤；入渗

参考例句：

• The police tried to prevent infiltration by drug traffickers. 警方尽力阻止毒品走私分子的潜入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A loss in volume will occur if infiltration takes place. 如果发生了渗润作用，水量就会减少。 来自辞典例句

10 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

11 repatriate   

v.遣返；返回；n.被遣返回国者

参考例句：

• The government safely repatriates victims.政府安全遣返了受害者。
• In this part,you need to formulate in detail repatriate the plan.在这一部分，你需要制定详细的归国计划。

12 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

13 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。

14 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

15 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。