VOA标准英语2010年-New African Standby Force Faces First

The mythical¹ island nation of Carana, off the east coast of Africa, is in a state of near-collapse, and African Union rapid deployment² forces are battling to save it. That is the scenario³ being played out this week in a crisis-response exercise involving military, civilian⁴ and police units from across Africa.

Soldiers wearing the uniforms of six different African countries huddle⁵ around a map at strategic command post Carana. They are considering how to respond to deteriorating⁶ conditions in Carana, a fictional⁷ diamond-rich African island where regional stability is threatened by well-financed gangs challenging an unpopular government.

It looks and sounds real, but this strategy session is part of a training exercise designed to test newly created rapid-response forces in each of Africa's five regions. Two years of work is culminating this month in a combined operation involving 120 of the continent's best-trained crisis responders.

The scenario may be fictitious⁸, but Sivuyile Bam, head of the African Union's Peace Support Operations Division says Exercise Carana draws on real-life conflicts.

"In Exercise Carana, it is about unstable⁹ government, a government that is unpopular, a government having challenges, security forces refusing to take command, security forces taking sides in the conflict, which is typical of most African countries when they have a conflict of this nature," Bam said. "We as the African Union are coming in to support this government and ensure it does its work."

The Exercise Carana scenario starts with a premise¹⁰ that A.U. peacekeepers have been deployed¹¹. But since the mission arrived four months ago, conditions have worsened. Criminal gangs have seized control of a strategic diamond mine. Hundreds of people have been killed, tens of thousands of others displaced, and rogue¹² elements are said to be using rape¹³ as a weapon to intimidate¹⁴ locals.

South African navy Captain Kobus Maasdorp is part of a command-post team considering what components¹⁶ to include in a rapid-response mission.

"Conditions are really dire¹⁷ in Carana.," Maasdorp said. " One of the main rebel groups had gone into the political mainstream¹⁸, but an offspring from the rebel group has now become radical¹⁹ and they are causing a lot of problems where the capability²⁰ of the African Union mission is being stretched almost beyond their capability and we could possibly in the next couple days have to strengthen the mission in Carana in terms of feet on the ground and equipment."

Lea Barasa is a training officer in a civilian component¹⁵ of the East Africa Standby Force based in Nairobi. She says a multi-dimensional response is needed to head off Carana's escalating²¹ crisis.

"We are looking at peace support operations in establishing governance structures that will enable Carana to stabilize," said Barasa. "Especially the justice systems, human rights commissions being seen in Carana region, especially gender-based violence, the child protection issues and the whole situation where people do not feel safe any more."

In a speech marking the start of Exercise Carana, AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping said the regional standby forces give Africa greater ownership of peace and security on the continent. He said the need for a homegrown force was underscored by the world's inadequate²² response to crises in places like Rwanda and Somalia.

"The international community could not always be relied on to address all the threats to peace and security on the African continent. Indeed, Somalia and Rwanda were painful lessons for us all," Ping said.

Exercise Carana planner Kobus Maasdorp predicts Africa's rapid response units will be the model for global peacekeepers of the future.

"I am no prophet, but I can tell you this," said Maasdorp. "Once we have operationalized the African Standby Force and we have deployed, and people get used to the fact that we have this tool, the African Standby Force will become a global peace force. I can tell you that."

The exercise is set to conclude October 29th. Results will be presented at a joint²³ African Union-European Union summit next month in Libya.
 

1 mythical   

adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的

参考例句：

• Undeniably,he is a man of mythical status.不可否认，他是一个神话般的人物。
• Their wealth is merely mythical.他们的财富完全是虚构的。

2 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。

3 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 huddle   

vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人

参考例句：

• They like living in a huddle.他们喜欢杂居在一起。
• The cold wind made the boy huddle inside his coat.寒风使这个男孩卷缩在他的外衣里。

6 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

7 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

8 fictitious   

adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的

参考例句：

• She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
• The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。

9 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。

10 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

11 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。

12 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

13 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

14 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

15 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

16 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

17 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

18 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

19 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

20 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

21 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

22 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

23 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。