VOA标准英语2011--Pro-Gadhafi Forces Said to Be Weak on Ma

Fighting in Libya between forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi and rebels hoping to overthrow¹ his government continues. Our correspondent Phil Ittner has been reporting about the conflict from opposition²-held Benghazi. Today, he traveled by car from Benghazi toward Egypt. Susan Yackee caught up with him when he stopped by the side of the road between the town of Tobruk and the Egyptian border, where he shared some of his impressions about the rebels' ongoing³ struggle.
Ittner: The opposition is facing a massive military machine on the side of the government here. The pro-Gadhafi side seems to have the bulk of heavy weaponry – they have artillery⁴, they have naval⁵ capabilities⁶, and they have, of course, air power. But one of the charges put repeatedly by the opposition against the government is that they don't have the manpower. They don't have the support of the people neither in the armed forces nor within the population - something, obviously, Moammar Gadhafi contends is not true, but in evidence to back up what the opposition is saying we do see, repeatedly, the pro-Gadhafi forces having trouble actually taking territory in terms of putting boots on the ground.
VOA - E. Arrott
VOA correspondent Phil Ittner while on assignment in Benghazi, Libya
We have seen [pro-Gadhafi forces] hitting quite hard against the opposition rebel units, in particular with artillery and air strikes, but when it comes to actually holding territory, putting soldiers into towns or key strategic positions within Libya, the pro-Gadhafiists seem to have a real problem doing that, and this seems to add credence⁷ to what the opposition is saying. The opposition is saying: "We have the people, he has the guns." And it does seem that there is evidence to back this up.
What we have also seen in the last week or week and a half is that the military machine is being used to great effect against what is basically a large number of volunteers, very enthusiastic young men inspired by the Jasmin Revolution in the rest of North Africa and the Middle East wanting to overthrow a government that has been in power for more than 42 years, a government that people here in the east of the country say is despotic, uses torture, terrorism and intimidation⁸ techniques to subdue⁹ the population.
And they say that with the wind of chance in the region they really want to take advantage of this. The problem for them, they say, is unlike the leaders in Egypt or Tunisia, Moammar Gadhafi has no reservations about using some very heavy-handed tactics against them. It's the very same reason why they want to see him overthrown¹⁰. And we have seen artillery used against these very enthusiastic troops, we have seen airstrikes used against them, to great effect, because they are not professional soldiers; they are amateurs, and it is a groundswell movement here in the east.
Yackee: There is a lot of talk about a no-fly-zone. How crucial is this to the rebels?
Ittner: It is a very important factor here on the ground. As I have been saying, the problem that the opposition faces is that Gadhafi spent an awful lot of money building up his military machine. That is his ace¹¹ in the hole, and if that were taken out of the equation, the sheer numbers on the opposition side, at least this is what the rebel leadership says, those numbers would be enough to take this country if the military machine is taken out by an international no-fly zone.
Now, it's important to note that an international fly-zone would, of course, mean the most important thing – that jets would not be able to fly, something that has really impeded¹² the opposition's efforts. But it would also mean hitting command and control, communications centers. It would really strike against Gadhafi's military infrastructure¹³ - the thing that is keeping the opposition back. So the opposition basically says that [a no-fly-zone] is probably the most important thing that the international community can do to protect not only the citizenry, but also help overthrow what they claim is a despotic regime in power for 42 years, in their words, 42 years too long.

1 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

2 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。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

8 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

9 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

10 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。

11 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

12 impeded   

阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Work on the building was impeded by severe weather. 楼房的施工因天气恶劣而停了下来。
• He was impeded in his work. 他的工作受阻。

13 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。