VOA标准英语2013--Syrian Troops Show Strength Ahead of Peace Talks

 

Syrian Troops Show Strength Ahead of Peace Talks

The government offensive against the former rebel stronghold Qusair comes ahead of a peace conference next month aimed at bringing both sides in the conflict to the negotiating table.

Some observers believe the two events are related.

"I think the negotiation¹ has started. What we witnessed in al Qusair and other areas is part of the negotiation by fire," said Oraib Al-Rantawi, the director of Amman's Al Quds Center. 

The seemingly rapid setback² for rebel forces in the key city, a gateway³ for the government to push farther north and east, challenges an assumption that the collapse⁴ of President Bashar al-Assad's government is imminent⁵ - or even inevitable⁶.

Al-Rantawi believes the rebels can regroup.  But he said their position at the negotiating table has been weakened just as they believe they might be getting greater material help from abroad.

"The regime succeeded to send -- and its allies, of course -- to send a message that if you want to put an end to this conflict by military means you have to go through a very painful, very long, very costly⁷ process and there is no guarantee you will win," Al-Rantawi said.

Yet some in the opposition⁸ have already dismissed the idea of sitting down with the government -- demanding President Assad step down as a condition for talks.  Few are also pinning hopes on their "Friends of Syria" allies, meeting in Amman this week.

Even as the conflict has dragged in regional and international powers on both sides, rebels remain suspicious of the motives⁹ of those organizing the conference, including the United States, which has called for Assad's ouster.

Salem al Falahat, head of the Alumma Studies Center in Amman, argues the world is not serious about confronting “Assad's arrogance¹⁰.”  The conference, he said, is “nothing but a way to let the situation continue."  

Many Syrians are likely to agree, as the war grinds on into its third year -- with more than 70,000 people already having been killed.  Al-Rantawi believes stability rather than politics is their key concern.

"Four million Syrians now have no place to live.  This is the priority of the Syrian people.  I don't believe or even listen to all these lies made by the regime or by the opposition groups," he said.

As the competing interests meet next month to see if a political solution can be had, the voice of millions of Syrians caught up in the conflict may struggle to be heard. 

1 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

2 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

3 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

4 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。

5 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

6 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 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。

9 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

10 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。