VOA常速英语2013--全世界等待联合国的化武报告

 

World Awaits UN Findings on Syria 全世界等待联合国的化武报告

The long-awaited United Nations report on Syria's alleged¹ chemical weapon attack on civilians² in August is due out Monday. 

The images of the aftermath of the alleged attack are haunting - children suffering and bodies lined up on the ground.

袭击发生后的图像令人难忘，孩子们痛苦不堪，尸体排列在地面上。

Now, after U.N. inspectors³ have examined the site and collected boxes of evidence, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says the findings likely will leave little doubt.

现在联合国检查员已经调查了现场，并收集了几箱的证据，秘书长潘基文说这些发现可能已经毫无疑问了。

“I believe the report will be an overwhelming report that the chemical weapons was used,” he said.

“我认为这份报告将毫无疑问地说明有化学武器使用过。”

The secretary-general also took aim at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

秘书长转向叙利亚总统巴沙尔·阿萨德。

"He has committed many crimes against humanity. And therefore, I'm sure that there will be, surely, the process of accountability when everything is over," he said.

“他犯下了许多反人道罪，因此我认为当一切结束后，将开始对其追究责任的过程。”

But how any of this affects a civil war that has taken more than 100,000 lives remains⁴ unclear, especially since the report itself will not assign blame.

但是这将如何影响这场已经夺取10万多生命的内战尚不清楚，尤其是这份报告本身并未确定过失方。

“Russia will continue to deny that it was the Syrian government and the United States and Britain and France will continue to insist it was.  And that division will continue to hamper⁵ a clear U.N. resolution with enforcement power,” said Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

国际战略研究所的Mark Fitzpatrick说，“俄罗斯将继续否认这是叙利亚政府所为，美国、英国和法国将继续坚持是叙利亚政府所为PIPc,C=R|~H。这种分歧将阻碍联合国明确有执行力的决议的实施。”

In the meantime, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has continued his public offensive, appearing on Russian TV, denying that Syria used chemical weapons and dismissing U.S. threats of a military response.

同时，叙利亚总统巴沙尔·阿萨德将继续开展舆论攻势，他在俄罗斯电视台上否认叙利亚使用化武，并不予理会美国军事行动的威胁。

At the U.N., Syria's ambassador Bashar Ja'afari sounded confident.

在联合国，叙利亚大使巴沙尔·贾法里似乎自信满满。

"We have nothing to hide.  On the contrary, we are waiting, expecting, calling on the team of investigators⁶ to come up with their full report," he said. 

“我们没有什么可藏的，相反，我们正在等待、期待并呼吁调查小组拿出详细的报告来。”

But as the conflict rages, Murhaf Jouejati, a former member of the rebel Syrian National Council, believes the U.N. report may finally sway many in the U.S. and elsewhere who don't want to get involved.

就在冲突愈演愈烈之时，反对派叙利亚全国委员会的前成员Murhaf Jouejati认为联合国的报告可能会最终影响许多美国人，以及其他国家那些不想涉身其中的人。

"I think that [undecided] segment of the population will change their minds, therefore releasing or enabling authorities in the U.S. or even in Britain to have a stronger case for a show of force against Syria," said Jouejati.

“我认为一部分动摇的人群会改变主意，这样使得美国或英国当局更有强有力的理由来对叙利亚动武。”

For now, the fate of Syria is being left in the hands of diplomats⁷, hoping to rid Syria of chemical weapons and somehow get all sides to lay down their arms.

到目前为止，叙利亚的命运掌握在外交家的手中，他们希望将叙利亚撇清化武嫌疑，并在一定程度上使各方放下武器.

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 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。

3 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》