VOA常速英语2014--'Friends of Syria' to Meet in Paris Sunday 叙利亚之友日内瓦和谈前巴黎会晤

 

'Friends of Syria' to Meet in Paris Sunday 叙利亚之友日内瓦和谈前巴黎会晤

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets in Paris Sunday with foreign ministers of countries who back opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. They are trying to bridge serious differences within the opposition¹ ahead of Syrian peace talks planned for Geneva later this month. But Syrian divisions are complicating² efforts to come up with a transitional government to end the war.

美国国务卿克里计划星期日在巴黎会晤支持叙利亚反对派的各国外长。各方争取在日内瓦叙利亚和平会谈于本月开始之前，弥合叙利亚反对派阵营内部的分歧。反对派试图推翻总统巴沙尔·阿萨德的统治，但是他们的内部分歧为组建过渡政府以结束内战的努力增加了难度。

Iraqi forces fighting back against Al-Qaida-affiliated³ militia⁴ show how far Syria's internal divisions have spread.

在邻国伊拉克，政府军正在反击与基地组织有联系的激进分子，这显示出叙利亚内部冲突的扩散范围。

Assad loyalists control the capital Damascus and ethnic⁵-Alawite areas along the Mediterranean⁶ as well as parts of central Syria in their fight against largely-Sunni rebels there -- while continuing to battle Kurdish fighters in the north and Druze militia in the south. 

忠于阿萨德的部队控制着首都大马士革以及地中海沿岸以阿拉维族群为主的地段以及叙利亚中部部分地区。反政府武装主要由逊尼派组成。同时，北方的库尔德武装和南方的德鲁兹民兵也在同叙利亚政府军交战。

Cato Institute analyst⁷ Doug Bandow says if no transitional government emerges from this month's Geneva talks, Syria may end up a more-permanently divided nation.

卡托研究所的分析人士道格·班多说，如果本月的日内瓦会谈无法形成过渡政府，叙利亚最后可能四分五裂。

"I think one alternative, and it might be the best alternative is essentially⁸ the regime controls kind of a coastal⁹ area, a more Alawite area. And then there's a rebel area, and there's a Kurdish area. That might be the best you can get. Otherwise I think it's a fight to the finish," Bandow said.

他说：“我认为其中一个、而且可能是最好的选项基本上是由现政权控制一处沿海地区。然后呢，还有反政府武装控制区，另外还有库尔德地区。这可能是你能得到的最好的结果了。否则，我认为，大家会一直斗到死。”

Some of the fiercest fighting is within the opposition itself -- between the main rebel Free Syrian Army and more extremist militias¹⁰, some of whom are affiliated with al-Qaida. There are even divisions within those more extremist elements. So much so that the head of the powerful al-Nusra Front is calling for a cease-fire with a group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. But there is no keeping Syria together without strong central authority, says former U.S. ambassador Adam Ereli.

一些最激烈的战斗发生在反对派阵营内部，也就是主要反政府武装“自由叙利亚军”与更为极端的民兵之间的冲突。有些极端分子与基地组织有关联。那些极端势力内部甚至也有分歧，比如，势力强大的“胜利阵线”(al-Nusra Front)的首领就呼吁与“伊拉克与大叙利亚伊斯兰国”组织(the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant)停火。不过，前美国大使亚当·埃雷利说，没有一个强有力的中央权威，叙利亚无法凝聚到一起。

"Syria, I think the ethnic divisions are less along geographic¹¹ lines with the exception largely of the Alawite and the Druze. But if you don't have responsible central government, those areas will split off," he said.

他说：“我认为，叙利亚的族群隔阂的地理界线相对不是那么重要，例外情况主要是阿拉维和德鲁兹地区。但是，如果没有一个负责任的中央政府，那些地区将会分裂出去。”

A Balkanized Syria may be less troubling than current trends toward a broader breakdown¹², says U.S. Institute of Peace analyst Steve Heydemann, because the division of the former Yugoslavia remained largely within its international borders. 

美国和平研究所分析人士史蒂夫·海德曼认为，如果叙利亚像巴尔干那样以族群分治，相比目前范围更大的分裂趋势而言，也许带来的麻烦要少一些，因为前南斯拉夫的分裂毕竟基本保持在原有国境之内。

"I think the expectation was we could see a similar outcome in Syria -- that we would experience a process of partition, of Balkanization but it would not produce a cascade¹³ of state collapse¹⁴ across the Arab Levant. Now, I don't think we can be so confident about that," Heydemann said.

他说：“我认为，我们本来可能在叙利亚看到类似的预期结果：会有分离过程，变得巴尔干化，但是不会造成阿拉伯大叙利亚区一系列的国家崩溃。可如今呢，能不能形成这种局面，我觉得我们已经没信心了。”

Syrians themselves see the division of their country as an affront¹⁵ to national pride, says American University professor Akbar Ahmed. 

美利坚大学教授阿克巴尔·艾哈迈德说，对叙利亚人来说，国家分离是对民族自尊的羞辱。

"They don't want their country broken up because there's still the desire, the nationalism, the romance of holding on to the larger and not breaking away to the smaller unless things become so bad that you can not hold on," he said.

他说：“他们不想让国家分裂，因为人们仍然怀着那种民族主义的愿望，那种浪漫的想法，除非局势太恶劣，实在坚持不住了，人们还是希望能再坚持得久一些，不要让国家四分五裂。”

Divisions within the political opposition weaken prospects¹⁶ for peace talks as foreign ministers work to get a broader, more representative opposition delegation¹⁷ to meet with Assad officials.

目前，“叙利亚之友”各国外长正努力促成一个更广泛、更具有代表性的反对派代表团，跟阿萨德政府官员会面，然而，政治反对派内部的分歧削弱了和平会谈的前景。

1 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。

2 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

3 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

4 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

10 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

11 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

13 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

14 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。

15 affront   

n./v.侮辱，触怒

参考例句：

• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
• This remark caused affront to many people.这句话得罪了不少人。

16 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

17 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。