VOA常速英语2014--Syria Sets Presidential Election Amid Reports of Chemical Weapons Use 叙利亚传出再度使用化武

 

Syria Sets Presidential Election Amid Reports of Chemical Weapons Use 叙利亚传出再度使用化武

WASHINGTON — Syria has announced that it will hold presidential elections June 3, despite an ongoing¹ civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people in the past three years and forced about 1.5 million to flee. The announcement comes as the West investigates rebel allegations that the government has been using chemical weapons against the opposition².

虽然叙利亚内战仍在继续，但叙利亚宣布将在今年6月3举行总统选举。过去三年里，叙利亚内战已经导致15万多人丧生，并迫使大约900万人逃离家园。叙利亚宣布举行大选的同时，西方正在调查叙利亚反政府武装称叙利亚政府针对反对派使用化武一事。

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a rare trip outside Damascus on Sunday to visit the ancient Christian³ town of Maaloula, recaptured from rebels last week.  He told local residents they can count on his government's protection against "terrorists," the term his government often uses for rebels. On Monday, his government announced the date of the next presidential election.

叙利亚总统阿萨德星期天罕见地离开大马士革，访问上周从反政府武装手中夺回的基督教名镇马鲁拉。阿萨德告诉当地居民，他们能够得到政府保护，免受恐怖分子袭击。阿萨德政府经常称反叛武装为恐怖分子。星期一，阿萨德政府宣布了举行下次总统选举的日期。

The two events follow Syrian government's recent advances against Islamist insurgents⁴. President Assad has not officially said if he will run, but he is widely expected to use his current advantage to win a third term.

在此之前，叙利亚政府打击伊斯兰反叛力量的行动取得进展。阿萨德还没有证实宣布他是否参选，但是人们广泛预计他会利用目前的优势来赢得第三个任期。

The United Nations warned against holding elections at this time.

联合国对叙利亚准备举行大选发出警告。

"I think both the secretary-general [Ban Ki-moon] and joint⁵ special representative, Lakhdar Brahimi, have repeatedly warned that the holding of elections in the current circumstances amid the ongoing conflict and massive displacement⁶ will damage the political process and hamper⁷ the prospects⁸ for a political solution that the country so urgently needs," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General.

联合国秘书长发言人迪雅里克说：“潘基文秘书长和叙利亚问题联合特使卜拉希米都一再警告，在目前冲突持续、大量人口迁移的情况下举行选举，将破坏政治进程，阻碍叙利亚所急需的政治解决方案的前景。”

International talks on Syria held earlier this year have produced no tangible⁹ results. And the major players in the talks, Russia, the United States and the European Union, are dealing¹⁰ with the conflict in Ukraine, so that puts the future of Syria talks in question.

今年早些时候就叙利亚问题举行的国际谈判没有取得实际结果。谈判主要方俄罗斯、美国和欧盟正忙于应对乌克兰危机，为叙利亚问题谈判增添了不确定因素。

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki called the election a parody¹¹ of democracy.

美国国务院发言人莎琪在华盛顿表示，这种选举是拙劣的民主。

"The regime's violent suppression of the Syrian people's calls for freedom and dignity is what sparked this brutal¹² conflict. Staging elections under current conditions, including the effective disenfranchisement of millions of Syrians, neither addresses the aspirations¹³ of the Syrian people nor moves the country any closer to a negotiated political solution," said Psaki.

“叙利亚政权暴力压制叙利亚人民对自由和尊严的要求，引发了目前这场野蛮的冲突。在目前条件下，包括数百万叙利亚人被实际上剥夺国籍的情况下举行选举，既不会满足叙利亚人民的期望，也不会使叙利亚更加接近一个谈判达成的政治解决方案。”

Psaki said the U.S. government is investigating reports that the Syrian government used toxic¹⁴ chlorine gas against the opposition earlier this month.  Yehia Soulaiman, a military analyst¹⁵ in Damascus, said the accusation¹⁶ is fabricated.

莎琪说，美国政府正在调查有关叙利亚政府本月早些时候使用有毒气体氯气对付反对派的报告。

"They [the opposition] intend to win compassion¹⁷ from the international community by the excuse of chemical weapons. They are hoping for foreign intervention¹⁸. The opposition rebels intend for foreign military intervention in Syria just like what happened in Libya years ago," said Soulaiman.

大马士革的军事专家苏莱曼表示，这种指责是编造的：“反对派就是想利用化武这种话题来赢得国际社会的同情。他们希望外国干预，反对派武装希望外国对叙利亚进行军事干预，就像几年前利比亚发生的一样。”

The government agreed last year to ship its chemical weapons out of the country, following a sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people. Chlorine was not covered by the agreement.

在发生沙林毒气袭击，导致数百人丧生之后，叙利亚政府去年同意把化学武器运出叙利亚。但氯气并不在协议范围之内。

1 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。

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 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

7 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。

8 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。

9 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。

12 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

13 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

14 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

15 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。

16 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

17 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

18 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。