VOA标准英语2014--联合国要求叙利亚完全上缴化武

 

UN Calls for Syria to Complete Surrender of Chemical Weapons 联合国要求叙利亚完全上缴化武

WASHINGTON — The United Nations has called on Syria to complete the surrender of its chemical weapons by the approaching deadline. The well-armed forces of President Bashar al-Assad appear to be gaining ground in the Syrian civil war, which has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives and has divided the country. The United States has promised to increase its non-lethal¹ aid to the Syrian opposition², but a growing number of U.S. lawmakers say this is not enough to even the odds³ in the deadly conflict.

Sigrid Kaag, mission chief of the U.N.'s Organization for the Prohibition⁴ of Chemical Weapons, said Thursday in New York that the bulk of Syria's chemical weapons have been removed for destruction, but that 8 percent remain in the government's possession.

"In terms of chemical weapons removal for onward⁵ destruction, including destruction in country, we've reached significant progress -- 92 percent. However, there is concern, and that we have also expressed as a joint⁶ mission, that the remaining 8 percent is currently inaccessible⁷ due to the security conditions in country," said Kaag.

Kaag urged Syrian authorities to allow safe access to the remaining chemical weapons material by the June 30 deadline.

"The ships are waiting. Our Norwegian and Danish friends, they are waiting. They want to take the last batch⁸ of the chemical weapons materials. And the U.S. ship, of course, is very eager to start destruction. Because the clock is ticking," said Kaag.  

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Syrian Opposition Coalition⁹ President Ahmad al-Jarba. 

“We have taken several steps this week to demonstrate our growing partnership¹⁰ with the coalition, and I look forward today to continuing our dialogue on a full range of our shared concerns in Syria, including putting an end to the violence, countering the regime, easing the humanitarian¹¹ crisis and building towards the day when we will see a truly representative government that is responsive to the needs of the Syrian people,” said Kerry.

Jarba asked for more U.S. support in the uneven¹² struggle between well-armed government forces and inadequately¹³ equipped opposition fighters.

"The Syrian people are looking to the superpower, the country that plays a leading role in the world, and we look forward to working with you now and in the future. Our goal is to establish a pluralistic civil society.... A state that is just, where all minorities live side-by-side with the majority," said Jarba.

The United States plans a $27 million increase in non-lethal assistance to the opposition, but says it will not provide arms or other military support. However, Jarba got a more sympathetic ear from some U.S. lawmakers. Democratic Senator Bob Casey said he has written to President Barack Obama on behalf of Syria's moderate opposition.

"I asked that the president seriously consider allowing the deployment¹⁴ of lethal assistance to the moderate military opposition. A serious effort to help narrow the gulf¹⁵ between the moderate opposition and the better trained and better equipped extremist fighters would not only boost morale¹⁶ in the Free Syria Army, but could actually change the momentum¹⁷ of the battle," said Casey.

President Assad has set June 3 for Syria's presidential elections, despite the ongoing¹⁸ fighting and the absence of millions of Syrians who have fled the conflict.

1 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

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 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

4 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

5 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

6 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。

7 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

8 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

13 inadequately   

ad.不够地；不够好地

参考例句：

• As one kind of building materials, wood is inadequately sturdy. 作为一种建筑材料，木材不够结实。
• Oneself is supported inadequately by the money that he earns. 他挣的钱不够养活自己。

14 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

15 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

16 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

17 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

18 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。