VOA标准英语2014--Myanmar Football Friendly Brings Together Battlefield Opponents

 

Myanmar Football Friendly Brings Together Battlefield Opponents

KAREN STATE, MYANMAR —

As most of Myanmar’s [also known as Burma's] ethnic¹ armies maintain a fragile ceasefire with the government, some of the troops were able to let off a little steam, World Cup-style. A peace initiative is aimed at building trust between the opposing sides of one of the world’s longest-running conflicts.

In Myanmar’s Karen state, rival armies met up recently in what was expected to be a major clash.

But on this day, government troops and breakaway factions² of the ethnic Karen army battled for the ball in a friendly football [soccer] game. In a country ravaged³ by more than 60 years of civil wars, organizing the match was no small task, said one of the Karen rebel commanders, Saw Nay⁴ So Mya.

“This event has made me proud of myself because this is not easy to see what has happened today. Every group still mistrusts each other and does not trust Myanmar government," said Saw Nay So Mya.

Decades of fighting have created deep divisions between military authorities and many of the armed ethnic groups. Events like this are aimed at building confidence on both sides, said Karen fighter Saw Eh Tha.   

“I’m a Karen soldier from battalion⁵ 737. Today we are came to play football for peace. We are having fun and talked to each other like brother and sister. We are shaking each others’ hands," said Saw Eh Tha.

With the bad blood put aside for the moment, former Premier⁶ League striker Jaan Aage Fjortoff joined in the game on neutral ground in Karen state as a spokesman for a Norwegian peace initiative, Handshakes for Peace, which sponsored the event.

“I think that the great thing about football and sport is that we can reach a bit longer than the politicians where the politicians have to go the diplomatic way, we can just go there and play football as today with the different ethnic groups and have fun," said Fjortoff.

In the weeks since the game was played, reports of sporadic⁷ fighting in Karen state and other parts of the country have marred⁸ the peace-building process.  As the August deadline for a nation-wide cease-fire draws near, it appears not everyone is yet ready to play on the same team.

1 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。

2 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

3 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

4 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

5 battalion   

n.营；部队；大队(的人)

参考例句：

• The town was garrisoned by a battalion.该镇由一营士兵驻守。
• At the end of the drill parade,the battalion fell out.操练之后，队伍解散了。

6 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

7 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

8 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。