VOA常速英语2014--奥巴马称投资非洲依赖于安全局势

 

Obama: Investment in Africa Depends on Security 奥巴马称投资非洲依赖于安全局势

WHITE HOUSE —

One goal of the African leaders' summit in Washington is to build on a strategic relationship that the United States has established in Africa as the continent faces a range of security threats.  

From establishing drone bases to training African troops, the U.S. has expanded its security relationship with Africa in recent years. The aim is to help African governments combat extremist groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, al-Shabab in East Africa and militants¹ in the Sahel.

从建立无人机基地到培训非洲军队，美国最近几年已加强了与非洲的安全关系。其目的是帮助非洲政府打击极端组织，比如尼日利亚的博科圣地，东非的阿尔沙巴布和Sahel的武装分子。

This week’s summit focuses on trade and investment, as President Barack Obama aims to forge a new U.S. relationship with Africa.  

本周的峰会关注贸易和投资，巴拉克·奥巴马总统希望建立新的美国-非洲关系。

In announcing U.S. companies' pledges to invest $14 billion in Africa, Obama said security is essential to prosperity.

奥巴马宣布美国公司承诺向非洲投资140亿美元，他说安全对繁荣来说至关重要。

“We're going to have to talk about security and peace because the future belongs to those who build, not those who destroy," Obama said. "It's very hard to attract business investment and it's very hard to build infrastructure² and it's very hard to sustain entrepreneurship in the midst of conflict."

“我们准备讨论安全和和平问题，因为未来属于建造者，而非破坏者。在冲突中是很难吸引商业投资的，很难建造基础设施，很难维持企业家精神。”

The U.S. military established its Africa Command in 2007, but based it at a distance - in Germany. The command has overseen³ operations to assist African militaries in transporting troops, sharing intelligence and reconnaissance.

美国军方2007年成立了非洲指挥中心，但总部却在遥远的德国。该中心监控在帮助非洲军方运输军队、共享信息和侦察方面的行动。

There are big reasons why the U.S. needs to speed up efforts to engage more with the continent, beyond providing low-key military cooperation and aid.

因此美国非常需要加快与非洲交往的步伐，而不仅仅是提供低端的军事合作和援助。

"Certainly the small-footprint strategy has worked," said Michael Rubin, an analyst⁴ with the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. "That said, we need to remember while China does $200 billion of trade with Africa each year, the United States does only half of that. So as the United States becomes much more involved in the region, more African countries are going to look for American backing, which isn’t simply diplomatic but goes into the economic and military as well."

“当然这个小的足迹战略已经见效，也就是说我们需要记住的是，中国每年和非洲的贸易额达到2000亿美元，而美国只有这个数字的一半。因此随着美国更多地参与该地区的事务，更多的非洲国家将寻求美国的帮助，而不仅仅是外交方面，还有经济和军事方面。”

For decades, U.S. administrations have spoken of the need to help lift Africa's people out of poverty and talked about the continent's importance. Now that Africa is home to more emerging democracies and six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world, Obama hopes to show that the United States is serious about partnering with the region.

几十年来，美国政府都在提到需要帮助非洲人民摆脱贫困，谈到非洲大陆的重要性。现在非洲有更多新兴的民主国家，全世界10个快速发展经济体中有6个在非洲，奥巴马希望能证明美国对与该地区合作的严肃态度。

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

4 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。