VOA常速英语2015--也门和谈无果而终

也门和谈无果而终

Just hours after the U.N.-mediated ceasefire came into effect, there were reports of Saudi-led airstrikes in Sana and ground fighting in the southern city of Taiz.

在联合国斡旋下，也门冲突各方达成停火协议，而就在协议生效的几小时后，沙特主导联军向首都萨那发动空袭，南部城市塔伊兹发生地面冲突。

Both sides blame each other for the attacks.

双方对袭击事件相互指责。

Speaking Tuesday at the begining of peace talks in Switzerland, U.N. Special Envoy¹ to Yemen appealed for compromise.

周二，冲突各方在瑞士举行和谈，联合国也门问题特使伊斯梅尔呼吁双方各退一步。

Yemen is being eaten up by fire from all sides as a result of the violence and the armed conflict in the country. And here we repeat again: the only solution is a political solution, and the violence must stop.

因暴力冲突，也门深受战争洗礼。我想在这里重申：政治和解是唯一办法，也门必须停止战乱。

For months Yemen has been spiraling toward all out civil war between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the president.

数月以来，也门政府军与胡塞武装展开激烈内战。

A Saudi-led coalition² of Gulf³ Arab forces, aided by the United States, has been carrying out strikes against the Houthis since March.

在美国支持下，以沙特为首的中东海湾联盟从3月起对胡赛实施空袭。

Nearly 6,000 people have been killed in the fighting. Doctor Ahmed Shadoul of the World Health Organization said the humanitarian⁴ situation was catastrophic, with civilians⁶ living under a state of siege.

在这场战争中，近6000人死亡。世界卫生组织驻也门代表沙度尔医生指出，人道主义遭到严重破坏，人民生活在水深火热之中。

Unfortunately about 2.5 million displaced who have been around in different areas in not a well prepared living situation, and this in itself, is a high risk area of mosquito breeding, of outbreaks of malaria⁷, outbreaks of dengue.

约2500万人背井离乡，但不幸的是，他们的生活状况令人堪忧，这些地区本是蚊虫繁殖的高发区，疟疾，登革热的发病风险极高。

Human rights groups have accused the Saudi-led coalition of attacking civilian⁵ targets. Riyadh, and its backers, deny targeting civilians.

人权组织对沙特主导联军袭击平民表示谴责。但联盟和支持者却给予否认。

Amnesty International says at least five airstrikes since August have struck schools.

国际特赦组织表示自今年8月以来，约旦学校至少遭受了5次空袭。

Six-thousand-five-hundred children were attending these schools. And all of them have had their education severely⁸ disrupted as a result. Schools should be a safe space for children and for civilian life. In some of these cases these schools were targeted more than once and struck on repeated days.

学生人数为6500人。学生学习遭到严重影响。对于民众和学生来讲，学校应该最为安全。但在许多情况下，学校已不止一次成为被攻击目标，并遭到数日空袭。

Saudi Arabia has not responded to Amnesty's allegations.

然而，沙特并未对特赦组织的谴责给予回应。

The peace talks are due to last a week, but rivals on the ground are not disarming⁹.

和平协议预计持续一周，但地面部队并没有放下武器。

 

Yemen's prime minister claimed Wednesday several of what he called "resistance" groups are being merged¹⁰ into one unified¹¹ force to take on the Houthis.

周三，也门总统表示多只他所谓的“抵抗”组织也加入了对抗胡赛的“统一战线”。

1 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

7 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

8 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

9 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

10 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

11 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。