VOA常速英语2017--美国强势回应化学气体袭击——战斧导弹轰炸阿萨德空军基地

Two days after Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun, the United States struck the airfield¹ from which the April 4 chemical attack was launched. On the orders of President Donald Trump², Tomahawk missiles were fired on Al-Shayrat Air Base from U.S. Navy ships in the Eastern Mediterranean³ Sea targeting aircraft, fuel storage, air defense⁴ systems, and ammunition⁵.

阿萨德(Bashar al-Assad)在叙利亚北部小镇汗舍孔镇(Khan Sheikhun)对其子民使用化学武器的2天后，美国攻击了4月4日化学武器袭击事件发动地所在的机场。在总统特朗普的多道总统令下，美国海军舰队从地中海东部向谢拉特空军基地(shayrat air base)发射了多枚战斧导弹(Tomahawk missile)，目标是该基地的飞机、燃料库、防空系统、军火。

Assad's gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun killed scores of men, women, and children. As President Trump said in announcing the retaliatory⁶ U.S. strike, “It was a slow and brutal⁷ death for so many. Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.”

阿萨德对汗舍孔镇(Khan Sheikhun)的化学气体袭击造成数十名男女死亡，其中不乏儿童。特朗普在宣布美国此次报复性袭击时表示，“这次化学气体袭击对于很多叙利亚人来说是一种慢性的致命死亡过程。在这次惨无人道的袭击中，甚至连天使般的婴儿都被残忍杀害。上帝是无法忍受这种暴行的。”

President Trump said the U.S response was “in the vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter⁸ the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.” He called on “all civilized⁹ nations to join the United States to end the slaughter¹⁰ and bloodshed in Syria, as well as to end terrorism of all kinds.”

特朗普总统表示，美方的这种回应方式是“为了美国重要的国家安全利益而做，是为了阻止致命化学武器的传播和使用。”特朗普还呼吁“所有文明国家加入美国，结束叙利亚的屠宰和血腥，阻止各种形式的恐怖主义。”

Speaking to reporters, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson noted¹¹ that in 2013 Syria agreed to surrender all of its chemical weapons under the supervision¹² of the Russian government, which committed to act as the guarantor that no chemical weapons would remain in Syria. “Clearly, Russia has failed in its responsibility to deliver on that commitment,” Mr. Tillerson said.

在面向记者讲话时，国务卿蒂勒森(Rex Tillerson)强调，早在2013年，叙利亚就同意在俄罗斯政府的监督下上交所有化学武器，而俄方政府也承诺担任监督方，保证叙利亚不再保留任何化学武器。“显然，俄罗斯没有尽到自己的责任，没有实现自己的承诺，”蒂勒森表示。

Secretary Tillerson emphasized that the lack of response by the international community after Assad's repeated uses of chemical weapons had the effect of allowing Assad to normalize their use: “It is important that some action be taken on behalf of the international community to make clear that the use of chemical weapons continues to be a violation¹³ of international norms.”

蒂勒森还强调，在阿萨德反复使用化学武器后，国际社会的反馈之声依然匮乏，这会让阿萨德将化学武器的使用常规化。“很重要的一点是：必须以国际社会的名义采取一些行动，让阿萨德政权明白使用化学武器依然是违背国际准则的。”

Secretary Tillerson also noted that given the chaotic¹⁴ circumstances that exist on the ground in Syria, the presence of chemical weapons presents another threat: that they may fall into the hands of terrorists.

蒂勒森还表示，考虑到叙利亚目前混沌不堪的局势，化学武器的存在会构成另一种威胁：化学武器可能会落入恐怖分子之手。

“There are a number of elements that...called for this action,” Mr. Tillerson said. “And in carrying this out, we coordinated¹⁵ very carefully with our international partners...The response from our allies in Europe as well as in the region in the Middle East has been overwhelmingly supportive.”

“有很多因素让美国做出这样的行动，”蒂勒森说。“而在实施此次行动的过程中，我们与多位国际伙伴审慎配合……我们在欧洲和中东地区的盟友给予了强烈的支持响应。”

1 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

6 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

9 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

10 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

13 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

14 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

15 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法