VOA常速英语2017--美洲国家组织部长级会议 委内瑞拉问题成焦点

There has been a dramatic erosion of constitutional rule in Venezuela over the last 18 months. This includes the undermining of the authority of the democratically elected National Assembly; the thwarting¹ of the recall referendum late last year; the ongoing² imprisonment³ of opposition⁴ leaders and members of civil society and other restrictions⁵ on individual freedoms, including the use of military tribunals to try civilians⁶; the violent repression⁷ of peaceful protests; and, most recently, the effort to hold a constitutional assembly to override⁸ the will of the Venezuelan people and erode⁹ Venezuelan democracy.

过去的一年半以来，委内瑞拉的法治极度腐化。表现有：经过民主选举而成立的国民大会(National Assembly)权威受到贬损；去年年末，罢免公投遭到阻挠；现在，很多反对派领袖和民间社会成员还处在监禁状态。除此之外，个人自由还受到其他限制，包括通过军事法庭来审问平民；暴力镇压和平示威者；最近发生的还有，政府意图举办制宪大会，碾压民众的意愿，腐蚀委内瑞拉的民主。

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon in remarks at the Organization of American States, decried¹⁰ the humanitarian¹¹ hardships that have overwhelmed a majority of Venezuelans. Economic stagnation¹² has given way to hyperinflation and increasing economic instability. Venezuelan citizens struggle to maintain basic access to most food and medicine.

美国负责分管政治事务的副国务卿托马斯(Thomas Shannon)在面向美洲国家组织发表讲话时，谴责委内瑞拉在人道主义方面的艰难境况，称这种境况难倒了委内瑞拉的很多人。经济停滞让通货膨胀和经济不稳定愈发严重。委内瑞拉人面临粮食和药物基本供给的危机。

The United States has condemned¹³ the Venezuelan government's violent crackdown against opposition leaders and civil society. In the past two months of protests, more than 60 people have been killed, more than 1,000 injured, and nearly 3,000 detained, including 331 civilians charged criminally by military courts.

美国谴责委内瑞拉政府暴力镇压反对派领袖和民间社会。在过去2个月的抗议中，有60多人死亡，1000多人受伤，近3000人被捕，其中有331个平民受到军事法庭的刑事指控。

Under Secretary Shannon said, The rights of peaceful assembly and peaceful protest ought to be protected and not repressed.

副国务卿托马斯表示，和平集会、和平抗议的权利理应受到保护，而非镇压。

The U.S. urges the Venezuelan government to fulfill¹⁴ its commitments to promote free elections, respect the independence of the National Assembly, respect the freedoms of all of Venezuela's political prisoners, and meet the humanitarian needs of the Venezuelan people.

美国敦促委内瑞拉政府兑现其承诺——倡导自由选举、尊重国民大会的独立性、尊重委内瑞拉所有政治囚犯的自由、满足委内瑞拉人民对人道主义的需求。

The Organization of American States can partner with others in the international community to help bring about a peaceful resolution to the political impasse¹⁵ in Venezuela. The United States supports a proposal for the establishment of a contact group to guide the next stage of diplomatic efforts.

美洲国家组织能与国际社会的其他方一到合作，助力为委内瑞拉政治僵局找到和平的解决方案。美国支持成立一个联络小组的提议，让联络小组指导外交方面的后续举措。

Now is the time for the community of democracies to show the world that inter-American solidarity¹⁶ can help find a path back to peace and prosperity in Venezuela.

现在是时候让各民主国家站出来向世界宣告，美洲国家的团结一致有助于找到一条道路，让委内瑞拉重返和平与繁荣。

1 thwarting   

阻挠( thwart的现在分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过

参考例句：

• The republicans are trying to embarrass the president by thwarting his economic program. 共和党人企图通过阻挠总统的经济计划使其难堪。
• There were too many men resisting his authority thwarting him. 下边对他这个长官心怀不服的，故意作对的，可多着哩。

2 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。

3 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

4 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。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

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 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

8 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

9 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

10 decried   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The measures were decried as useless. 这些措施受到指责，说是不起作用。
• The old poet decried the mediocrity of today's writing. 老诗人抨击了现代文体的平庸无奇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

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 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

13 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

14 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

15 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

16 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。