VOA常速英语2019--美国或脱离北约：特朗普diss北约老掉牙

For some 70 years, NATO has been viewed as a crucial pillar of stability by US presidents and lawmakers, Democrats¹ and Republicans alike. But Trump²’s views on the Alliance, during his 2016 campaign, broke with that bipartisan consensus³. Let me tell you, NATO is obsolete⁴. It was 67 years or it’s over 60 years old. It is...many countries doesn’t cover terrorism, okay? It covers the Soviet⁵ Union which is no longer in existence.

近70年来，北约一直是美国各界总统、民主党、共和党眼中保障稳定的中流砥柱。但特朗普总统对北约这个联盟的观点在2016年竞选总统期间已经表过态——他的观点与两党的共同认知不同。我来告诉大家，北约已经过时了。北约成立已经有67年，也就是说，已经60多年了。很多成员国的职责并不涉及反恐，对吧？而北约虽然涉及到苏联问题，但苏联已经解体。

Since his election, President Trump has said he no longer considers NATO obsolete. But he has repeatedly pressed European allies to increase their contributions, like at this summit last July. For years, presidents have been coming to these meetings and talked about the expense, the tremendous expense for the United States and tremendous progress has been made. Everyone’s agreed to substantially up their commitment. They’re going to up it at levels that they’ve never thought of before. Reacting to Tuesday’s New York Times report, analysts⁶ say the recent departure of defense⁷ secretary James Mattis has them worried about the future of NATO. I think secretary Mattis was the primary break on President Trump’s ambitions and interests in making the Alliance. His removal creates an unbelievable opportunity for the President and for anyone else in the administration who does not see the value that NATO alliance to push forward with withdrawal⁸.

自当选以来，特朗普总统就表示自己不再认为北约是过时的存在。但特朗普一直在向欧洲盟友施压，让其提高贡献，比如去年7月的峰会上就是如此。多年来，各界美国总统一直都有参加北约峰会，也都有讨论到支出的问题——美国的支出有多高，但进展有多慢。每位与会者都同意大幅提升支出。他们会将支出提高到史上最高的水平。在就周二《纽约时报》的一篇报道作出回应时，多位分析师表示，最近国防部长马蒂斯的离任让他们担心北约的未来。我认为，马蒂斯部长是阻止特朗普对北约野心和关切的主要力量。马蒂斯的离任为特朗普及其政府创造了大好机遇，因为特朗普及其政府不认可北约这个联盟的价值，他们可以借此机会推行脱离北约一事。

If this happens, Russian President Vladimir Putin would be the main benefactor⁹, warns Simakovsky. It would be a significant gift to him and he would see it as an open invitation for future aggression¹⁰ in Europe. Some experts say it may be time for the US Congress to send a message to the president by holding a symbolic¹¹ vote expressing how vital NATO is to US national security and world stability.

一旦美国脱离北约，那么俄罗斯总统普京就会成为主要受益者，西马科夫斯基如是警示道。这对于普京来说是一份大礼，普京一定会视之为一份进犯欧洲的邀请函。一些专家表示，可能是时候让美国国会给特朗普总统发送一个讯号了，这个讯号就是举行一场标志性的投票，内容与北约对美国安全和世界稳定的重要性有关。

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 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。

8 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

9 benefactor   

n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人

参考例句：

• The chieftain of that country is disguised as a benefactor this time. 那个国家的首领这一次伪装出一副施恩者的姿态。
• The first thing I did, was to recompense my original benefactor, my good old captain. 我所做的第一件事, 就是报答我那最初的恩人, 那位好心的老船长。

10 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

11 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。