VOA常速英语2019--解放两年后，叙利亚拉卡依然重建乏力

Syria’s Raqqa Struggles to Recover, 2 Years After IS Ouster

Nearly two years after its recapture from Islamic State militants¹, the Syrian city of Raqqa struggles to recover from a war that devastated² all aspects of normal life here.

在拉卡发生的战争摧毁了正常生活的方方面面。在从伊斯兰国武装分子手中夺回该城市近两年后，拉卡依然在努力从战争中恢复过来。

US backed Syrian democratic forces liberated⁴ Raqqa from the terror group in October 2017,but during the three-month long battle, much of the city’s infrastructure⁵ was destroyed to rubble⁶.

2017年10月，美国支持的叙利亚民主部队成功将拉卡从恐怖组织中解放出来，但在为期三个月的战争中，大部分基础设施被摧毁，成为废墟。

Local officials complained that international coalition⁷ to defeat IS, which helped free the city, lost interest in rebuilding Raqqa,as the focus has shifted to other areas liberated from the Islamic State.

当地官员抱怨称，帮助解放拉卡的国际联盟现在对重建拉卡失去了兴趣，因为他们的重心已经转移到从伊斯兰国解放出来的其它地区。

We used to meet second-tier coalition officials, sometimes from the first tier,but now we only get visits by an employee from the French Ministry⁸ of Defense⁹ or British Ministry of Agriculture, or an employee responsible for civil society in the US government.

我们以前可以和二级联盟官员会面，有时甚至是一级官员，但现在我们只能会见法国国防部、英国农业部的雇员或负责美国政府公民事务的雇员。

The Raqqa civil council which was founded during the battle to liberate³ the city, has been largely responsible for reconstruction,but funding shortages forced them to concentrate on restoring essential services to allow more displaced people to return.

在解放战斗中成立的拉卡公民委员会负责大部分的重建工作，但资金短缺迫使他们只能集中力量恢复基本服务，以便让更多的流离失所者返回城市。

To repair roads and bridges we had to use primitive¹⁰ methods.We basically brought rubble from elsewhere in the city and used it to backfill destroyed bridges and roads.We have too little money for anything more than this emergency solution.

我们现在只能用一些原始的方法修路修桥。我们从城市的其它地方运来碎石，然后填补毁坏的桥梁和道路。我们的资金只够采用这种紧急方案。

Nine main bridges over the Freddy’s River and nearby irrigation canals were destroyed during the battle against IS.So far, only three have been repaired. Returning Raqqa residents find a lot of wreckage¹¹.

弗雷迪河上的九座主要桥梁以及附近的灌溉渠道都在与伊斯兰国的战斗中被摧毁。到目前为止，只有三座桥梁得到了修缮。返回的拉卡居民看到了很多废墟。

We found our properties were knocked down to the ground.This building was destroyed.They rebuilt this building, but the owner of another house was asked to pay 1 billion Syrian Ounce to rebuild it,but they didn’t have that money, so they went to regime-controlled areas.

我们发现自己的房屋没有了。这整个房子都被摧毁了。他们现在重建了这栋楼，但要求另一个房子的主人支付10亿叙利亚盎司才能重建，他们没那么多钱，所以搬去了政府控制区。

The deteriorating¹² local economy makes returnees wonder if coming back was wise.

不断恶化的当地经济也使返回者质疑回到拉卡是否明智。 

The economic situation is bad.The market movement is slow and prices are too high, and there is no electricity.

现在经济形势不好。市场运作缓慢，物价过高，也没有电力供应。 

Without prompt progress in Raqqa local officials warn, extremism could rise again in the city and beyond.

拉卡地方官员警告称，如果拉卡的形势没有迅速取得进展，极端主义可能会在该市及其它地区再次抬头。

War on terror isn’t only military.If we don’t pay attention to agriculture, education and health care, in the next 10 years, a new generation of terrorists will rise here.

反恐战争不仅仅是军事行动。如果我们不重视农业、教育和卫生保健，在未来10年里，新一代恐怖分子又会在此崛起。

The United States last year cut about two hundred and thirty million dollars in funding for Northeast Syria.Washington said it would instead rely on financial contributions from countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and other members of the anti-IS coalition.

美国去年削减了约2.3亿美元的叙利亚东北部援助资金。美国表示，叙利亚必须更多地依赖沙特阿拉伯、阿联酋和其他抗击伊斯兰国联盟成员国的财政捐助。

Despite those cuts, the US remains¹³ the largest single national humanitarian¹⁴ donor¹⁵ for the Syrian response,providing nearly 8.1 billion dollars in humanitarian assistance, since the start of the crisis for displaced people inside Syria and the region.

尽管削减了援助资金，但美国仍是叙利亚最大的单一国家人道主义捐助国。自危机开始以来，美国为叙利亚及该地区的流离失所者提供了近81亿美元的人道主义援助。

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 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

3 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。

4 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

5 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。

6 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

7 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。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 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。

10 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

11 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

12 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 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。

15 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。