VOA常速英语2019--伊朗的宗教自由状况

Iranians are proud, and rightly so, of their millennia-long history of diverse religious communities and religious tolerance¹, said Scott Weiner, policy analyst² for the Middle East at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in a recent webinar on Iran. Unfortunately, the actions of the current Iranian regime stand in sharp contrast to the country’s history and traditions.

美国国际宗教自由委员会中东政策分析师斯科特?韦纳最近在一次有关伊朗的网络研讨会上说，伊朗人对自己几千年来的多元宗教团体和宗教宽容的历史感到自豪，也理当如此。不幸的是，当前伊朗政权的行为与伊朗的历史和传统形成了鲜明的对比。

Mr. Weiner says the government’s repression³ of religious minorities is continuing and is likely to increase, as it tries to coerce⁴ and scare members of these groups to acquiesce⁵ to government policies.

韦纳说，政府对宗教少数群体的镇压仍在继续，而且可能会增加，因为政府试图强迫和恐吓这些群体的成员默许政府的政策。

Gonabadi Sufis, Christians⁶, Baha’is and secularists face a range of abuse, including self-censorship, arrest, economic and educational discrimination, imprisonment⁷ and execution.

Gonabadi Sufis、基督徒、Baha’is和世俗论者面临一系列的虐待，包括自我审查、逮捕、经济和教育上的区别对待、监禁和处决。

Sunni Muslims also face discrimination on religious grounds, as do Shia who do not follow the government’s interpretation⁸ of Ja’afri Shia Islam. Under the government’s interpretation, the rights of women are restricted as well; and non-heterosexual Iranians are pressured into sex reassignment surgery, or, in some cases, given a death sentence.

逊尼派穆斯林也面临宗教上的歧视，什叶派也同样不认同政府对南非什叶派伊斯兰教的解释。根据政府的解释，妇女的权利也受到限制；非异性恋的伊朗人被迫接受变性手术，或在某些情况下被判处死刑。

Part of the mandate⁹ of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, is to make policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress.

美国国际宗教自由委员会的部分职责是向总统、国务卿和国会提出政策建议。

In the face of Iran’s egregious¹⁰ and systematic¹¹ violations¹² of religious liberty, Mr. Weiner enumerated¹³ USCIRF’s recommendations to U.S. policy makers¹⁴. They include identifying Iranian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom, freezing those individuals’ assets, and barring their entry into the United States; developing and utilizing¹⁵ new technologies to counter censorship and facilitate the free flow of information in and out of Iran; pressing for and working to secure the release of all prisoners of conscience; and reauthorizing and ensuring implementation¹⁶ of the Lautenberg Amendment¹⁷, which aids persecuted¹⁸ Iranian religious minorities seeking refugee status in the United States.

面对伊朗对宗教自由严重的、系统性的侵犯，韦纳列举了美国国际宗教自由委员会向美国政策制定者提出的建议。其中包括查明对严重侵犯宗教自由负有责任的伊朗政府机构和官员，冻结这些人的资产，禁止他们进入美国；开发和利用新技术来对抗审查制度，促进信息自由出入伊朗；敦促并努力确保释放所有拥有正义感的囚犯；重新授权并确保执行《劳滕伯格修正案》，该修正案帮助因遭受迫害在美国寻求难民身份的伊朗宗教少数派。

USCIRF Commissioner¹⁹ Johnnie Moore said that these are specific ways that the United States can help create better conditions for religious freedom in Iran, and that “this administration intends to make religious freedom a top priority in its foreign policy, and especially its policy toward Iran.”

美国国际宗教自由委员会委员约翰尼·摩尔表示，美国能够通过这些方式帮助伊朗创造更好的宗教自由环境，并且“本届政府打算将宗教自由作为其外交政策的首要任务，特别是其对伊朗的政策。”

1 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 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。

4 coerce   

v.强迫，压制

参考例句：

• You can't coerce her into obedience.你不能强制她服从。
• Do you think there is any way that we can coerce them otherwise?你认为我们有什么办法强迫他们不那样吗？

5 acquiesce   

vi.默许，顺从，同意

参考例句：

• Her parents will never acquiesce in such an unsuitable marriage.她的父母决不会答应这门不相宜的婚事。
• He is so independent that he will never acquiesce.他很有主见，所以绝不会顺从。

6 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

7 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。

8 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

9 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

10 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

11 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

12 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

13 enumerated   

v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A spokesperson enumerated the strikers' demands. 发言人列数罢工者的要求。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enumerated the capitals of the 50 states. 他列举了50个州的首府。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 utilizing   

v.利用，使用( utilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Utilizing an assembler to produce a machine-language program. 用汇编程序产生机器语言的过程。 来自辞典例句
• The study and use of devices utilizing properties of materials near absolute zero in temperature. 对材料在接近绝对零度时的特性进行研究和利用的学科。 来自辞典例句

16 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

17 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

18 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

19 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。