VOA常速英语2020--蓬佩奥表示伊朗的宗教自由状况令人堪忧

Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the U.S. Government.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made clear that the United States’ defense¹ of religious freedom around the world is “a moral imperative².”“Every human being has the right to believe in whatever it is they wish, to change their faith, or to hold no faith at all. Indeed, we must affirm and fight for that truth now more than ever. More than eight in ten people in the world today live where they cannot practice their faith freely.”One of those places is Iran. At the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom hosted by the State Department in July, 2019, Secretary Pompeo noted³ that “Iranians who dare stand up for their religious freedom, for their neighbors, face abuse.”Now the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom -- an independent, bipartisan federal body tasked with monitoring violations⁴ of religious freedom around the world–- reports that violations of the Iranian people’s religious liberty continue.USCIRF, as the Commission is called, writes in its most recent report that in 2019, “religious freedom conditions in Iran remained egregiously⁵ poor.”

接下来是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。美国国务卿蓬佩奥明确表示，美国在全世界捍卫宗教自由是“道德需要”。“每个人都有权去信仰自己希望的一切，有权改变信仰，或者根本没有信仰。事实上，我们必须要比以往的任何时候都更加肯定并争取这一真理。今天，世界上超过十分之八的人生活在无法实现自由信仰的地方。”其中一个地方就是伊朗。2019年7月，在由国务院举办的第二届推进宗教自由部长级会议上，国务卿蓬佩奥指出，“伊朗人敢于为自己的宗教自由和邻国挺身而出，而他们自己在面临虐待。”现在，美国国际宗教自由委员会——一个独立的两党联邦机构，负责监督世界各地违反宗教自由的行为——报告称，侵犯伊朗人民宗教自由的行为仍在继续。美国国际宗教自由委员会在最近的一份报告中表示，2019年，“伊朗的宗教自由状况仍然非常糟糕。”

“Iran harasses⁶, fines and arrests those who dissent” from the government’s interpretation⁷ of Shi’a Islam, USCIRF notes. The Iranian government blamed Baha’is, without evidence, for widespread popular protests.Adherents⁸ of Sufi orders, which emphasize Islamic mysticism, were also targeted. Christians⁹, particularly converts from Islam, were persecuted¹⁰ and imprisoned¹¹ for their faith.Last June, USCIRF reports, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif claimed that Iran’s execution of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community was necessary “according to moral principles.” And women who peacefully protested the government’s mandatory¹² religious head covering were summoned, interrogated¹³ and arrested.Secretary of State Pompeo has said that the freedom to believe or not believe according to one’s conscience is not a Western ideal, it is “the bedrock of societies.”The United States, he emphasized, will not waver in its commitment to encourage all countries, including Iran, to recognize the fundamental importance of religious freedom to human life and dignity.That was an editorial reflecting the views of the U.S. Government

美国国际宗教自由委员会指出，伊朗政府对什叶派伊斯兰教的解释为“伊朗会骚扰，罚款并逮捕那些持异议的人”伊朗政府在没有证据的情况下指责巴哈教徒，这一事件引发广泛的民众抗议。强调伊斯兰神秘主义的苏菲派信徒也成为攻击目标。基督教徒，特别是皈依伊斯兰教的人，因信仰而受到迫害和监禁。去年六月，据美国国际宗教自由委员会报道，伊朗外交部长贾威德·扎里夫声称，伊朗处决女同性恋、同性恋、变性人和双性恋群体的行为，是“根据道德原则”而势在必行的。并且伊朗政府还对一些对于伊朗政府强制宗教头巾的规定进行和平抗议的妇女，进行传唤、审讯和逮捕。国务卿蓬佩奥曾表示，拥有自由去根据自己的本心信仰或不信仰，这不是西方的理想，而是“社会的基石”。他强调，美国不会动摇其承诺，鼓励包括伊朗在内的所有国家承认宗教自由对人类生命和尊严的根本重要性。这是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。

1 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。

2 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

3 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。

4 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。

5 egregiously   

adv.过份地，卓越地

参考例句：

• But previous Greek governments egregiously violated those limits. 但之前几届希腊政府都严重违反了这些限制。 来自互联网

6 harasses   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的第三人称单数 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• This man harasses his female co-workers. 这个人骚扰他的女同事。 来自互联网
• A drone attacks and harasses the SCV building the bunker, preventing it from being completed. 但工蜂攻击并骚扰建造这座掩体的工程兵，阻止工程兵完成掩体的建造。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 adherents   

n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙

参考例句：

• He is a leader with many adherents. 他是个有众多追随者的领袖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The proposal is gaining more and more adherents. 该建议得到越来越多的支持者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

12 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

13 interrogated   

v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。
• Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》