VOA常速英语2020--USAID帮助推进中东地区宗教自由

Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.“There are few things more difficult to see than when politicians use the divisions within a society to further divide people to pursue political ends,” said USAID’s Assistant Administrator¹ for the Middle East Michael Harvey.“It’s terrible to watch politicians abuse people’s faith as a way of stimulating² conflict and mobilizing people toward conflict, whether it’s ISIS or it’s the regime in Tehran.”One such conflict causing violence and upheaval³ in the region is the strife⁴ between the Sunni and the Shia world, said Assistant Administrator Harvey in a recent interview.Another is the terrible persecution⁵ of religious minorities:

接下来是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。“我们很难看到政客们利用社会内部的分歧进一步分裂人们以实现政治目的，”美国国际开发署负责中东事务的助理署长迈克尔·哈维表示。“看到政客们滥用人们的信仰来刺激冲突并动员人们发动冲突，这是很可怕的，不管是伊斯兰国还是德黑兰政权。”引发该地区暴力和动荡的一个导火索是逊尼派和什叶派之间的冲突，助理署长哈维在最近的一次采访中表示。另一个导火索是对宗教少数群体的可怕迫害：

“To watch what was done by ISIS to the Christian⁶ and Yazidi minority communities in Syria and northern Iraq was one of the great tragedies of this century.”But “it is not something we have to stand back and passively watch when there are people in this region that do not want to see this happen,” Assistant Administrator Harvey said.USAID is there to give assistance: “A lot of what we are doing,” he said, “is helping⁷ come up alongside these communities to reknit those bonds,” whether it’s between Yazidis and their Sunni neighbors on the Syrian border or Christians⁸ and their neighbors in Iraq. USAID’s help, Assistant Administrator Harvey noted⁹, is often practical: “We’ve been very actively¹⁰ involved in rebuilding schools, rebuilding towns, cleaning up rubble¹¹, helping to get water systems and electricity back, so these Christian and Yazidi communities can go back home. But a lot of it is not a physical problem. It’s getting the trust rebuilt between the Christian and Yazidi communities and their Muslim neighbors around them.”“So we’re spending a lot of time trying to help these communities work through this tragic¹² history and try to reach a shared vision of how they’re going to go forward.”“What I have found,” he noted, “is that the people who want to stoke division are a minority, and the people who want to build on what they share are in the majority. And giving a voice to those people is what we will spend our time and energies doing as we go forward.”That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.

“我们目睹到伊斯兰国对叙利亚和伊拉克北部的基督教和雅兹迪少数群体的所作所为是本世纪的一大悲剧。”助理署长哈维表示，但是“当这个地区的人们不希望看到这场悲剧发生的时候，我们绝不能作壁上观，”美国国际开发署在那里提供援助：他表示，“我们做的很多事情都是在帮助这些群体重建联系，”不管是修复雅兹迪人和他们在叙利亚边境的逊尼派邻居之间的关系，还是基督徒与他们在伊拉克的邻居之间的关系。助理署长哈维指出，美国国际开发署的帮助通常是切实可行的：“我们一直非常积极地参与重建学校、重建城镇、清理废墟、帮助恢复供水系统和电力，这样基督徒和雅兹迪群体就能够重返家园。但其中存在的很多问题并非实际问题。而是要使基督徒和雅兹迪群体及其周围的穆斯林邻居重新建立信任。”“因此，我们花了大量时间试图帮助这些群体渡过这段悲惨的历史，并试图就他们将如何前进达成共同的愿景。”“我发现，”他说，“只有少数人想要推动分裂，大多数人都想在共享的基础上进行发展。在我们前进的过程中，我们将花时间和精力为这些人发声。”这是一篇反映美国政府观点的社论。

1 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

2 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

3 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

4 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

5 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 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。

9 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。

10 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

11 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。

12 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。