VOA常速英语2021--塔利班攻势迅猛，阿富汗几座省会城市相继沦陷

Authorities in the U.S. said Sunday a monstrous¹ fire in Northern California has grown to become the second largest wildfire in state history, with three people reported missing and thousands fleeing the advancing flames.

美国当局星期天说，加州北部的一场大火已经发展成为该州历史上第二大野火，据报道有三人失踪，数千人逃离不断蔓延的大火。

The so-called Dixie Fire now covers an area larger than Los Angeles and is the largest active wildfire in the United States, (but) one of only eleven major wildfires in the state of California.

这场所谓的迪克西大火现在覆盖的面积比洛杉矶还大，是美国最大的燃烧着的野火，但也是加州仅有的11起主要野火之一。

Cal Fire says the blaze remained 21 percent contained Sunday, unchanged from the day before.

加州消防局表示，周日大火得到控制的面积仍为21%，与前一天持平。

Crews estimate the fire which began July 13th will not finally be extinguished for two weeks.

工作人员估计，这场始于7月13日的大火在两周内不会被最终扑灭。

The Taliban tightened² its hold around northern Afghanistan Sunday, capturing three more provincial³ capitals as they take their fight to the cities after seizing much of the countryside in recent months.

塔利班星期天加强了对阿富汗北部地区的控制，在最近几个月占领了大部分农村地区后，又在向城市进军的过程中占领了三个省会城市。

The insurgents⁴ have snatched up five capitals in Afghanistan since Friday (in) a lightning offensive that appears to have overwhelmed government forces.

自周五以来，叛乱分子已经夺取了阿富汗的五个省会城市，这场闪电进攻似乎已经击溃了政府军。

Fighting in Afghanistan's long-running conflict has intensified⁵ since May, when foreign forces began the final stage of a withdrawal⁶ due to be completed later this month.

自5月以来，阿富汗旷日持久的冲突中的战斗愈演愈烈，当时外国军队开始了定于本月晚些时候完成的最后撤军阶段。

Three capitals in the north fell within hours of each other Sunday, lawmakers, security sources and residents in the cities confirmed.

立法者、安全消息人士和这些城市的居民证实，周日，北部三个省会城市在数小时内相继沦陷。

The withdrawal of foreign forces is due to finish at the end of this month ahead of the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

外国军队的撤离将于本月底结束，也就是在911袭击20周年纪念日到来之前。

The U.S.-led invasion sparked by 9/11 toppled the first Taliban regime in 2001.

2001年，由911事件引发的以美国为首的入侵推翻了第一个塔利班政权。

Israel's prime minister said Sunday he holds the Lebanese government responsible for rocket fire launched from its territory whether the Hezbollah militant⁷ group launched the weapons or not.

以色列总理星期天说，他认为黎巴嫩政府应对从其领土发射的火箭炮负责，无论真主党激进组织是否发射了这些武器。

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's comments come days after one of the heaviest flareups in violence between Israel and Hezbollah in several years and indicates Israel could expand its response if the rocket fire continues.

在以色列总理纳夫塔利·贝内特发表上述言论的几天前，以色列和真主党之间发生了几年来最严重的暴力事件之一。贝内特表明，如果火箭炮继续发射，以色列可能会扩大响应。

Over several days last week, militants⁸ in Lebanon launched a barrage⁹ of rockets into Israel, drawing rare Israeli airstrikes into Lebanon.

上周的几天里，黎巴嫩武装分子向以色列发射了一连串火箭炮，导致以色列对黎巴嫩发动了罕见的空袭。

1 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

2 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

5 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

8 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。

9 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。