2021年经济学人 以色列对加沙地带发动数百次空袭

The world this week

本周国际要闻

Politics

政治版块

Israel and Hamas, the militant¹ group that controls Gaza, were on the brink² of war. The crisis began with clashes around the al-Aqsa mosque³, Islam’s third-holiest site. Israeli police fired stun-grenades and rubber bullets at rock-throwing Palestinians. Hamas and its allies then fired more than 1,600 rockets at Israel, which responded with hundreds of air strikes on Gaza. Scores of people, mostly Palestinians, were killed. Israel said it had killed Hamas officials. Adding to the turmoil⁴, street fighting broke out in several Israeli cities between Jews and Arabs.

以色列和控制加沙的激进组织哈马斯(Hamas)的战争一触即发。这场危机始于阿克萨清真寺周围的冲突，阿克萨清真寺是伊斯兰教第三大圣地。以色列警方向投掷石块的巴勒斯坦人发射了眩晕弹和橡胶子弹。哈马斯及其盟友随后向以色列发射了1600多枚火箭弹，而以色列对加沙进行了数百次空袭作为报复。数十人遇难，其中大部分是巴勒斯坦人。以色列称其杀害了哈马斯官员。以色列几座城市爆发了犹太人和阿拉伯人之间的巷战，使局势更加扑朔迷离。

Iran confirmed that it was talking to Saudi Arabia, its arch-rival, in an effort to resolve the many issues that divide them. The secret discussions were mediated⁵ by Iraq and started in Baghdad early last month. Meanwhile, an American Coast Guard ship fired warning shots at boats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz when they got too close to American naval⁶ vessels⁷, the second incident in two weeks.

伊朗证实，其正在与主要竞争对手沙特阿拉伯进行谈判，以解决导致双方分歧的诸多问题。这次秘密会议在伊拉克的斡旋下于上月初在巴格达开始。与此同时，在霍尔木兹海峡，伊朗革命卫队的船只近距离靠近美国海军船只时，遭到美国海岸警卫队的船只鸣枪示警，这是两周内发生的第二起事件。

Republicans in the House of Representatives ousted⁸ Liz Cheney from her senior leadership role. The eldest⁹ daughter of Dick Cheney, George W. Bush’s vice-president, Ms Cheney has bona fide conservative credentials¹⁰; her sin was to reject the lie that last November’s election was stolen. A defiant¹¹ Ms Cheney urged her party to stand up to Donald Trump¹², warning that “remaining silent, and ignoring the lie, emboldens¹³ the liar¹⁴.”

众议院的共和党人解除了利兹·切尼的高级领导人职务。身为小布什执政时期副总统迪克·切尼(Dick Cheney)的长女，切尼拥有切实的保守派资历；她的罪名是否认去年11月的选举结果遭人窃取的谎言。一意孤行的切尼呼吁她的政党站出来对抗特朗普，并警告称，“保持沉默，无视谎言，会助长骗子的嚣张气焰。”

An attempt by the National Rifle Association to declare bankruptcy¹⁵ and move its legal headquarters to Texas was thrown out of court. The judge found that the gun lobby was using what is supposed to be a financial course of action to avoid possible charges of corruption¹⁶ in New York, where it is incorporated.

美国步枪协会曾试图申请破产保护，并将其法律总部迁至德克萨斯州，但遭到法庭驳回。法官发现，这个枪支游说团体使用了本应是“金融行为”的手段，以避免其在纽约可能受到的腐败指控。该团体在纽约注册成立。

Protests continued in Colombia for a third week. At least 13 people have been recorded as being killed, though the actual number may be higher. Around 60 investigations¹⁷ into police brutality¹⁸ have opened. President Iván Duque attempted to negotiate with protest leaders, with little success. What started as an outcry against an unpopular proposed tax law has broadened into a larger push for reform.

哥伦比亚的抗议活动已经持续到第三周。据记录，至少有13人死亡，尽管实际数字可能更高。大约60起针对警察暴行的调查已经展开。伊万·杜克总统试图与抗议领袖进行谈判，但收效甚微。起初对一项不受欢迎的税法提案的强烈不满，现已演变为更大规模的要求改革的抗议活动。

The Scottish National Party’s drive for an independent Scotland faltered¹⁹ after it failed to win an outright²⁰ majority in elections to the Scottish Parliament. Together with seats held by the pro-independence Greens, there is a majority for a referendum in the Parliament, but polling has swung a bit against holding another vote. A bruising²¹ battle to break from the rest of the United Kingdom wouldn’t be easy. Brexit has proved that.

苏格兰民族党未能在苏格兰议会选举中赢得绝对多数席位后，推动苏格兰独立的努力受挫。加上支持独立的绿党所获得的席位，在议会中有多数人赞成举行公投，但表决结果显示有些人反对举行第二次投票。想要与英国其他地区分裂的激烈战斗并不容易。英国脱离欧盟已经证实了这一点。

1 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。

2 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

3 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

4 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

5 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

9 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

10 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

11 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

12 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

13 emboldens   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This condition emboldens employers and brokers to exploit more the migrant workers. 这样的情形使得雇主及仲介业者得以大胆地剥削移民劳工。 来自互联网
• In turn, Kobe's growing confidence emboldens his teammates to play even better. 反过来，科比增加了对他们的信任也促使队友们打得更好。 来自互联网

14 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

15 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

16 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

17 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

18 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

19 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

20 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

21 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句