【英语语言学习】化工武器

If you're just joining us, this is WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Jacki Lyden.

 

The chemical weapons attack in Syria on August the 21st was the first time in a quarter century that such weapons had been used against civilians¹ during a conflict. In 1988 during the Iran-Iraq War, the Iraqi city of Halabja was subjected to a gas attack by Saddam Hussein. At least 5,000 people died.

 

And a year before that in 1987, the small Kurdish villages of Balisan and Sheikh Wassan were also gassed, probably as a testing ground for the new chemical weapons.

 

I went to northern Iraq in 2005 where people like Goli Omar Aziz(ph) told us through an interpreter about the horrors of that evening.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

 

GOLI OMAR AZIZ: (Through translator) It was evening, it almost becoming dark, and 12 aircraft came and bombing by chemical weapons. And people are escaping. They don't know where they will go.

 

LYDEN: The widowed Aziz recalled how villagers tried to flee the invisible threat.

 

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

 

AZIZ: (Through translator) My son has been affected² by his eyes, and he can't see anything. There was an elder man there. He took his hand and take him to that cave. So he stayed there for three days. I saw him, his face became very black and he can't see. He was very weak, and he can't do anything. He was in very bad condition.

 

LYDEN: Even when alerted to it, the attack went unheeded by the international community until an independent investigation³ years later.

 

Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group helped investigate that attach in northern Iraq in Kurdistan and says the recent use of chemicals in Syria bring to mind those events of 25 years ago.

 

JOOST HILTERMANN: When I saw the images of the dead civilians, I was horrified⁴ because it immediately brought to mind images that I remember very well from Halabja in 1988 and from other sites in Kurdistan from the 1980s. I had hoped that after those horrible events that these would never be repeated. And now, it looks like this is not true.

 

LYDEN: You have done so much research on these weapons. Take us back in history a little bit. What is the precedent⁵ for these going all the way back to World War I?

 

HILTERMANN: Well, in the First World War, chemical weapons were used extensively leading to maybe an estimated 100,000 deaths over a number of years. And these were fairly crude chemical agents such as chlorine and phosgene, but also mustard gas. The - when the Iran-Iraq War started, first, the Iranians had the advantage. But when the tide turned, Saddam Hussein found himself in a situation where he couldn't hold the front line essentially⁶ and started using chemical weapons in order to terrify the Iranian enemy.

 

And he began using also some crude chemical agents and then mustard gas. But eventually, he graduated to chemical agents that had never been used on the battlefield before, including nerve agents such as tabun and sarin. And he had also developed VX, a highly lethal⁷ and stable chemical agent. We don't have evidence, though, that he ever used it before the conflict ended.

 

LYDEN: There are a number of international bans in place. The U.S. didn't act in 1988 and is certainly warning that it will do so now.

 

HILTERMANN: Well, there are two instruments that established a norm against the use of chemical weapons. One is the 1925 Geneva protocol⁸ against the use of chemical weapons in international armed conflict. And then in 1993, we have the Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the production trade, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons, and has a long roster⁹ of chemical agents that are banned under the treaty. And the United States is a signatory.

 

So the ban is there, but it's been very difficult to enforce this. And we clearly now see a gradual erosion of that ban. The question is really is how to reassert it, how to reaffirm it. Is the best way done by sending a military signal to a regime that violates the norm? Is the best way to indict¹⁰ commanders and leaders who order the use of chemical weapons before the International Criminal Court or a combination thereof?

 

This is what - something that world leaders have to determine. And clearly, there is no easy solution to this because any military intervention¹¹ done to reestablish the norm against chemical weapons also would have ulterior motives¹² and certainly would have other consequences that are unrelated to the specific use of chemical weapons.

 

LYDEN: Why are we seeing such a mixed picture in terms of international reaction to what has happened in Syria?

 

HILTERMANN: The problem is not that government are not concerned about the erosion of the norm against use of chemical weapons. But we don't know what chemical agents were used, and we are certainly in no position based on available evidence so far to determine who used chemical weapons. And since there has been such great political manipulation of chemical weapons claims during the previous chemical warfare¹³ episode in the Iran-Iraq War, many are skeptical¹⁴ about what the interests of the various accusers is.

 

LYDEN: How are chemical weapons different from deadly conventional weapons? Why do we treat them differently?

 

HILTERMANN: From my experience, speaking to survivors¹⁵ of a chemical attack, there's nothing quite like chemical weapons in terms of instilling¹⁶ a very deep instinctive¹⁷ fear in people. And so when I hear military analysts¹⁸ or other commentators¹⁹ speak about, you know, why is it so bad, these chemical weapons, people have been killed in Syria in great numbers, it reflects a lack of understanding of what the victims themselves experience. You're breathing the air and dying, and you're not able to determine that it's poisoned air.

 

LYDEN: What kind of signal - whether the U.S. and some of the European allies do or do not launch a strike against the regime in Syria, what kind of signal do you think this attack, after a quarter century of not using these chemical weapons, to others who might be tempted²⁰ to use them?

 

HILTERMANN: You know, I think it's very important that there be some kind of response to the use of chemical weapons if this is what happened in Syria. If there is no response, other violent actors - be they governments or rebel movements - will be encouraged to produce these weapons and to deploy²¹ them. So there has to be some kind of response.

 

LYDEN: Joost Hiltermann is with the International Crisis Group in Brussels, Belgium. Joost Hiltermann, thank you so much for joining us.

 

HILTERMANN: Thanks for the occasion, Jacki.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

5 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

8 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

9 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。

10 indict   

v.起诉，控告，指控

参考例句：

• You can't indict whole people for the crudeness of a few.您不能因少数人的粗暴行为就控诉整个民族。
• I can indict you for abducting high school student.我可以告你诱拐中学生。

11 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

12 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

13 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

14 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

15 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

16 instilling   

v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instil的现在分词 )；逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Make sure your subordinates understand your sense of urgency and work toward instilling this in allsubordinates. 确保你的下属同样具备判断紧急事件的意识，在工作中潜移默化地灌输给他们。 来自互联网

17 instinctive   

adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的

参考例句：

• He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
• Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

18 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

19 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

21 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。