VOA标准英语2013--北约官员在阿富汗见面

 

NATO Officials Meet on Afghanistan 北约官员在阿富汗见面

BRUSSELS — U.S. and NATO officials say they are confident Afghanistan will accept a security agreement ahead of next year's pullout of NATO troops from the country.

U.S. Defense¹ Secretary Chuck Hagel came to NATO headquarters with a call for Afghanistan to work swiftly - to approve the deal that will set the rules governing the presence of U.S. forces after the 2014 withdrawal².

Afghan troops sustained losses averaging 100 soldiers killed per week at the peak of combat missions in 2013.  

But U.S. officials, speaking on the sidelines here at NATO, say that number has tapered³ off recently and say Afghan leaders need to sustain the gains by approving the security agreement and putting in place conditions to ensure peace in the country after NATO troops depart.

Violence like this suicide bomb attack on a residential⁴ compound in the outskirts⁵ of Kabul last week is a sign of what NATO officials say could be an especially violent winter - as militants⁶ step up high-profile attacks in an effort to scare the population into opposing any foreign troop presence after 2014.

It is now up to Afghan tribal⁷ leaders and the Afghan parliament to approve the deal.  Those debates are expected in November.

A key sticking point is the firm U.S. demand to retain legal jurisdiction⁸ over U.S. troops so they would not be subject to prosecution⁹ under Afghan laws.

An agreement is necessary before the U.S. can decide how many, if any, U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014. 

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 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。

3 tapered   

adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The tail tapered to a rounded tip. 尾部越来越细，最后成了个圆尖。
• The organization tapered off in about half a year. 那个组织大约半年内就逐渐消失了。

4 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

5 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

6 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。

7 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

8 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。