VOA常速英语2016--美国发布2015年度《国际宗教自由报告》 谴责多国有违宗教自由

美国发布2015年度《国际宗教自由报告》 谴责多国有违宗教自由

According to the State Department's annual International Religious Freedom Report, religiously motivated persecution¹ continues to be perpetrated by governments and by violent extremist groups, such as Boko Haram and ISIL, also known as Da'esh, around the world.

The 2015 report, released last week, highlights in particular the worrisome prevalence of blasphemy² and apostasy³ laws, which fully⁴ one quarter of the world's countries have on the books. Governments used these laws to “tighten their regulatory grip on religious groups, particularly on minority religious groups and religions which are viewed as not traditional to that specific country.”

根据美国国务院发布的年度《国际宗教自由报告》，多国政府以及暴力极端组织依然存在对宗教进行迫害的现象。上周发布的2015年度报告尤其强调，全球四分之一的国家制定了关于亵渎神明和背叛宗教的相关法律，令人担忧。

In his introduction to the report, Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein noted⁵ that:

这些国家用这些法律“对各个宗教组织进行严密监控，尤其是对那些舶来的少数宗教组织”。

“The existence of these laws has been used by governments in too many cases to intimidate⁶, repress religious minorities, and governments have too often failed to take appropriate steps to prevent societal violence sparked by accusations⁷ of blasphemy and apostasy.”

在介绍该项报告时，发言人大卫说道：很多国家经常利用这样的法律来威胁、镇压少数宗教群体。并且，当社会因不满这些法律而衍生暴力事件时，这些政府也没能采取妥善措施加以阻止。

Ambassador Saperstein explains that even if accusations of blasphemy or apostasy turn out to be untrue, governments will often fail to act to hold the accusers accountable.

大卫解释道，即便民众对这些法律的控诉有失真实，政府也无法让他们承担责任。

The purpose of this annual report is not to lecture, but to shine a light on these problems and find ways to resolve them. The report also serves as an objective and comprehensive resource for NGOs, civil society groups, media, and foreign governments.

此年度报告的目的并不是说教，而是阐释问题，并想办法解决问题。对于非政府机构、民间组织、媒体和国外政府来说，此报告还可以作为内容全面的研究素材。

“The protection and promotion⁸ of religious freedom remains⁹ a key foreign policy priority for the United States. As daunting¹⁰ as the many challenges are that we face across the globe, we will not be deterred¹¹ in the work that we do,” said Ambassador Saperstein. “This report is at once vivid testimony¹² for the many whose plight¹³ might otherwise receive scant¹⁴ attention and a document – a blueprint¹⁵ – of what must be addressed to bring us closer to the day when religious freedom will thrive for all.”

保护和促进宗教自由依然是美国主要的外交政策。大卫还表示，虽然我们面临来自全球的诸多挑战，但我们的工作不会受到影响。 “此报告可以为那些境遇鲜为人知的人们提供鲜活的证据，也可以作为为宗教自由到来而努力的蓝本文件”。

 

Ambassador Saperstein added that U.S. government officials, including at the highest level, speak out regularly against abuses and violations¹⁶ of religious freedom, and raise these concerns directly with governments that fail to protect religious freedom.

大卫补充说，美国官员无论职位高低，都会定期对有违宗教自由的现象进行谴责，并与那些没有维护宗教自由的国家直接交涉。

1 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。

2 blasphemy   

n.亵渎，渎神

参考例句：

• His writings were branded as obscene and a blasphemy against God.他的著作被定为淫秽作品，是对上帝的亵渎。
• You have just heard his blasphemy!你刚刚听到他那番亵渎上帝的话了！

3 apostasy   

n.背教，脱党

参考例句：

• Apostasy often has its roots in moral failure.背道的人通常是先在道德方面一败涂地。
• He was looked down upon for apostasy.他因背教而受轻视。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 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。

6 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

11 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

12 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

13 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

14 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

15 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

16 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。