时间:2018-12-01 作者:英语课 分类:2018年NPR美国国家公共电台10月


英语课

Once A Regional Stabilizer, Saudi Arabia Becomes A Disrupter


MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:


For generations, Saudi Arabia's monarchs 1 have based their rule on tradition and caution and, above all, stability. Crown Prince Mohammed bin 2 Salman represents a break from that, and his actions have some wondering whether Saudi Arabia may be destabilizing the Gulf 3 region. Here's NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre.


GREG MYRE, BYLINE 4: The old Saudi Arabia was a place the United States often turned to in times of turbulence 5 - when oil prices were spiking 6 or political tensions were spiraling out of control. The new Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is now a key actor and sometimes an instigator 7 in some of the region's most combustible 8 events.


BRUCE RIEDEL: Mohammed bin Salman has demonstrated recklessness and impulsiveness 9 in decision-making that has been very costly 10 to the kingdom.


MYRE: That's Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution, who keeps a close watch on the kingdom. The crown prince is just 33. He rose to prominence 11 three years ago when his father, King Salman, now age 82, became the most recent of seven brothers to take the Saudi throne. Since then, the Saudis have embarked 12 on a war in Yemen, they've blockaded their neighbor, Qatar, and now they're under intense scrutiny 13 for the disappearance 14 and apparent death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.


GREGORY GAUSE: I think that the difference between Mohammed bin Salman and his uncles who ruled Saudi Arabia previously 15 is that he might not have a sense of the limits of Saudi power.


MYRE: That's Gregory Gause, a professor at Texas A&M and an expert on Saudi Arabia. He says these episodes raise questions about the crown prince's judgment 16.


GAUSE: He doesn't appreciate the second and third-order consequences and risks of some of these actions that he's taken.


MYRE: Like the war in Yemen, where the U.S. supports the Saudis, it's become a military stalemate and a humanitarian 17 catastrophe 18. The U.S.-Saudi relationship, which dates to World War II, has often been bumpy 19.


JON ALTERMAN: The U.S.-Saudi relationship has always been about interests and not values.


MYRE: So says Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Those interests include stability in world oil markets, countering an expansive Iran and keeping the Gulf calm.


ALTERMAN: U.S. presidents have come to understand, by the end of their term, that a lot of things in the Middle East and around the world are much easier to do with the Saudis on board and much more difficult if the Saudis are fighting you.


MYRE: This battle with Iran for preeminence 20 in the region drives Saudi policy. But before Mohammed, the Saudis relied more on diplomacy 21 and their financial clout 22. The crown prince has a more confrontational 23 approach, says Gregory Gause.


GAUSE: He sees Iran kind of throwing its weight around in the region. And I think he says, why can't Saudi Arabia do that? Well, I think that Saudi Arabia hasn't been able to do it successfully.


MYRE: Donald Trump 24 made his first foreign trip as president to Saudi Arabia, and he's a staunch supporter of the kingdom. This may have encouraged the Saudis to be more aggressive. But the international outcry over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi may change the equation, says Bruce Riedel.


RIEDEL: The Khashoggi affair has now really raised a Pandora's box for the administration. The Congress and the American media are not going to let the Khashoggi affair just go away.


MYRE: As Mohammed bin Salman continues to disrupt the status quo, his critics are growing.


Greg Myre, NPR News, Washington.



1 monarchs
君主,帝王( monarch的名词复数 )
  • Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
  • Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务,也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分
2 bin
n.箱柜;vt.放入箱内;[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件
  • He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
  • He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。
3 gulf
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂
  • The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
  • There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
4 byline
n.署名;v.署名
  • His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
  • We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。
5 turbulence
n.喧嚣,狂暴,骚乱,湍流
  • The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
  • The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。
6 spiking
n.尖峰形成v.加烈酒于( spike的现在分词 );偷偷地给某人的饮料加入(更多)酒精( 或药物);把尖状物钉入;打乱某人的计划
  • High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热,暗示合并门静脉炎。 来自辞典例句
  • We could be spiking our own guns. 我们可能要遭到失败。 来自辞典例句
7 instigator
n.煽动者
  • It is not a and differs from instigator in nature. 在刑法理论中,通常将教唆犯作为共犯的一种类型加以探究。 来自互联网
  • If we are really the instigator, we are awaiting punishment. 如果我们真的是煽动者,那我们愿意接受惩罚。 来自互联网
8 combustible
a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物
  • Don't smoke near combustible materials. 别在易燃的材料附近吸烟。
  • We mustn't take combustible goods aboard. 我们不可带易燃品上车。
9 impulsiveness
n.冲动
  • Advancing years had toned down his rash impulsiveness.上了年纪以后,他那鲁莽、容易冲动的性子好了一些。
  • There was some emotional lability and impulsiveness during the testing.在测试过程中,患者容易冲动,情绪有时不稳定。
10 costly
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
11 prominence
n.突出;显著;杰出;重要
  • He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
  • This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。
12 embarked
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 ); 装载; 从事
  • We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
  • She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。
13 scrutiny
n.详细检查,仔细观察
  • His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好,但是经不起仔细检查。
  • Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。
14 disappearance
n.消失,消散,失踪
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
15 previously
adv.以前,先前(地)
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
16 judgment
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
17 humanitarian
n.人道主义者,博爱者,基督凡人论者
  • She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业,并作了很大的贡献。
  • The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。
18 catastrophe
n.大灾难,大祸
  • I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
  • This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。
19 bumpy
adj.颠簸不平的,崎岖的
  • I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
  • The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄,成了一条崎岖不平的小径。
20 preeminence
n.卓越,杰出
  • No one doubted the preeminence of my father in financial matters.我父亲在财务方面的杰出才能是不容置疑的。
  • Japan had no such confidence in its cultural preeminence or diplomatic skill.日本对本国文化的卓越程度和自己的外交手腕都缺乏这种信心。
21 diplomacy
n.外交;外交手腕,交际手腕
  • The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
  • This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。
22 clout
n.用手猛击;权力,影响力
  • The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权,但无真正的政治影响力。
  • He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。
23 confrontational
adj.挑衅的;对抗的
  • Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
  • You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端,你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网
24 trump
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭
  • 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。
学英语单词
accelerene
air pump choke seat
akhbars
Allah's House
association of stars
backbending
bank guarantee
barfly
basilar cell
be remodeled from
boasty
bordeaux-type
cadmium acetylide
cammarano
cervicolabial
Cheeseman Town
chemical design institute
CIE standard illuminants
citokeratin
Clydevale
coating quantity
commercial zine
complex coordination test
conference on production
construction diversion
data line terminals
data storage device
defenestration
directional steadiness
doctors of musical arts
dot frequency
double shot moulding
drawing papers
drift stratigraphy
dry-humps
eagle-beak
electro optical
ex-sun
fast neutron exposure
fugitive flavo(u)r
gain-time
genus Seriphus
gomphosis
have no option but
healedmyocardial infarction
high line rig
high-lift slabbing mill
hydrofluoric aicd
HYSCAN
in line filter
insley
jet impactor
jizz
Jungingen
kasindorf
kid around
Klosterreichenbach
Kosovska Kamenica
leakage quantity
light refraction
mastoid branch
microfossil flora
microscope adapter
modification-independent workload model
mustard celery
near enough
Neolite
nine - eyes
not anymore
octofollin
offices of homeland security
Onavas
one at a time
palenthropic man
person injured
phlebotomus fly
president carters
pressure balanced workover rig
projective special linear group
rag-content paper
Raphiolepis gracilis
ratio of gains
regular spacing
roaches
Ryzdvyanyy
safety lamp
safety value
scooping up
self assembler
serologist
smokers' vertigo
speed and altitude supremacy
stubbliest
system specific address
taenicides
terminal hydroxyl group
tonalism
ungenerous
unharmonious
varelas
wedge angle
Zanthoxylum kwangsiense