VOA慢速英语2015 巴基斯坦和阿富汗共同打击毒品走私
时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:2015年VOA慢速英语(二)月
AS IT IS 2015-02-08 Pakistan, Afghanistan Work Together to Fight Drug Trafficking 巴基斯坦和阿富汗共同打击毒品走私
Pakistan and Afghanistan are working together to fight terrorism and increase security along their common border. Experts hope this kind of cooperation will lead to more effective efforts against the drug trade.
Many nations have worked together to fight illegal drug production in Afghanistan. But the United Nations recently reported another increase in the amount of Afghan land used to grow opium 1 poppy plants. Drug dealers 2 use poppy plants to make the drug opium.
Pakistani officials are concerned about both the increase in Afghan drugs and plans to withdraw most NATO forces from Afghanistan. The officials say the two developments make it difficult for them to fight the drug trade.
Major General Khawar Hanif is the head of Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force. He says the international community must continue working together to fight the Afghan drug problem. He spoke 3 at a recent international conference in Islamabad.
“Thankfully, the commitment of the present Afghan government with respect to border control arrangements and counter-narcotic efforts is quite palpable. However, we believe that unless there is a whole-hearted support from the international community proportionate to the drug problem, the region is going to remain in the same crisis. Abandoning our Afghan colleagues to deal with this overwhelming poppy cultivation 4 and drug production is not an option at all.”
Pakistan shares a 2,500-kilometer border with Afghanistan. Most of it is unguarded. General Hanif says the largely open territory makes it difficult for Pakistan to stop terrorism and drug trafficking.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have exchanged high-level military officials. The exchanges are part of joint 5 efforts to improve security and deal with militants 6 involved in attacks on both sides of the border.
Cesar Guedes is the representative for the UN anti-drug office in Pakistan. He says joint efforts are needed to fight the drug trade in the area.
“I think that is the key element for success in combating drugs trafficking in this part of the world. The main producing country plus the main transit 7 country need to strengthen their efforts effectively, very professionally and with all the sectors 9 in both countries joining efforts to tackle this regional problem.”
Mr. Guedes says illegal drugs from Afghanistan are commonly sold in Europe. He says the drugs are often shipped through Pakistan.
“It’s approximately 45 to 50 percent of the opiates produced in Afghanistan that use Pakistan as a preferred stepping-stone on, onwards (to) international market. Then, about 30 percent goes via the Islamic Republic of Iran and the balance -- 20-something percent via the central Asian republics onwards to Russia and Europe.”
Pakistani officials say the increased production of Afghan drugs has also led to an increase in drug use among Pakistanis.
Words in This Story
palpable – adj. obvious and noticeable
proportionate to – adj. having a size, number, or amount that is directly related to or appropriate for something (sometimes: “proportional”)
cultivation/cultivate – v. to grow and care for (plants)
key – adj. extremely important
sector 8 – n. an area for which someone (such as a military commander) is responsible
tackle – v. to deal with (something difficult)
prefer(red) – v. to like (someone or something) better than someone or something else
stepping stone – n. something that helps you get or achieve something
via – preposition by going through (a particular place); by way of (a particular place)
- That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
- Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。
- There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
- The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败,与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
- The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
- The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃,不值得耕种。
- I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
- We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
- 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。
- His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
- The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。
- The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
- The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。