VOA标准英语2011--Afghan Security Uncertain Despite Gains in Agriculture
时间：2019-01-13 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2011年(十一月)
Afghan Security Uncertain Despite Gains in Agriculture
More than 2,000 Afghan politicians, tribal 1 elders and community leaders are in Kabul this week to discuss relations with the United States and reconciliation 2 efforts with the Taliban. Foreign policy analysts 3 say peace in Afghanistan depends more on development, especially in the country's agriculture sector 4, than just on security forces.
The United Nations says violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001. But as Afghan leaders meet in Kabul to determine how best to combat the violence, the country's Agriculture Minister Mohammad Asef Rahimi says that crops and not guns will determine Afghanistan's future.
"Long-term stability in Afghanistan cannot materialize without stabilizing 5 agriculture situation in the country. Unfortunately, the investment level in agriculture has been quite small relative to perhaps some other sectors," he said.
No definitive 6 statistics exist on foreign direct investment in Afghanistan. But the United Nations estimates that it accounted for $185 million in 2009.
Malou Innocent is an expert of foreign policy at the CATO Institute. She does not think more foreign money in Afghanistan will have a positive impact. "Up until about three years ago, the Ministry 7 of Finance didn't know where 80 percent of their money was going. So I mean, these are sort of critical issues and not just money, but in terms of core competency, how they're efficiently 8 using the money that's already being given," she said.
Innocent says government corruption 9, coupled with incompetence 10 and mismanagement, plagues the reconstruction 11 effort and contributes to the country's insecurity.
But Agriculture Minister Rahimi sees positive developments. He says his ministry is close to realizing one of its goals of producing enough food to feed all Afghans and sell to others.
He also sees an evolving U.S.-Afghan relationship as foreign forces continue to withdraw by 2014. "I think it is going to be much more directed toward development, governance issues, long-term partnership 12 [and] less likely to be more on the military side. So this is perhaps a good indication that stability in Afghanistan is somehow slowly coming to be achieved," he said.
But despite gains in agriculture, Afghanistan remains 13 unstable 14, in part due to the country's biggest cash crop, opium 15-producing poppies.
A recent U.N. report shows poppy cultivation 16 is up for the second straight year due to high opium prices and insecurity. This comes despite Afghan and foreign efforts to eradicate 17 the problem.
- 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。
- He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
- Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。
- 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。
- 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。
- The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
- These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句
- This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
- No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。
- They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
- We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
- The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
- Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。
- The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
- The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。
- He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
- She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。
- The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
- In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。
- The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
- Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
- 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。
- This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
- The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。
- 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。
- 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。