VOA标准英语2011--Assad Family Grip on Syria Hampers Refor
时间:2019-01-14 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2011年(五月)
Assad Family Grip on Syria Hampers 1 Reform
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on anti-government protesters has been leavened 2 with at least verbal concessions 3 to reform. But given the history of the country, the government and his family, some political analysts 5 believe those promises will never be fulfilled.
There was a telling moment a few weeks back, as the Syrian president appeared before parliament. His army was using tanks and guns against his citizens, but inside the legislature, lawmakers heaped praise upon the president, some appearing overcome with emotion. Assad stood smiling broadly, basking 6 in their accolades 7. The disconnect between government and the Syrian people is not what everyone hoped for when the Western-educated eye-doctor took power in 2000.
But Hilal Khasan, political science professor at the American University in Beirut, says the president is steeped in his family's political tradition.
"You cannot undo 8 the work of the formative years," said Khasan. "Bashar was socialized by his father, and Bashar grew up in a household that considered Hafez al-Assad, the father, the owner of Syria."
For three decades, Hafez al-Assad ran Syria with an iron fist. He consolidated 9 power in his fractured country by manning key government positions with members his family and others of his minority Alawite sect 10, a Shi'ite group in the majority Sunni country. He crushed his opponents, most notably 11 an uprising in Hama in 1982, at the cost of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of lives.
In what is referred to informally as a hereditary 12 republic, Bashar al-Assad has continued the tradition, with his brother and brother-in-law among those holding top positions in the army and intelligence.
"It is impossible to separate between the Assad regime and the security forces," added Khasan. "Actually, without the security forces, this regime would not be able to stay in power for a single day."
The Assads' ideology 13 is secular 14, but the alliances have been with fellow Shi'ites, most notably Iran and the militant 15 Lebanon-based Hezbollah. The backdrop they present is that the country is segmented, and faces threats from Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood 16, as well as its enemy Israel.
"People believed the stories that give the Assad regime legitimacy 17," said Nadhim Shehadeh, a Middle East and North Africa analyst 4 at Chatham House. "And basically a dictatorship needs to prove that it is indispensable, that it is irreplaceable and that beyond it there is chaos 18 that is very unimaginable, so that people could cling to it for all these reasons.? And also, the creation of an atmosphere of fear also helps because it bonds all of these elements together."
The Israel narrative 19 has been largely dormant 20 since Syria lost the Golan Heights to its neighbor in 1967. But in recent days, it proved handy again, with the government allowing Palestinian refugees to cross through to the Golan boundary.
The U.S. called it a cynical 21 move to distract attention from domestic unrest. Others argued it was also a reminder 22 to Israel and its backers that the Assads, both father and son, left the Golan alone.
But how long can this system - forged in another era, when information was tightly controlled and the current uprisings sweeping 23 the region seemed unimaginable - stay viable 24?? London-based analyst Shehadeh believes there is a limit.
"It is impossible to reconcile such a system with the reforms that are necessary," noted 25 Shehadeh. "And that's why such a regime can survive for a very long time as people buy the idea of the regime. But once this is exposed, or once the credibility or legitimacy is gone, it's very difficult to maintain such a facade 26."
American University in Beirut's Khashan argues that there is no question that the idea of legitimacy is shaken in Syria. He asks, how else could anyone explain the continued uprising against Assad, despite the heavy toll 27 in human life.
- Prejudice sometimes hampers a person from doing the right thing. 有时候,偏见会妨碍人正确行事。
- This behavior is the opposite of modeless feedback, and it hampers flow. 这个行为有悖于非模态的反馈,它阻碍了流。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
- He leavened his speech with humor. 他在演说中掺了一点幽默。 来自辞典例句
- A small cake of shortened bread leavened with baking powder or soda. 由烤巧克力或可可粉、牛奶和糖制成。 来自互联网
- The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工,公司将不得不作出一些让步。
- The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。
- What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务?
- The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。
- 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。
- We sat basking in the warm sunshine. 我们坐着享受温暖的阳光。
- A colony of seals lay basking in the sun. 一群海豹躺着晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
- Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网
- His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
- I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。
- With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
- Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。
- When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
- Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。
- Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席,特别是连班长也没来。
- A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小,一头银发,每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。
- The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
- In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。
- The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
- The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。
- We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
- Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。
- Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
- He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。
- They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
- They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。
- The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
- Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。
- After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后,城市一片混乱。
- The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
- He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
- Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。
- Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
- This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。
- The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大,他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
- He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
- I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
- It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知,她才付应该交的房租。
- The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
- Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗?
- The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
- The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。
- 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。
- The entrance facade consists of a large full height glass door.入口正面有一大型全高度玻璃门。
- If you look carefully,you can see through Bob's facade.如果你仔细观察,你就能看穿鲍勃的外表。