时间:2018-12-08 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2013年(三月)


英语课

 


Lebanon's Crisis Reflects Regional Strife 1



In the two years since the conflict in Syria began, the fragile sectarian mix in neighboring Lebanon has become only more tense. In the northern city Tripoli, supporters of Syria's Alawite President Bashar al-Assad have yet again fought deadly street battles with Sunni supporters of Syria's rebels. 


The latest fighting follows the resignation of Lebanon's consensus 2 prime minister, who had tried to hold together a government of Assad-backing Hezbollah with Sunni politicians. Najib Mikati stepped down nominally 3 over domestic issues, but he warned of the “regional fires” touching 4 Lebanon “with their flames.”


The sectarian nature of the war next door has prompted worries Syria could fragment completely along sectarian lines.


“I can see in front of me some possibility of Syria splitting into Alawi country, [with the] capital Latakiya in the western part of Syria; the northern part the Kurds; and then the rest of Syria for the rest of Sunnis, Druze and everybody else,” said former Egyptian intelligence officer and regional security expert Sameh Saif al Yazal.


While some dismiss the idea as a worst-case scenario 5, forces tearing apart Syria reflect the sectarian actors with influence in Lebanon as well -- in particular Iran with its backing of both the Assad government and Hezbollah.


Christian 6 Donath, a professor at the American University in Cairo, says Iran's regional reach has prompted other nations of the Persian Gulf 7 to get involved.


“The Qataris and the Saudis both share concerns over Iranian power and I think they are doing what they can to stem what they see as a spreading tide of Iranian and Shia influence," he said.


But some argue the rise of Sunni Islamists in the past two years may have prompted Iran's leaders to see a different kind of foreign influence at play.


“I think one of the things they understand is the West wants -- that the Arab Spring turns into a sea of Sunni regimes against Iran,” said political sociologist 8 Said Sadek.


While suspicions abound 9, and while Syria sinks into what analysts 10 call a proxy 11 war for foreign powers with sectarian agendas, multi-faith Lebanon is trying to step back from the brink 12




1 strife
n.争吵,冲突,倾轧,竞争
  • We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
  • Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。
2 consensus
n.(意见等的)一致,一致同意,共识
  • Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗?
  • What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么?
3 nominally
在名义上,表面地; 应名儿
  • Dad, nominally a Methodist, entered Churches only for weddings and funerals. 爸名义上是卫理公会教徒,可只去教堂参加婚礼和葬礼。
  • The company could not indicate a person even nominally responsible for staff training. 该公司甚至不能指出一个名义上负责职员培训的人。
4 touching
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
5 scenario
n.剧本,脚本;概要
  • But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
  • This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。
6 Christian
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
7 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。
8 sociologist
n.研究社会学的人,社会学家
  • His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家,研究社会主义。
  • Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。
9 abound
vi.大量存在;(in,with)充满,富于
  • Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
  • But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。
10 analysts
分析家,化验员( analyst的名词复数 )
  • 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。
11 proxy
n.代理权,代表权;(对代理人的)委托书;代理人
  • You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
  • We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。
12 brink
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿
  • The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
  • The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。
学英语单词
aflp
aigrette,aigret
Alcaudete
anti-counterfeitings
application-level gateways
Arab street
archibenthic sediment
arcing flashover
artocarpus incisus
assembly processing
Ban Phu Bong
boundary variation calculator
check surface
chemical pruning
cicatrial fibromatosis
combined statements
compact form
concretism
confectio amygdalae
conjugate focal plane
continuous single fillet welding
cotton and artificial silk mixture
cyder
darrieus
developed winding diagram
diffley
dinitro-phenyl-morphine
early night
elongation change
energy of vibration
field interactions
fog index
foil screened twisted pair cable
fruit bats
genus pythons
gnathopod
grape blister mite
gynergate
high precision harmonic micrometer
homopolyurea
hub of gear
Hudson Bay coat
ignasi
independent errors
inspiratory offswitch mechanism
irreducible element
junction station between the train and the ferry
kathoey
kibitzers
linear path
loses one's mind
low production
Luda Yana
marroe
mockingburg
multiple-instruction stream single-data stream
Murom
myocardial ischemia
niten
normal fault scarp
odd-odd nuclei
onchidiids
ossabau pig
overlapped access
p-cadherins
paleovolcanology
pictorialness
pneuma-totherapy
pNFS
polycoria vera
programed cost
quick stoppage
recoverable strain
regime
representability
rimells
rnp particle
road cinema
rotary supply outlet
run sb. hard
RVOC
SALMONOIDEA
sandeks
sasoun
sautter
scritory
selling time
semistalled condition
shallow gravel
shevin
skimish
slump constant
smokeless fuel
software system independence
soriest
stilbs
strip inclined drift
sulfactol
Texas Rangers
ventilator duct
watercut oil
Zhiru