时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(六月)


英语课

In its first formal report on the situation in Afghanistan, the U.S. Defense 1 Department says the Taliban is "a resilient insurgency 2" and is expected to expand its challenges to the Afghan government. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.


The report required by Congress says the Taliban "is likely to maintain or even increase the scope and pace of its terrorist attacks and bombings" this year, and to move beyond the south and east, where most of the fighting has been happening. It says the activity "will challenge the control of the Afghan government in rural areas" throughout the country. The report says the Taliban is able to do this even though U.S., Afghan and allied 3 operations have killed many insurgent 4 leaders and forced the group out of former safe havens 6.


But the report calls the Taliban safe haven 5 in Pakistan "the greatest challenge to long-term security" in Afghanistan. It calls for better Afghan-Pakistani military cooperation, and laments 7 a reduction in Pakistani military operations against insurgents 8 in the border areas, which have decreased cross-border attacks in the past. The Pentagon report also expresses concern about a new round of agreements the Pakistani government is considering with local tribal 9 leaders, saying past agreements have led to an increase in cross-border attacks.


The period covered by the report ended in early April, but U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed similar concerns during a news conference on Thursday. He was asked about the 40 percent increase in violence in Afghanistan during the first five months of the year, compared to the same period last year.
 
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates 13 June 2008


"Well, I think it is a matter of concern, of real concern," he said. "And I think that one of the reasons that we're seeing the increase is more people coming across the border from the frontier area. And I think it's an issue that clearly we have to pursue with the Pakistani government."


Secretary Gates also welcomed a newly announced Pakistani initiative to get control of the border area.


The report issued Friday says there has been good progress in building the new Afghan Army, but says abuses by security forces continue in spite of efforts to professionalize the force. It also says police training has lagged behind army training, and "has been hindered" by corruption 10, a lack of trainers and insufficient 11 international coordination 12. And the report says narcotics 13 trafficking remains 14 "a significant challenge" for Afghanistan "and will be for some time."


The Defense Department also issued a separate report providing more depth on the status of the Afghan security forces, and laying out a detailed 15 plan for training and equipping the country's army, police and air force, and its Defense and Interior Ministries 16. The report says there should be 70,000 troops in the Afghan army by the end of this year, and 10,000 more by the end of next year. It says about 75,000 police officers have been fielded, of a planned 82,000, but not all of them are fully 17 capable.


The Pentagon says "success in Afghanistan… is crucial to global security," and calls for "the sustained interest and commitment of the international community" to fight the insurgents and to build the capacity of the Afghan government and its security forces.


 



1 defense
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
2 insurgency
n.起义;暴动;叛变
  • And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国,动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
  • Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网
3 allied
adj.协约国的;同盟国的
  • Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
  • Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。
4 insurgent
adj.叛乱的,起事的;n.叛乱分子
  • Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说,他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
  • The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。
5 haven
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所
  • It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后,这真是一个安乐窝。
  • The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。
6 havens
n.港口,安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口,安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )
  • Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
  • Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网
7 laments
n.悲恸,哀歌,挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.(为…)哀悼,痛哭,悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )
  • In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
  • In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句
8 insurgents
n.起义,暴动,造反( insurgent的名词复数 )
  • The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子,这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网
9 tribal
adj.部族的,种族的
  • 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。
10 corruption
n.腐败,堕落,贪污
  • 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。
11 insufficient
adj.(for,of)不足的,不够的
  • There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
  • In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代,科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。
12 coordination
n.协调,协作
  • Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
  • The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好,使演出更具魅力。
13 narcotics
n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 );毒品;毒
  • The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部,寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 remains
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
  • 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。
15 detailed
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
16 ministries
(政府的)部( ministry的名词复数 ); 神职; 牧师职位; 神职任期
  • Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
  • The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。
17 fully
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
学英语单词
acrolin
afflicted child
ambassadrix
anticensus
APC
autistic disorder (autism)
beyond recovery
buffered mode
cam and lever
cash surrender value of life insurance
check routine test
chronic radiation dose
chx
closet case
co-constituent
commutator-group isomorphism
comprehensive ultrasonic examination record
cost level
countersunk riveting
demavend (damavand)
diacetylurea
discount at
education u.s. copyright act
enamorments
end edge
Energy Department
environmental emergency response
equivalent-circuit parameter
euvernyl
family balanidaes
foundry production line
fraudulent conduct
fulminating
Goubéré
Guillemin line
gym-shoes
harbo(u)r facilities
heart conduction system
illegal function code
indents
industrial relations manager
initial magnetization characteristic
inkiest
insect bait
KAMAXIN
kingdoms of swaziland
latent infection
leave ... with
LeukotrieneA4
line mutual-inductance
Lysimachia auriculata
make as if to do
manual quickopening manhole
mechanics of the foreign exchange market
metri gratia
misproduction
Montanska Oblast
oil-immersed tubes
omnibearing distance facility
operation flow chart
paregorism
pollex (pl.pollices)
popularisms
port control block design
presumptive region
programmable calculating oscilloscope
radiant heat test
real compact
residual atomic charge
roomiest
rubber proofing
run time administration routine
Saletin
self-dual configuration
sensitivity to light
sloping louver of the hood
small scale yielding
Sodom and Gomorrah
specific gravity selection
spindoctors
straw discharging chain
stretch it a bit
suborder mugiloideas
sustainable agriculture and rural development
symmetrical state
tape limit
top dead point
tricholoma saponaceum
trunk loop
Umm al Tuz
unbased
unintuitively
uniplanar flow
Usk
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
vigilance committees
voucher payable account
Whiggism
Whiteman Ra.
wireline well logging
writs of execution
zultanite