时间:2018-12-19 作者:英语课 分类:VOA双语新闻 2014年1月


英语课

 


法国积极干预非洲 英国哀叹失去勇气



As French troops deploy 1 alongside African counterparts to try to quell 2 the religious violence in the Central African Republic, military analysts 3 say a new strategic order is emerging in Europe.  France is taking the lead in intervening in foreign conflicts, particularly in Africa - and British military chiefs have expressed fears that Britain has lost its nerve.


随着法国军队与非洲盟友一道出兵中非共和国平息宗教暴力,军事分析人士说,欧洲正在出现一种新的战略秩序。在干预国际特别是非洲地区的冲突中,法国正在发挥主导力量,而英国军队将领则哀叹说,他们担心,英国正在失去自己的勇气。


A unit of French troops code-named the ’Sangaris’ patrol Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic.


行动代号“红蝴蝶”(Sangaris)的法国部队在中非共和国首都班吉巡逻。


France sent 1,600 troops to the country last month to quell religious violence between Muslims and Christians 4.


上个月,法国向中非共和国派出了1600名官兵,以平息当地穆斯林与基督徒之间的宗教暴力。


Earlier last year, Paris sent 4,000 soldiers to Mali, after Islamist forces took over much of the north of the country.


去年早些时候,在伊斯兰激进分子占领马里北部大部分地区之后,巴黎出兵马里,派遣了4千军人。


France’s willingness to intervene in African conflicts is in its self-interest, says David Cadier of the London School of Economics’ IDEAS policy institute.


伦敦政治经济学院的戴维·卡迪耶说,法国愿意干预非洲冲突,这符合自自身的利益。


“We do not want an Afghanistan in Africa.  This is why sometimes, in French strategic circles, the expression ‘Sahelistan’ has been used.  If you have no government, you have no security guarantees that you will not let terrorist groups install bases, training camps in Africa, in central Africa, in northern Africa - in other words, at the gates of Europe and of France in particular," said Cadier.


他说:“我们不想让非洲变成阿富汗。这就是为什么法国战略圈里的人有时用过‘萨赫勒斯坦’这种说法。如果没有了政府,没有了安全保障,那你就无法阻止恐怖组织在非洲,包括中非和北非建立根据地和训练营。这些地方处在欧洲、特别是法国的大门。”


France’s increasingly assertive 5 role in global security contrasts with ally and neighbor Britain.


法国在国际安全事务中越来越愿意出头,这和盟友及邻国英国形成鲜明对照。


Last August, Britain shocked its allies after parliament voted against taking part in any military strikes on Syria, following claims that President Bashar al- Assad had used chemical weapons against civilians 6.


去年8月,在叙利亚总统巴沙尔·阿萨德据称对平民使用了化学武器之后,美英法政府都曾警告要考虑动武,但是让盟国感到震惊的是,英国议会投票反对参加任何对叙利亚的军事打击行动。


In a speech last month, the British Chief of Defense 7 Staff General Sir Nicholas Houghton said his country had become skeptical 8 about projecting force around the world.


上个月,英国国防参谋长、陆军上将尼古拉斯·霍顿爵士在一次演说中说,英国对在世界各地投射武力产生了疑虑。


“I have recently observed with some admiration 9 the relative ability of French forces to operate with the mindset of aggressive risk management. We must be careful as a society and as a professional military not to lose our courageous 10 instinct since it is one of the things which keeps us in a class-apart," said Houghton.


霍顿将军说:“最近,我带着一些敬佩的心情观察到,相对而言,法国军队能够带着一种积极管理风险的心态投入行动。作为社会,作为职业军队,我们必须当心,不要丢掉我们的勇敢本能,因为这是让我们与众不同的特点之一。”


Britain was the United States’ main ally in the 2003 invasion of Iraq - a war that was deeply unpopular at home.


在2003年攻打伊拉克的战争中,英国是美国的主要盟友。那场战争在英国国内非常不得人心。


At the end of this year British troops will complete their withdrawal 11 from Afghanistan after 13 years of fighting and nearly 450 fatalities 12. Polls show the public remains 13 skeptical of what has been achieved - with British commanders warning the Taliban are poised 14 to regain 15 territory after NATO troops leave.


在今年年底之前,英国军队将全部撤离阿富汗。英军在阿富汗奋战了13年,近450人阵亡。民调显示,公众对出兵阿富汗到底实现了什么成果感到怀疑。英国指挥官警告说,北约撤军后,塔利班将会卷土重来。


Those conflicts, together with military spending cuts, have left Britain fatigued 16 by foreign intervention 17, says David Cadier.


戴维·卡迪耶说,这些海外冲突,加上军费削减,使英国对国际干预感到疲倦了。


“What is happening is a growing reluctance 18 in terms of accepting risk and casualties.  And France is somehow frustrated 19 by the lack of strategic support on the part of other Europeans," he said.


他说,“现在发生的情况是,人们越来越不愿意接受风险和伤亡。法国对其它欧洲国家的战略支持缺乏力度感到有些懊恼。”


In a speech last September, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France would adapt to changing strategic challenges.


去年9月,法国外长洛朗·法比尤斯说,法国将随着不断变化的战略挑战而做出调整。


"France will remain a global player, and provided that it manages to regain its economic margin 20 and competitiveness, it will remain a 'power of influence.'  "France is a powerful state. "It has an undisputed international status, and the resources to meet the challenges of the new world," said Fabius.


法比尤斯说,法国将继续在全球发挥作用,只要法国设法恢复经济利润和竞争力,就将保住自己的“影响力”。“法国是一个强国,”他说,“它有着无可置疑的国际地位和资源来应对新世界的挑战”。


But one month into France’s deployment 21 in the Central African Republic, polls show support among the French public is falling fast, down from 51 percent in December to 41 percent this week.


不过,法国出兵中非共和国一个月之后,民调显示,法国公众对这场干预行动的支持正在迅速滑落,从12月的51%下跌到本星期的41%。




1 deploy
v.(军)散开成战斗队形,布置,展开
  • The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
  • The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。
2 quell
v.压制,平息,减轻
  • Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
  • The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。
3 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。
4 Christians
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )
  • Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
  • His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
5 assertive
adj.果断的,自信的,有冲劲的
  • She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
  • China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年,中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。
6 civilians
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓
  • the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
  • At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
7 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。
8 skeptical
adj.怀疑的,多疑的
  • Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
  • Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。
9 admiration
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
  • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
  • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
10 courageous
adj.勇敢的,有胆量的
  • We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
  • He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。
11 withdrawal
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销
  • The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
  • They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。
12 fatalities
n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 );死亡;致命性;命运
  • Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤,但没有人死亡。
  • The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 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。
14 poised
a.摆好姿势不动的
  • The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋,准备俯冲。
  • Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张,手悬在电话机上。
15 regain
vt.重新获得,收复,恢复
  • He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
  • The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。
16 fatigued
adj. 疲乏的
  • The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。
  • The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑,疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。
17 intervention
n.介入,干涉,干预
  • The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
  • Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。
18 reluctance
n.厌恶,讨厌,勉强,不情愿
  • The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
  • He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。
19 frustrated
adj.挫败的,失意的,泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧
  • It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
  • The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 margin
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘
  • We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
21 deployment
n. 部署,展开
  • He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
  • Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。
学英语单词
3-epimerase
add fuel to the flame
adhesin
air release pipe
alphitite
alternate operating columns
anabiotic state
anaphalis margaritacea benth. et hook.
Anemone sinensis Bunge
anthophilous insect
basal
bathing place
bearing performance
bidding sheet
biostratinomy
Brunckite
burier
carinthias
centrallassite
chihuahuan
clearing error
corrugated vessel
cruzados
darwazagay (darwazahgai)
daughter-herdmate comparison
decremental chain
Dendara
direct transmission
dochmii
doxxed
economic clerk
elctrohemostasis
electromechanical coupling factor
excitation variable
film fern
genital appendage
genus grindelias
genus Todus
gingival plane
gulf stream system
have an eye for something
high-impedance receiver front end
high-quality
hispidissimus
human excrement
hunyn
Jack in a Box
labile phosphate group
lissomer
loaded freeboard
macroderma gigas
Marine Corps Intelligence Activity
metric property
minionettes
missletoe
mistake as the parties
mobile-source
net export
nonharmonic constants
nonimbedded command
OODBMS
outborrowing
part in bending
PDRB
permanent orbital station
photoelectric measuring device
pilot ladders
point-focussed electron gun
preteenage
ravenousnesses
re-romanize
remissal
rings missing
Romanicist
rossler-edelmann process
SCKL
seawater-sediment interface
singles court
skilled worker
slack feeder
slag ballast
smarty-pant
specker
Strux
strychnine glycerophosphate
supraphons
sympathetic trunk (or sympathetic chain)
tandem ion analyzer
thallium acetate
thioindigo test
transliterators
trigger-price equilibrium
tripfag
twisted hair
two-dimensional interferometry
unchauvinistic
unfertilizable
value voter
valve oil
weasel out
xoxocotlan
Zhicheng