时间:2018-12-19 作者:英语课 分类:VOA双语新闻 2010年2月


英语课

  U.S. Defense 1 Secretary Robert Gates called on the NATO alliance Tuesday to chart a clear path toward relevance 2 and enhanced capability 3 as it faces a different set of threats than it was founded to address more than 60 years ago. Gates wants a key NATO document being drafted this year to advance a transformation 4 theme U.S. leaders have been pressing for a long time.

星期二,美国国防部长盖茨敦促北约盟国制定一条清晰的路线,以便适应目前北约所面对的与其60多年前创建时不同的威胁以及加强自身能力。盖茨希望北约今年草拟的一项重要文件将促进美国领导人长期以来一直在推动的转型过程。

Secretary Gates told a NATO conference in Washington that the new Strategic Concept officials are set to write this year needs to address a wide range of issues in what he called a "succinct,... comprehensible and compelling" document that impresses Europeans raised in a post-Cold War and post-September 11 world.

盖茨在华盛顿召开的一次北约会议上说,有关官员定于今年起草的新战略概念必须针对一系列广泛的问题。他说,这将是一个简洁、透彻和有力的文件。这个文件将触动在后冷战时期和9-11事件之后的世界中成长起来的欧洲人。

"The demilitarization of Europe - where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse 5 to military force and the risks that go with it - has gone from a blessing 6 in the 20th century to an impediment to achieving real security and lasting 7 peace in the 21st [century]," he said.

盖茨说:“欧洲的非军事化已经从20世纪的一件好事变成在21世纪实现真正安全和持久和平的障碍,在欧洲,数量众多的一般公众和政界人士都不喜欢军事力量以及随之而来的危险。”

Secretary Gates said Europe's people must come to understand the importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as an international security alliance, not just an organization for the protection of Europe's territorial 8 integrity, as it was at its founding in 1949.

盖茨说,欧洲人必须理解北大西洋公约组织的重要性,北约不仅是一个国际安全联盟,而且是一个保护欧洲领土完整的组织,正如北约在1949年创建时那样。

"Threats are more likely to emanate 9 from failed, failing or fractured states than from aggressor states, where dangerous, non-state actors often operate from within nations with which we are not at war, or from within our own borders, and where weapons proliferation and new technologies make possible the specter of chaos 10 and mass destruction in any of our capitals," he said .

盖茨说:“威胁更可能来自那些已经失败或者正在失败的国家以及那些分裂的国家,而不是来自那些具有侵略性的国家。那些危险的行动者并非国家,他们在我们的境内活动,或者在一些国家内部活动,而这些国家与我们并不处于战争状态。武器扩散和新技术使得我们任何一个国家的首都都可能发生混乱和遭到大规模杀伤。”

Gates said NATO needs to change the way it operates - improving its budget process, investing in future capabilities 11 and closing bases it no longer needs. He noted 12 that for many years, the member-nations have not been willing to meet requirements for cargo 13 planes, refueling aircraft, helicopters and intelligence capabilities. The secretary said the alliance needs to "fundamentally change how it sets priorities and allocates 14 resources," so it can remain "relevant" in a changing "strategic landscape."

盖茨说,北约必须改变自己的运作方式,改进预算程序,为将来的能力投资,并关闭不再需要的基地。盖茨指出,北约成员国多年来不愿意满足在货运飞机、空中加油飞机、直升机以及情报能力等方面的需求。盖茨说,北约必须从根本上改变设置重点和配备资源的方式,以便能够在一个正在发生变化的战略环境中维持自己的效能。

U.S. officials have pressed those points many times in recent years, urging Europeans to spend more on defense and be more supportive of NATO efforts - ranging from missile defense to the war in Afghanistan. U.S. officials say there has been progress, particularly in getting more European troops for Afghanistan.

近年来,美国官员多次强调这些观点,敦促欧洲国家增加防务开支,并对北约的努力给予更多支持 -- 从导弹防御到阿富汗战争。美国官员说,在这些方面已经取得了进步,特别是说服欧洲国家向阿富汗派驻了更多军队。

But British researcher Sally McNamara of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation doubts whether a new document from the alliance will change what she calls the "pacifistic" trend in many European countries.

但是,总部设在华盛顿的传统基金会的英国研究人员麦克纳马拉对一个北约新文件是否能够改变她所说的很多欧洲国家存在的和平主义倾向表示怀疑。

"If we look at the problems that NATO has, [such as] burden sharing, it's Afghanistan. We're in Afghanistan right now and there is nothing about a piece of paper or a treaty that is going to more equitably 15 share the burden in Afghanistan. And that is the problem, she said."

她说:“如果我们看一看北约所面临的问题,比如分担责任,这个问题存在于阿富汗。我们目前在阿富汗,却没有一项有关在阿富汗更平等地分担责任的文件或协定。这就是问题所在。”

A defense expert focusing on NATO issues, McNamara says she was initially 16 quite enthusiastic about the plan for a new alliance Strategic Concept document. But as the process has developed, she says she has come to believe that the alliance's 28 nations will be unable to draft the kind of document they need.

麦克纳马拉是专门研究北约问题的防务专家。她说,她最初对制定一项北约新战略概念文件很有热情,但随着进程的发展,她现在已经相信北约的28个成员国没有能力起草这样一份北约所需要的文件。

"If you look at NATO's last strategic concept in 1999, it was widely regarded as one of the most useless documents because it was too long [and] it had a bit of something for everyone," she said. "This document will almost certainly do that, and that will be a shame because it won't be clear; it won't give any message about the future," said McNamara.

麦克纳马拉说:“看一看北约1999年制定的最近的战略概念。这份文件被广泛认为是最无用的文件之一,原因是这份文件太长,为每个方面都提供了一点东西。几乎可以肯定,新文件也会是这样,而这将是一个遗憾,因为新文件将不是明确的,不会提供有关未来的任何信息。”

Secretary Gates also mentioned that concern Tuesday, speaking to NATO officials at the National Defense University in Washington.

星期二,盖茨在华盛顿的国防大学演讲时也提到了这个问题。

"NATO needs serious, far-reaching and immediate 17 reforms to address a crisis that has been years in the making. And unless the Strategic Concept spurs operational and institutional changes like those I just mentioned, it will not be worth the paper it is printed on," said Gates.

他说:“北约需要认真的、广泛的和立即实行的改革,以应对多年来酝酿着的一个危机。除非这项战略概念能够推动我刚才提到的运作以及制度方面的改变,否则这项战略概念就一文不值。”

The conference is expected to be the last public discussion of issues related to NATO's new Strategic Concept. In the next phase, experts will draft a document, circulate it among NATO members and make changes needed to get the required approval from all of them, and then put it up for formal endorsement 18 at the next NATO summit, which is expected to be held in Lisbon late this year.

预计,这一会议将是对北约新战略概念的最后一次公开讨论。在下一阶段,专家们将起草一份文件,供北约各成员国审阅,为得到全体成员国同意而做必要的修改,然后提交下届北约首脑会议予以正式批准。预计,下次北约首脑会议将于今年晚些时候在里斯本举行。



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 relevance
n.中肯,适当,关联,相关性
  • Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
  • Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。
3 capability
n.能力;才能;(pl)可发展的能力或特性等
  • She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
  • Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。
4 transformation
n.变化;改造;转变
  • Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
  • He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。
5 averse
adj.厌恶的;反对的,不乐意的
  • I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟,但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。
  • We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。
6 blessing
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
7 lasting
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
8 territorial
adj.领土的,领地的
  • The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
  • They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。
9 emanate
v.发自,来自,出自
  • Waves emanate from the same atom source.波是由同一原子辐射的。
  • These chemicals can emanate certain poisonous gases.这些化学药品会散发出某些有毒的气味。
10 chaos
n.混乱,无秩序
  • 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。
11 capabilities
n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力
  • He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大,自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
  • Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为,标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
12 noted
adj.著名的,知名的
  • 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。
13 cargo
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
  • The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
  • A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。
14 allocates
分配,分派( allocate的第三人称单数 ); 把…拨给
  • The state allocates huge funds for the development of aid-agriculture industries. 国家拨出大批资金,发展支农工业。
  • The value that then I create value allocates part to discuss. 于是我把价值创造的价值分配分别开来论述。
15 equitably
公平地
  • We should equitably assess historical figures. 我们应该公正地评价历史人物。
  • Land was more equitably distributed. 土地得到更公平合理的分配。
16 initially
adv.最初,开始
  • The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
  • Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。
17 immediate
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
18 endorsement
n.背书;赞成,认可,担保;签(注),批注
  • We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
  • His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。
学英语单词
.tc
absolute colcmun temperature
aerated mud
aglianicos
almanc
average man
axial varying pitch
barboni
Beattie James
bed-time
behm
black water fever
camshafteccentric
centre hole reamer
chrome-faced piston ring
Chuna
cicatrice
complex molecule
consumption account
corn powder
cranse-iron
crosswordese
cudgel one's brains
Deslandres
dial peer hunting
dishono(u)red bill
disk machine
dividing mechanism
double semi-trailer road train
down grading
downlong
downplayer
dunera
employee rating
Estradial
find favour with in someone's eyes
fixed-based natural frequency
foist one's company on someone
full bridge
Garden of England
general initiation factor
genus ambloplitess
grass fabric filter
group orbital
in high snuff
IP Security
Knight Commander
Kocs
lift microphone
M.I.NG
magnetic distortion
minutely
multiple spindle drilling machine
narcoanalyst
nominative tender
Pawtucket
personal goals
photofission product
physiological properties of mineral
pneumatolytic metasomatism
pre-placental
precap
purlwise
Radicularia
rafter timbering
rating fraction
rational circle
real-property
rectangular strip
research vessel unit
resection of lower lobe of right lung
rubber flag
ruminate endosperm
Runsten
sadiqs
school boy
seam ravelling
self-limiting reactor
self-modification
semi-simplicial complex
sensation-seekers
sensibilite
set sb thinking
set-time
souris
spatial wave
steady-state temperature
supply lines
supracondylar osteotomy
The matter stands thus.
total actual spending
trichlorophenolate
two-party sequential bargaining experiments
U.P.W.A.
unconfound
unearnable
urfa
user side
weighed into
wingbeat
word separation
world wildlife fund