VOA标准英语2009年-Experts Concerned US Homegrown Terrori

Some U.S. lawmakers and terrorism experts say although American ideals about civil liberties can be a hurdle¹ in preventing radicalization of Americans, they are optimistic that homegrown terrorism can be tackled on the community level.

Ravi Khanna | Washington 17 December 2009

 
Photo: VOA Image
The five suspected terrorists from Virginia were arrested in Pakistan allegedly for attempting to engage in Jihad against the US troops in Afghanistan

 
The recent arrest of five American men in Pakistan on suspicion of trying to join militant⁴ Islamist groups has triggered concern in Washington about whether the United States has become complacent⁵ about homegrown terrorism. The five from Virginia were arrested in Pakistan allegedly for attempting to engage in Jihad against the U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Two alleged³ members of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, David Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana are being tried in Chicago on charges of links to last year's terror attacks in Mumbai, India.

Najibullah Zazi was just a friendly hotdog stand vendor⁶ to those who knew him, not as it is alleged, an al-Qaida operative conspiring⁷ to set off bombs around New York.

Not many people knew Major Nidal Hasan, the U.S. Army psychiatrist⁸ accused of killing⁹ 13 and wounding more than 40 in a shooting rampage at a military base in Texas.  The U.S. Congress is concerned.

"The threat is real, and we are still at risk in this nation. Case after case demonstrates this fact," said Representative Brian McCaul of Texas.

Macall is a ranking Republican member of a House committee that held a hearing this week on homegrown terror.

The committee heard testimony¹⁰ about how to deal with homegrown terrorists while still protecting freedom of speech.

The question some analysts¹² are asking, has the U.S. become complacent?

"I think that we have become very complacent," said terrorism analyst¹¹ Miriam Mendelson.  "We are tending to look at larger and more spectacular attacks to focus on and we are not looking at the day the radicals¹³ wake up and say, 'Wow. We can do something small and it can have a huge affect,' we are in trouble."

But counterterrorism expert Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy says the U.S. is not complacent.

"Neither in countering-terrorism - they are quite proactive, and nor in trying to defeat the radical² narrative¹⁴ that promotes this clash of civilizations, which is ridiculous. There is more we can do and there are things we can do better," he said.

James Zogby of the Arab American Institute says the problem needs to be handled delicately. He says a large number of Muslims and Arab Americans reject the idea of an alleged clash of civilizations being promoted by terrorist groups on the Internet.

"They have worked within the political process available to them," he said.  "They have fought discrimination, they have combated hate crimes and they have voiced their differences in the U.S. as citizens and not as aliens."

But he says some alienated¹⁵ youth from these communities have become susceptible¹⁶ to anti-social radicalization.  But he says this is not new.

"We have seen it before. In the past four decades that I have been involved in politics, we have witnessed recruitment into white supremacist and Christian¹⁷ nation and militia¹⁸ organizations, the Black Panthers, the Jewish Defense¹⁹ League, the IRA, and the Tamil Tigers," he added.

The consensus²⁰ among analysts is that more can be done not on the government level, but on the local level, by involving community leaders and parents of the young Muslims who are vulnerable to the messages sent daily by the recruiters on the Internet.
 

1 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

2 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

3 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• 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。

5 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

6 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

7 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

8 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• 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。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 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。

13 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• 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。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

14 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• 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。

15 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

17 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• 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。

18 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

19 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• 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。

20 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• 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？