VOA标准英语2010年-US Asks Yemen for Help in Fight Agains

The United States and Britain on Monday kept their embassies in Yemen closed for a second day because of threats from a local branch of the al-Qaida terrorist network.  France also closed its embassy in Yemen.  

Much of the world's attention is now on Yemen, after the failed Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner², allegedly by a man with ties to al-Qaida in that country.  The United States is asking Yemen for help in restricting al-Qaida's activities. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the situation a "difficult set of challenges"  during a joint³ appearance with the prime minister of Qatar.

"The spillover effects from instability directly impact the neighbors. Obviously, we see global implications from the war in Yemen and the ongoing⁴ efforts by al-Qaida in Yemen to use it as a base for terrorist attacks far beyond the region," Clinton said.

Yemen is plagued by civil war, and a host of domestic problems.

"In Yemen, you have failing economy, you have a country running out of water, chronic⁵ unemployment, rampant⁶ inflation - all these things that need to be addressed and that aren't being addressed right now," Chris Boucek of the Carnegie Institute said.

He says Yemen may be too pre-occupied to combat international terrorism.

"I think they view what's going on in the north with the civil war or the southern secessionist movement as intrinsic threats against survival of the state," said Boucek. "Al-Qaida or Islamic terrorists don't threaten survival of the state the same way that half the country seceding⁷ does.  So, while the Yemeni government has been eager to fight terrorism, they've done it when they feel it matches with their needs." 

The United States is hoping to meet those needs with money. U.S. Army General David Petraeus met over the weekend with Yemen's president to discuss security and cooperation. 

Petraeus told President Ali Abdullah Saleh that Washington will more than double its anti-terrorism aid to $140 million. But this former CIA official says because of its geography, Yemen has already emerged on the Arabian Peninsula as a key hub for al-Qaida.

"The transit⁸ of fighters, safe haven⁹ for fighters, the movement of logistical material, arms, food, documents, Yemen is perfectly¹⁰ placed for all those things," Michael Scheuer, former CIA official said.

The prime minister of Qatar, a peninsula neighbor of Yemen, was quick to suggest dialogue rather than fighting as a way to deal with al-Qaida in Yemen. 

"We have to concentrate on the terrorism," Hamad Bin¹ Jassim Jabr al-Thani, Qatar prime minister said. "And how we can fight the terrorism in our region and others so we don't export it somewhere else."

Some analysts¹¹ agree military force could backfire and end up strengthening al-Qaida.

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

6 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

7 seceding   

v.脱离，退出( secede的现在分词 )

参考例句：

8 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

9 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• 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。

10 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

11 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。