VOA标准英语2010年-Was 1915 Massacre of Armenians by Otto

A wall-sized poster depicting¹ the faces of 90 survivors² of the mass killings⁴ of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, in Yerevan, Armenia, 20 Apr 2005

A U.S. congressional panel has described as genocide the 1915 killing³ of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

The non-binding resolution in the House Foreign Affairs Committee recommends that President Barak Obama recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide. The measure was passed by a narrow 23 to 22 vote with one member not participating.

The Obama administration opposed the resolution. After the measure passed, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. does not believe the full House of Representatives will or should vote on the resolution.

Turkey's reaction was swift. Ankara said the measure accused the Turkish nation of a crime it had not committed. Its ambassador to Washington Namik Tan was recalled for consultations⁶. And Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated he might not attend a mid-April nuclear energy summit in Washington hosted by President Obama.

Historians agree Armenians were massacred by the Ottoman Empire - what was to become Turkey - during World War I. But not all agree that it was genocide.

Genocide

Ronald Suny, an expert on Armenia with the University of Chicago, defines genocide. "The definition of genocide that is most often used is the official U.N. definition in the Genocide Convention of the late 1940s. And that definition argues that a genocide is the intentional⁸ killing of all or part of a designated people defined by their faith, their race, their ethnicity or their nationality," he said.

Suny explains that during the First World War, the Ottoman Empire sided with Germany and was thus at war with Russia and most of Europe. "When the Ottomans were defeated at a major battle in the winter of 1914-15, the government saw the Armenians, who were on both sides of the Russian-Turkish frontier, as a potential 'fifth column' - a danger, an internal danger to their empire," he said.

"And they then carried out systematically¹¹, deportations of Armenians from eastern Anatolia, first demobilizing the Armenian soldiers who were serving with the Ottoman army, forcing them to dig their graves and shooting them. And then women and children, deporting¹³ them into the deserts of Syria, massacring them along the way and ultimately killing thousands and thousands when they reached Dayr az Zawr, the end point in the Syrian desert," he added.

Suny says the case is clear - the action by the Ottoman Turks was genocide. "There is no doubt that there was, in fact, a state organized, systematic¹⁰ deportation¹² and massacre⁷ of a designated population, defined by their religion and ethnicity, namely the Armenians," he said.

"And that it was carried out, initiated¹⁴ and organized by this government. So if you have a mass killing of an ethno-religious group, carried out by a government in order to eliminate those people from their homeland, or to destroy their political and cultural potential - that is, by the conventional definition and most scholarly definitions, a genocide," he continued.

Not genocide

The majority of scholars and historians agree with Ronald Suny. But Guenter Lewy from the University of Massachusetts does not.

"There is the initial definition by the United Nations when they adopted the genocide convention, which is considered generally authoritative¹⁵. And that involves the intentional destruction of a group in whole or in part for religious, ethnic⁹ or racial reasons. Applying that definition, I do not think one can consider what happened here a case of genocide. I don't think there was any intent to exterminate¹⁶ the Armenian community. There was an intent to remove them and neutralize¹⁷ them as a fifth column," he said.

Lewy says rejecting the genocide label is not a popular view. "It takes some courage these days to do so because there is a lot of pressure and some rather vicious attacks. I can speak here from personal experience. If you look me up on Guenter Lewy, Armenian genocide and you look at some of the blogs, you will find a lot of vituperation: you are called a genocide denier on a par⁵ with holocaust¹⁸ deniers," he said.

Experts also disagree on the number of Armenians killed by the Ottoman Turks. Guenter Lewy says close to 700,000 perished.

But most scholars - such as Roger Smith with the College of William and Mary - say the figure is higher. "Out of about two million Armenians that were thought to exist in 1915, probably about a million and a half - at least over a million - perished and others were dispersed¹⁹. So that if you say in 1915 there were two million Armenians in what we call Turkey, but the Ottoman Empire - there are now about 60,000 Armenians in Turkey. So a huge, vast population change," he said.

The issue of the Armenian genocide remains²⁰ a very emotional one for both sides. Experts say for any chance of normal relations between Turkey and Armenia in the future, Ankara and Yerevan must first resolve a very painful chapter in their past.
 

1 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 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。

4 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

5 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

6 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

8 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

11 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

12 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

13 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：

14 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

15 authoritative   

adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的

参考例句：

• David speaks in an authoritative tone.大卫以命令的口吻说话。
• Her smile was warm but authoritative.她的笑容很和蔼，同时又透着威严。

16 exterminate   

v.扑灭，消灭，根绝

参考例句：

• Some people exterminate garden insects by spraying poison on the plants.有些人在植物上喷撒毒剂以杀死花园内的昆虫。
• Woodpeckers can exterminate insect pests hiding in trees.啄木鸟能消灭躲在树里的害虫。

17 neutralize   

v.使失效、抵消，使中和

参考例句：

• Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
• Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。

18 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

19 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• 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。