VOA标准英语2011--Pakistan Downplays Proposed Freeze in US Military Aid

Pakistan Downplays Proposed Freeze in US Military Aid

美欲冻结对巴7亿援助 巴基斯坦称并非“明智之举”

 

Pakistan is playing down the significance of a proposed suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military assistance, saying bilateral¹ ties are already "on hold" following last month's NATO attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The U.S. House of Representative approved a bill on Wednesday that would freeze $700 million in military aid to Pakistan until Congress gets assurances that Islamabad is helping² fight the spread of improvised³ explosive devices (IEDs) that insurgents⁴ are increasingly using against coalition⁵ forces in Afghanistan.

巴基斯坦正在降低美国对其数以亿计的美元军事援助建议的重要性,巴表示继上月北约24名巴基斯坦士兵被袭击身亡后,双方关系已经进入“僵持”阶段。美国众议院在星期三通过一项法案,冻结对巴基斯坦军事援助的7亿美元,除非国会得到伊斯兰堡帮助对抗叛乱分子的保证,这些人利用自制爆炸装置(IEDs) 对付在阿富汗的联军。

The Pakistani government has criticized the move by the U.S. Congress, saying it is not based on facts and takes a "narrow vision of the overall situation."

巴基斯坦政府严厉谴责美国国会这一举措,称其不是以事实为依据并且认为这是一种具有“狭隘的大局观”。

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar says that the aid suspension is not a matter of concern for her country because the Pakistani parliament is currently redefining future terms of engagement with Washington and international forces following what she called the "unprovoked" cross-border air attack by NATO last month.

外交部长希娜·拉巴尼·哈尔表示援助停止对她的国家而言不是问题,因为巴基斯坦议会正在根据她所谓的上个月北约“无缘无故的”越境空袭重新定义未来与华盛顿方面和国际部队的协议。

"Pakistan is currently going through a process of re-assessment and re-evaluation," said Khar. "And what matters today to Pakistan and to all its institutions is the mandate⁶ that will be given by the parliament of Pakistan. So I think we are less concerned about what [the U.S.] Congress is doing today and more concerned about what the parliament of Pakistan is doing today because that is what redefines this relationship."

“巴基斯坦正在重新评估。”哈尔说道。“现在巴基斯坦和制度所关心的是所有的命令都要通过巴基斯坦议会。所以我认为会对美国国会现在要做的更少关心，我们更关心巴基斯坦议会现在做的，因为这就是重新定义了这种关系。”

Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar is shown in this file photo.

Pakistan's uneasy relationship with the United States has plunged⁷ to new lows since NATO's deadly cross-border air attack in late November. The country has retaliated⁸ by cutting supply lines for U.S. and allied⁹ forces fighting the Taliban insurgency¹⁰ in neighboring Afghanistan. It has evicted¹¹ American personnel from an airbase in the country's southwest, and the Pakistani government has asked the parliament to define future terms of anti-terrorism cooperation with both the United States and the coalition forces. The U.S. military and NATO deny Pakistani troops were deliberately¹² targeted in the attack and have launched investigations¹³ of the incident.

巴基斯坦和美国的不安定关系自从11月下旬北约的越境空袭以来已经下降到新低。这个国家报复性的切断对美军和联军部队在邻国阿富汗塔利班与叛乱分子的战斗后勤补给线。在国家西南地区的空军基地的美国人员已经被驱逐并且巴基斯坦政府要求国会与美军和联军来定义未来反恐方面的合作。美军和北约否认巴蓄意杀害基斯坦士兵并准备对此事展开深入调查。

The Pakistani foreign minister says she is confident that once approved by the country's parliament, the renewed terms of engagement with allied nations, including the United States, will lead to productive relationships.

巴基斯坦外交部长表示她相信一旦该国议会批准,更新和盟国的条款,包括美国在内,必然会产生相应关系。

"It will also strengthen the partnership¹⁴ that we pursue with any country because it will be a partnership which is on a clearly defined mandate, it will be a partnership which has less grey areas and has a clear mandate of the public and parliament of Pakistan and therefore we will be able to pursue this partnership much more vigorously," added Khar.

“这也将巩固我们追求与任何国家的伙伴关系,因为这将是在明确要求下,存在更少的灰色地区的伙伴关系。这是公众和巴基斯坦议会的明确要求,因此我们会更积极的追求这样的伙伴关系。”哈尔补充道。

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad issued a clarification Thursday evening, saying reports that Congress has cut $700 million dollars in military aid to Pakistan are not correct. It says that the draft legislation currently under consideration in the U.S. Congress includes a reporting requirement and that once the U.S. secretary of defense¹⁵ certifies¹⁶ that Pakistan is cooperating in the joint¹⁷ efforts to combat IEDs, the funds will be released. It says setting conditions on assistance with reporting requirements is not new, nor is it Pakistan specific.

美国驻伊斯兰堡大使馆星期四晚上发出澄清称国会对巴基斯坦削减7亿美元的军事援助是不明智的。该立法草案正处于美国国会考虑之中,这当中包括一个只要美国国防部长保证巴基斯坦合作共同努力对抗IEDs,资金将被解禁的报告,对要求援助设定条件的并不是最新的,也不是巴基斯坦所希望看到的。

Taliban insurgents are increasingly using the IEDs to attack U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. American military officials say that most of the material used to make the bombs is coming from Pakistan, charges officials here deny.

塔利班武装分子越来越多地利用炸弹袭击在阿富汗以美国为首的联军。美国军方官员称大多数用于制造炸弹的材料来自巴基斯坦,而官员在这里否认指控。

1 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

4 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

7 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

8 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

11 evicted   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

12 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

13 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

14 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

15 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。

16 certifies   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的第三人称单数 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Authority certifies the identity of sites on the internet. 权威负责向Internet网站授予其标识。
• The paper then certifies this algorithm by infrared image processing. 并且文中使用红外图像对这个算法进行了验证。

17 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。