VOA标准英语2014--阿富汗新政府面临安全、经济方面的挑战

 

New Afghan Government Facing Security, Economic Challenges 阿富汗新政府面临安全、经济方面的挑战

After months of political bickering¹ in Afghanistan, a new president has been sworn in, and a long-delayed security agreement has been signed. But, the new government faces severe economic problems and the threat of a resurgent Taliban.

The bilateral² security agreement allows about 12,000 U.S. and NATO military personnel to continue training Afghan security forces.

Al-Qaida militants³ will also be targeted.

The deal was signed just a day after new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was sworn in.

"As an independent country, and understanding of our national interests, we signed this agreement for stability, goodwill⁴ and prosperity of our people," he said.

But in the days following the pact⁵, Taliban suicide bombers⁶ attacked Afghan army buses in Kabul, underscoring the fragile security.

“The security situation is bad and deteriorating⁷, and I think now getting this new government and political stability is really important so that attention can now focus on improving the security situation," said analyst⁸ Andrew Wilder.

Analysts⁹ say the surge of Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq has the attention of Afghans.

They remember the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that drew attention away from the conflict in Afghanistan.

In recent months Taliban fighters have made significant gains in Afghanistan.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army General John Campbell, says Afghan security forces have suffered a recent spike¹⁰ in casualties during battles with insurgents¹¹. He told reporters Thursday that this year 7,000-9,000 Afghan troops have been wounded or killed, which is a bit higher than the totals so far for last year.

An increase in casualties was expected when Afghans officially assumed most of the fighting duties from NATO troops last year.

But, Campbell said that despite the casualties, the Afghan forces have been able to retake terrain¹² captured by the Taliban, including in Helmand province where fighting has been intense in recent days. 

Campell says some of the reports of Taliban successes have been dramatically exaggerated.

On the streets of Kabul, war-weary Afghans appear pleased foreign troops will stay.

"With the issues that Afghanistan is dealing¹³ with and the problems that people are facing from the economy, security, signing of this agreement between Afghanistan and America is a need," said Kabul resident Mohammad Akbar.

Much of Afghanistan’s future will depend on relations with its neighbors, especially Pakistan.

“The new government’s focus in Afghanistan will certainly be on enhancing and strengthening efforts to tackle and defeat terrorists much more effectively," said Janan Mosazai, Afghan ambassador to Pakistan.

Another daunting¹⁴ problem facing the new government is the economy, which analysts say is in serious trouble.

U.S. officials say despite massive foreign investment, corruption¹⁵ and the narcotics¹⁶ trade are flourishing.

“What is really going to de-legitimize this government, I think, even more so than a flawed election process will be if it can’t pay salaries, can’t provide social services and the economy collapses," Andrew Wilder said.

Ghani has called on the Taliban to join peace talks. But he said the invitation should not be viewed as a sign of weakness.

Western nations are committed to help finance Afghan security forces through 2017. 

1 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 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。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

5 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

6 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

8 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。

9 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。

10 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

11 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

12 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

15 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

16 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》