VOA标准英语2015--奥巴马今将就美国家安全讲话 强调消灭IS坚定信心

Obama Address Highlights Intensified¹ Security Debate 奥巴马今将就美国家安全讲话 强调消灭IS坚定信心

WASHINGTON—

President Barack Obama’s address on last week’s deadly shootings in California comes as two potent² issues merge³ and overlap⁴: international terrorism and gun control.

Islamic State-inspired carnage on U.S. soil is a concept many Americans find unnerving.

“It’s really scary because ISIS has bombs and everything,” said April, a California resident, using another acronym⁵ for the Islamic State. “And bombs could take out a whole city.”

“I mean, when the Paris thing happened, we heard on the news that obviously we (the United States) were targeted too,” said another Californian, Erika.

From the halls of Congress to the presidential campaign trail, the coming week is likely to bring many recommendations on what America must do to keep its citizens safe.

“We have a hidden enemy,” said businessman and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump⁷.  “We’ve got an enemy that doesn’t wear uniforms. An enemy that’s very vicious, very violent, very sick. And we’ve got to take them out.”

General agreement, but rifts⁸ on approach

Taking the fight to Islamic State is a rare point of bipartisan agreement.

“They have to be defeated,” said Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.  “And that means taking them on in the air, taking them on on the ground, and taking them on in cyberspace¹⁰.”

Even so, ideas about what to do expose deep partisan⁹ rifts.

“We need to renew the assault weapons ban,” said Senator and Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders.  “We need to end the sale of high-capacity magazines.  We need to make gun trafficking a federal crime.”

Big issue: gun control

Gun control is a non-starter for many Republicans.

“The left’s immediate¹¹ reaction to Islamic terrorists, like kittens with their eyes closed, is not to go after the bad guys, but immediately to try to seize the guns of law-abiding citizens,” said Senator and presidential candidate Ted⁶ Cruz.

Even the terms used to frame the debate on violence and terrorism are contested.

“Call it for what it is. This is a fight for Western civilization,” said Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush on ABC’s This Week.  “They (Islamic State) have declared war on us.”

President Obama has declined to use the term ‘Islamic terrorism’ and Clinton says that’s the right call.

“That sounds like we are declaring war against a religion,” Clinton said on This Week.  “It helps create this ‘clash of civilizations’ (concept) that is actually a recruiting tool for ISIS and other radical¹² jihadists.”

The Republican-led Congress has until week’s end to extend the U.S. government’s spending authority and avert¹³ a partial shutdown.  The San Bernardino attack and Obama’s national address assure that Washington’s attention will be divided.

1 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

3 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

4 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

5 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

6 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 rifts   

n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和

参考例句：

• After that, through the rifts in the inky clouds sparkled redder and yet more luminous particles. 然后在几条墨蓝色云霞的隙缝里闪出几个更红更亮的小片。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• The Destinies mend rifts in time as man etches fate. 当人类想要再次亵渎命运的时候，命运及时修正了这些裂痕。 来自互联网

9 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

10 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

11 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

12 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。

13 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。