VOA常速英语2018--美国指责阿萨德政权对平民使用化学武器

Today in Syria, we are confronted once more with some of the worst atrocities¹ known to man, said National Security Council Advisor² Lieutenant³ General HR McMaster in a speech at the Holocaust⁴ Museum in Washington.

如今在叙利亚，我们再次面临着人类史上最为恶劣的一些暴行，国家安全委员会(NSC)顾问、中将麦克马斯特(HR McMaster)在华盛顿大屠杀纪念馆的一次演讲中如是说道。

For seven years now, the Bashar al-Assad regime has killed indiscriminately, tortured, starved, raped⁵, and used chemical weapons on its own people. It has attacked hospitals and schools, and countless⁶ Syrians have been arrested, abducted⁷, or have simply disappeared.

七年来，阿萨德政权肆意虐杀平民、不给饭吃、强暴民女，对自己的百姓使用化学武器。阿萨德政权还袭击了医院、学校。无数叙利亚人遭到逮捕、拐卖甚至干脆人间蒸发。

At the same time, ISIS has kidnapped, tortured, murdered, brutally⁸ persecuted⁹ religious minorities, and committed unspeakable horrors.

与此同时，IS还绑架、虐待、谋杀、残忍迫害宗教少数群体，犯下了难以启齿的恐怖行为。

It is estimated that nearly 500,000 people have perished since the war began. In February alone, nearly 1,400 civilians¹⁰ have died. The conflict has created over 5 million refugees and over 6 million displaced persons.

据估测，自战争开始以来，已有50万人因此死亡。仅2月一个月，就有近1400名死亡。冲突使500多万人成为难民，600多万人流离失所。

The United States is taking action to protect innocent Syrians, defeat ISIS, and hold the Assad regime accountable for its crimes.

美国正在采取行动保护无辜的叙利亚民众，打击IS，并让阿萨德为其罪行负责。

First of all the U.S. is helping¹¹ to fund the International, Impartial¹², and Independent Mechanism¹³ created by the United Nations General Assembly. It is tasked with collecting evidence of crimes committed in Syria – particulartly international humanitarian¹⁴ law violations¹⁵ and crimes against humanity and preparing this evidence for potential independent criminal proceedings¹⁶ on Syria.

首先，美国正在助力资助国际公正独立机制，这是联合国大会上创建的机制。该机制旨在收集叙利亚境内所发生罪行的证据——尤其是违反国际人道主义法的行为，以及反人道主义的罪行。然后将这些证据用于未来可能发生的、与叙利亚有关的独立刑事诉讼中。

Second, the U.S. is fighting alongside partners, such as the Syrian Democratic Forces, to defeat terrorist organizations. The Coalition¹⁷ to Defeat ISIS has now liberated¹⁸ almost 100 percent of territory previously¹⁹ held by these terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

其二，美国正与各个伙伴并肩战斗，比如叙利亚民主力量，以打击各个恐怖组织。反IS联盟现在已经解放了IS恐怖分子此前在伊拉克和叙利亚占领的几乎所有领土。

The United States will continue to pursue these murderers until ISIS is completely defeated.

美国将继续对IS穷追不舍，直到其被彻底击垮。

Third, the U.S. is providing humanitarian aid - over 7.6 billion dollars - to assist Syrians both in and outside of Syria.

其三，美国将提供76亿多美元的人道主义援助金——以在叙利亚境内外协助其平民。

Finally, the U.S. is working to protect innocent civilians from chemical attack and to hold Assad accountable for using these heinous²⁰ weapons. Following Assad's April 4, 2017, sarin attack on innocents, President Donald Trump²¹ launched a powerful missile strike on the Syrian air base from which the chemical attack originated, destroying twenty percent of the Syrian Air Force.

最后，美国正在努力保护无辜平民不受化学武器攻击，将使用邪恶化学武器的阿萨德政权绳之以法。自2017年4月4日阿萨德政权对无辜百姓使用沙林毒气攻击以来，特朗普总统化学武器攻击的发源地，也即叙利亚空军基地发动了一次有力的导弹攻击，摧毁了20%的叙利亚空军。

The U.S. along with its allies and partners will continue to expose atrocities, defeat ISIS, provide humanitarian assistance, and deter²² chemical weapons attacks. Assad must and will be held to account.

美国将与其盟友和伙伴一道，继续揭露暴行，打击IS，提供人道主义援助，阻止化学武器攻击。阿萨德政权必须也一定会受到应有的惩治。

1 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 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。

5 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

6 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

8 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

9 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

10 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

11 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。

12 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

13 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

14 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

15 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

16 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

17 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。

18 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

19 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

20 heinous   

adj.可憎的，十恶不赦的

参考例句：

• They admitted to the most heinous crimes.他们承认了极其恶劣的罪行。
• I do not want to meet that heinous person.我不想见那个十恶不赦的人。

21 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。

22 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。