VOA慢速英語:伊斯蘭武裝分子占領(lǐng)兩座主要城市

The self-declared Islamic State has captured two major cities in less than a week. Islamic State fighters took control of the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria on Thursday. The fall of Palmyra reportedly left the group in control of half of Syria. It came just days after the militants seized the Iraqi city of Ramadi.

自立為國的“伊斯蘭國”組織在不到一個星期的時間里占領(lǐng)了兩所主要城市。“伊斯蘭國”武裝分子在周四的時候控制了敘利亞中部巴爾米拉古城。巴爾米拉古城的淪陷使得“伊斯蘭國”控制了敘利亞一半城市。而這僅僅發(fā)生在占領(lǐng)拉馬迪幾天之后。

Palmyra is famous for its historic ruins. Some date back nearly 2,000 years to the time of the Roman Empire. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recognizes Palmyra as a World Heritage Site.

巴爾米拉因古跡遺址而聞名于世。其中一些遺跡可以追溯到2000年前的羅馬帝國時期。聯(lián)合國教科文組織認(rèn)定巴爾米拉古城遺址為世界遺產(chǎn)。

There were no immediate reports of damage to the ruins. But Islamic State militants destroyed a number of cultural treasures earlier in their offensive across Iraq and Syria. The militants claimed those artifacts violated Muslim beliefs.

關(guān)于城市建筑破壞情況沒有進(jìn)行直接報道。但是“伊斯蘭國”武裝分子在早些時候進(jìn)攻伊拉克和敘利亞的時候大量損壞了歷史文化寶藏。武裝分子稱這些建筑有違穆斯林宗教文化。

Maamoun Abdulkarim is Syria's antiquities director. He says hundreds of statues have been removed from Palmyra to safety. But other objects were too large and could not be moved.

Maamoun Abdulkarim是敘利亞古跡部主任。他說已經(jīng)有數(shù)百件雕塑從巴爾米拉轉(zhuǎn)移到了安全地帶。但是還有一些體積較大物件無法移動。

Middle East historian David Lesch is with Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

美國德克薩斯州三一大學(xué)中東歷史學(xué)家David Lesch說。

"It is a huge loss to the history, to archeology. It pains me significantly, but more so, it's just aother symptom of this tragedy that's happening in Syria, and the loss of life, and the destruction of a country that really is, you know, one of the few places that indeed is a crossroads of history."

這對于歷史和考古學(xué)來講都是巨大的損失。這使我非常痛心，但更讓人感到痛苦的是這只是發(fā)生在敘利亞的悲劇事件的其中一種痛癥，還有很多無辜生命被奪走，國家的重創(chuàng)，這真的走到了歷史的十字路口。

Mr. Lesch says the Syrian government has, up to now, been able to argue that it can only protect the Syrian people and cultural treasures. That, he says, may no longer be true. The fall of Palmyra marks the first time the Islamic State has seized a major city from Syrian government forces. Up until now, most of its military gains in Syria came as a result of victories over other militant groups.

Lesch說敘利亞政府到現(xiàn)在一直在爭論稱其僅僅有保護(hù)敘利亞人民和文化寶藏的能力，現(xiàn)在看來這也不太可靠了。巴爾米拉的淪陷使得“伊斯蘭國”武裝分子首次從敘利亞政府力量手中占領(lǐng)一座主要城市。到目前為止，其在敘利亞境內(nèi)取得的大部分軍事勝利都是在戰(zhàn)勝其他武裝力量的結(jié)果。

In Britain, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Thursday that the Islamic State now controls more than half of Syria. The group depends on activists inside the country for its information.

在英國，敘利亞人權(quán)觀察員周四時候說“伊斯蘭國”現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)控制了敘利亞一半多的城市。該組織依靠敘利亞內(nèi)部活動者提供的信息行動。

On Friday, the group said that armed militants of the al-Nusra Front had taken, in its words, complete control of a hospital near Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province. The al-Nusra Front is linked to the terrorist group al-Qaida. Government soldiers had been taking shelter in the hospital since April.

周五時候，“伊斯蘭國”組織稱努拉斯陣線已經(jīng)完全占領(lǐng)了伊德利卜省吉斯?fàn)柺婀艩柛浇囊患裔t(yī)院。努拉斯陣線與恐怖組織基地組織存在聯(lián)系。自從四月份來政府力量一直在這所醫(yī)院庇護(hù)。

IS gains bring calls for a new plan to fight the group

The capture of Palmyra in Syria and Ramadi in Iraq raises questions about the effectiveness of American efforts to defeat the Islamic State. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama stated his support for Iraq's prime minister and the decision to plan an operation to retake Ramadi. His comments came as Iraqi government forces and Shi'ite militias surrounded the city for a possible attack.

“伊斯蘭國”組織占領(lǐng)敘利亞城市巴爾米拉和伊拉克拉馬迪之后引發(fā)了國際社會對美國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的反伊斯蘭聯(lián)盟力量的質(zhì)疑。周三時候美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬表示支持伊拉克總理制定作戰(zhàn)計劃重新奪回拉馬迪的決定。這一言論發(fā)表在伊拉克政府力量和什葉派武裝力量聚集拉馬迪城市外部準(zhǔn)備發(fā)動進(jìn)攻之際。

Pat Ryder is a spokesman for the United States Central Command. He said on Wednesday that the Iraqis should be able to re-take Ramadi.

Pat Ryder是美國中央司令部發(fā)言人。他在周四的時候發(fā)表講話稱伊拉克應(yīng)該能夠重新收回拉馬迪。

"The Iraqis have the numbers. They have the coalition backing them up. They have the advice and assist of the coalition. And so putting this in the bigger picture, and looking longer term, momentum will continue to be on our side."

伊拉克有足夠的軍隊。他們有同盟軍的支持。也有同盟軍的作戰(zhàn)建議和援助。所以從長遠(yuǎn)來看我們還是比較占優(yōu)勢的。

Colonel Ryder also said U.S.-trained Iraqi and Kurdish forces will help strengthen Iraq's security. He added that none of the troops trained by American soldiers were at Ramadi when it fell to the Islamic State group.

Colonel Ryder還說美國訓(xùn)練的伊拉克軍隊和庫爾德部隊將會幫助加強(qiáng)伊拉克的國防安全。他還說在“伊斯蘭國”組織占領(lǐng)拉馬迪城市的時候經(jīng)美國訓(xùn)練的隊伍都沒有在場。

Some observers say the Islamic State gains show that the Obama administration needs a new plan of action to stop the militants. One administration critic is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner. He says President Obama should send Congress a new Authorization of Military Force request to permit U.S.-led operations against the militants. He said the current request would actually give Mr. Obama less power than he already has to fight the Islamic State.

一些觀察人士稱“伊斯蘭國”作戰(zhàn)勝利顯示奧巴馬政府需要重新擬定作戰(zhàn)計劃來阻止武裝分子。其中一位奧巴馬政府批評家是美國眾議院發(fā)言人，約翰博納。他說奧巴馬總統(tǒng)應(yīng)該向國會遞交一份新的軍隊授權(quán)申請來允許美國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的聯(lián)盟軍對抗武裝分子。他說現(xiàn)在的申請實際上給予奧巴馬的權(quán)利要比現(xiàn)在行駛的少。

"This is why the president frankly should withdraw the authorization of use of military force and start over. We don't have a strategy."

這就是為什么總統(tǒng)坦白講要撤回使用武力授權(quán)重新開始的原因。我們沒有一個作戰(zhàn)策略。

But White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest rejected Mr. Boehner's comments. He said the president and administration officials had met repeatedly with lawmakers to negotiate the language of the request. He said the House Speaker is simply looking for reasons not to act.

但是白宮新聞部秘書長厄內(nèi)斯特駁回了博納的這一評論。他說總統(tǒng)和政府官員多次會見了國會議員就申請用詞進(jìn)行了討論。他說眾議院發(fā)言人只是單純地在尋找不采取行動的理由。

I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.

This report was based on stories from VOA reporters Carla Babb, Luis Ramirez, Cindy Seine, and Jamie Dettmer. George Grow wrote the report for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

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Words In The News

Heritage Site – n. a place considered important because of its cultural treasures

artifacts – n. something made by a human being, often one of cultural or historical interest

antiquities – n. the ancient past; buildings or works of art from the past

authorization – n. official approval