[考博英語]2017考博英語閱讀題源經濟學人文章每日精析（二）_考博_旭晨教育

2017 考博英語 閱讀題源經濟學人文章每日精析（二）

考博英語閱讀大部分博士研究生招生院校都使用《經濟學人》雜志文章作為題源，旭晨教育考博頻道為考博生們將其中的文章進行深度分析，希望能提高大家的考博英語閱讀水平，讀懂長難句。

The war in Syria: Grozny rules in Aleppo

敘利亞的戰爭：格羅茲尼控制著阿勒頗

Why the West must protect the people of Syria, and stand up to Vladimir Putin

為何西方國家堅持要保護敘利亞人民，而反對弗拉基米爾?普京?

JUST when it seems that the war in Syria cannot get any worse, it does. On September 19th Syrian and Russian planes struck a convoy about to deliver aid to besieged parts of Aleppo. The attack wrecked the ceasefire brokered by America and Russia, and was followed by the worst bombardment that the ancient city has yet seen. Reports speak of bunker-buster,incendiary and white phosphorus bombs raining down.

正當敘利亞的戰爭局勢看上去不能再糟時，它又進一步惡化。9月19日，敘利亞和俄羅斯的飛機空襲了一支救援隊，他們正要給被困在阿勒頗包圍圈內的難民提供幫助。這次襲擊破壞了美俄兩國協商的停火協議，隨之而來的是在阿勒頗從未有過的猛烈轟炸。報道形容這次襲擊為“火光四射的炸彈雨”。

Convoy: n.車隊，船隊Broker: n.協商Bombardment: n.轟擊Incendiary: adj. 縱火的，能引起燃燒的Phosphorus: n.發光體

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, is destroying his country to cling to power. And Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is exporting the scorched-earth methods that he once used to terrify the Chechen capital, Grozny, into submission. Such savagery will not halt jihadism, but stoke it. And American inaction makes it all worse. The agony of Syria is the biggest moral stain on Barack Obama’s presidency. And the chaos rippling from Syria—where many now turn to al-Qaeda, not the West, for salvation—is his greatest geopolitical failure.

敘利亞總統巴沙爾·阿薩德為了保住政權，不惜犧牲其國家。俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾·普京正在對敘利亞采取“焦土”政策，他曾利用該政策攻打并收復車臣共和國的首府格羅茲尼。但是這種野蠻的政策并不會打擊到圣戰主義，反而會激起其戰斗欲。而美國的無作為又使情況變得更糟。布拉克·奧巴馬總統生涯中最大的道德污點就是將敘利亞置于水深火熱之中，而敘利亞難民們在亂戰中求助的是基地組織而非西方國家是他在地緣政治上最大的敗筆。

scorched-earth policy 焦土政策Agony: n極度痛苦Al-Qaeda: 基地組織

Obama thinks that resolutely keeping out of the Syrian quagmire is cold, rationalstatesmanship. He may be “haunted” by the atrocities, but is convinced there is nothing he can usefully do. “Was there some move that is beyond what was being presented to me that maybe a Churchill could have seen, or an Eisenhower might have figured out?” Mr Obama mused in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. Mr Obama is right to think that the world’s problems cannot all be solved by American power, and that ill-considered intervention can make them worse, as when America invaded Iraq. But Syria’s agony shows that the absence of America can be just as damaging.

奧巴馬認為堅決遠離敘利亞亂局是冷靜、理性的政治家應有的風范。他這樣可能招致許多麻煩，但他堅信他做什么都無濟于事。奧巴馬在接受《名利場》采訪的時候自言自語道：“我會不會忽略了一些端倪呢?丘吉爾或森豪威爾都可能會注意到我卻沒有。”奧巴馬認為有些世界性的問題僅僅靠美國是無法解決，而且任何欠缺考慮的干涉都只會讓形勢變得進一步惡化，就像當初美國攻打伊拉克一樣。但是現在敘利亞身處困境，這表明即使美國不干涉，情況也一樣糟。

Quagmire: n.泥沼，困境Statesmanship: n.政治才能Atrocities: n.暴行，兇惡

Cool, rational and wrong冷靜，理性與過失As America has pulled back, others have stepped in—geopolitics abhors a vacuum. Islamic State (IS) has taken over swathes of Syria and Iraq. A new generation of jihadists has been inspired to fight in Syria or attack the West. Turkey, rocked by Kurdish and jihadist violence (and a failed coup), has joined the fight in Syria. Jordan and Lebanon, bursting with refugees, fear they will be sucked in. The exodus of Syrians strengthens Europe’s xenophobicpopulists and endangers the European Union. A belligerent Russia feels emboldened.

隨著美國從敘利亞撤兵，其他國家便介入了地緣政治回避的空白地帶。伊斯蘭國已經控制了敘利亞和伊拉克的大部分地區。這鼓舞著新一批伊斯蘭圣戰分子去襲擊敘利亞或西方國家。土耳其受到庫爾德和伊斯蘭圣戰分子的暴力(以及一次失敗的政變)影響，也加入到襲擊敘利亞的戰爭中。許多難民涌入約旦和黎巴嫩，以致兩國擔心卷入這場戰爭。大批敘利亞難民逃亡到歐洲，這加劇了歐洲民粹主義者的排外心理，使歐盟面臨危機，但卻鼓舞了這場沖突中俄羅斯的勢氣。

abhor：vt. 憎惡, 厭惡, 討厭vacuum：n. 真空;〈口〉真空吸塵器 空間; 空虛; 空白coup：n. 政變;妙計;出乎意料的行動;砰然的一擊be sucked in：被卷入;吸入exodus：n. 大批的離去xenophobic：adj. 恐懼(或憎恨)外國人的,恐外的belligerent：adj. 交戰的;卷入沖突的;好戰的,挑起戰爭的;交戰的一方(指國家、集團或個人)embolden：vt. 鼓勵,使有膽量

By sending warplanes to Syria to prop up Mr Assad, Mr Putin has inflamed the struggle between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Mr Putin and Mr Assad now seem determined to take control of “useful Syria”—the line of cities from Damascus to Aleppo, and the territories to the west, forsaking the desert and the Euphrates valley—before a new American president takes office next year. Hence the ferocity of the assault on east Aleppo, the last major rebel-held urban area.

普京派遣戰機到敘利亞以支持阿薩德的行為，已經激起了什葉派穆斯林與遜尼派穆斯林之間的斗爭。目前，普京和阿薩德似乎決定，在明年新一屆美國總統上任之前，控制住“有價值的敘利亞地區”，即從大馬士革到阿勒頗沿線的城市以及西部的領土，而暫且放棄沙漠地區和幼發拉底河流域。因此，敘利亞政府對東阿勒坡——主叛軍所占領的最后一個城區，發起了猛攻。

prop up：支持inflame：vt. 激怒;使燃燒;使發炎 vi. 燃燒;發炎;激動forsaking：vt. 放棄;斷念Assault：n. 攻擊;襲擊 vt. 襲擊;攻擊 vi. 襲擊;動武

None of this is in America’s interest. Being cool and calculating is not much use if everybody else thinks you are being weak. Even if America cannot fix Syria, it could have helped limit the damage, alleviate suffering and reduce the appeal of jihadism. This newspaper has long advocated safe areas and no-fly zones to protect civilians. The failure to strike Mr Assad’s regime after he crossed the “red line” on the use of chemical weapons damaged American credibility, as many around Mr Obama admit. Now it is Russia that sets the rules of the game. Western action that once carried little risk now brings the danger of a clash with Russia.

這一切并不會對美國的利益造成任何影響。如果所有人都認為你是弱者，冷靜和精明并沒有用。就算美國不能解決敘利亞問題，它也本可以幫助敘利亞減少損失，減輕難民的痛苦并降削弱圣戰主義者們的氣焰。這家報紙一直倡議建立安全區和禁飛區以保護當地百姓。正如奧巴馬身邊的官員表示的那樣，奧巴馬越過“紅線”使用化學武器打擊阿薩德政權的行動失敗，導致美國的公信力大大降低。目前俄羅斯在這場斗爭中處于主導地位。以前西方的行動鮮有觸及俄方利益，但如今卻有發生激烈沖突的可能。

Mr Obama says that Mr Assad eventually must go, but has never willed the means to achieve that end. (Some rebel groups receive CIA weapons, but that is about it.) Instead he has concentrated on destroying the caliphate: its Syrian capital, Raqqa, is under threat, and the assault on the Iraqi one, Mosul, is imminent. The president wants to avoid thankless state-building and focus on fighting terrorists. This is important, but jihadism is fed by war and state failure: without a broader power-sharing agreement in Syria and Iraq any victory against IS will be short-lived; other jihadists will take its place. To achieve a fair settlement, the West needs greater leverage.

奧巴馬表示阿薩德最終一定會下臺，但從未想過用什么手段來達成這一目的。(一些反叛組織收到中央情報局提供的武器，而這就是他運用的一種手段。相反，他集中力量毀滅伊斯蘭國組織所占領的區域：威脅著敘利亞首都拉卡，也即將對伊拉克的摩蘇爾發起攻擊。這位總統不想做徒勞無功的國家建設，而是將注意力轉移到打擊恐怖分子的斗爭上。但是有一點很重要，那就是圣戰主義是在戰爭和國家政權失敗的環境下中滋長出來的：在敘利亞和伊拉克還沒有達成一個更加明確的權力分享協議之前，打敗伊斯蘭國所獲得的勝利都是短暫的;其他圣戰者又將取代它的位置。要合理解決這個問題，西方國家需要采取更加強有力的措施。

Caliphate：n. 伊斯蘭教國王的職權或其領域Imminent：adj. 迫近的;即將來臨的Leverage：n. 〈物〉杠桿作用, 杠桿的力量;力量, 影響

We still hope that Mr Obama will take tougher action. More likely, he will leave the Syrian mess in his successor’s in-tray. Any Western strategy must start from two realisations. First, the most important goal in the Middle East is to assuage Sunnis’ grievances enough to draw them away from the death-cult of jihadism and into more constructive politics. Second, Russia is not part of the solution, but of the problem.

我們仍然希望奧巴馬會采取更加強有力的行動。不過，他更可能把敘利亞混亂的局勢留給下一任美國總統處理。任何一個西方國家實施任何策略都必須先意識到兩點：一，在中東最重要的任務是盡量緩和遜尼派的不滿情緒，把他們從對伊斯蘭圣戰主義對死亡崇拜的歧途中拉回來，以做出更多有建設性的政治貢獻;二，俄羅斯并不能解決問題，反而會引發問題。

The West must do more to protect Syrians, mostly Sunnis, who are still beyond the grip of Mr Assad. An undeclared no-fly zone over Aleppo may be feasible. America could retaliate against Mr Assad’s forces after particularly egregious actions. It could air-drop aid into besieged areas (see article). In zones freed from IS, America should establish a secure hinterland where an alternative government can take root.

西方國家必須盡可能地保護敘利亞人民，主要是保護未在阿薩德掌控下的遜尼派人士。在阿勒頗劃分一個隱藏的禁飛區應該可行。美國還可以對發起過及其過激行動的阿薩德勢力進行反擊。美國還可在包圍圈空投救助物資(見文章)讀者試譯句。

As a Dutch-led inquiry into the destruction of flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014 makes clear (see article), the challenge of Russia is not only, and not mainly, in Syria. The West must keep talking to Mr Putin, but resist his adventurism—starting with the maintenance of EU sanctions. Mr Putin is a bully, but not irrational. He will keep gambling for advantage for as long as he thinks the West is unwilling to act. But he will, surely, retreat as soon as he feels it is serious about standing up to him.

正如2014年有荷蘭發起的一項關于MH17飛機在烏克蘭墜毀的調查清楚顯示(見文章)，俄羅斯的野心并不只是，也不主要是在敘利亞。西方國家必須繼續與普京談判，要克制住他的冒險主義---讓他維護歐盟的約束力是第一步。普京雖橫行霸道，但他不是不理性。只要他認為西方國家不愿意采取行動時，他就會為自己的利益繼續冒險。但可以肯定的是，他一旦感到反對勢力十分強大的時候，他就會收手。