1、四六级双语阅读素材2Clinton Tests US Influence In MideastSecretary of State Hillary Clinton began an emergency trip tothe Middle East on Tuesday in an attempt to settle a week ofescalating conflict between Israel and Palestinians in the GazaStrip, a mission that also stands as a test of the U.S.s influencein
2、the region following its Arab Spring upheavals.美国国务卿希拉里 克林顿(Hillary Clinton)周二紧急前往中东地区，试图解决以色列和巴勒斯坦在加沙地带长达一周且不断升级的冲突。克林顿此行也是在检验“阿拉伯之春”动荡过后美国在这一地区的影响力。She will enter a changed landscape. The latest conflict has fortified the Gaza Strips ruling party, Hamas, at the expense of Palestinian President Mah
3、moud Abbas, a long-standing U.S. partner. Mrs. Clinton will have to work closely with new Egyptian leader Mohammed Morsi, who has emerged asthe point man in talks between Israel and Hamas but has carefully guarded his independence fromWashington.克林顿即将面对的是一个被改变的格局。最近这起冲突强化了加沙地带的统治政权、巴勒斯坦伊斯兰抵抗运动组织哈马斯(
4、Hamas) 的统治，弱化了美国的长期伙伴、巴勒斯坦民族权力机构主席阿巴斯(Mahmoud Abbas)的权力。克林顿将与埃及新当选领导人穆尔西(Mohammed Morsi)紧密合作。在以色列和哈马斯的谈判中穆尔西成为了一位非常重要的人物，但穆尔西也在小心翼翼地守护自己在和美国交往过程中的独立性。Regional leaders have worked to coax Israeli leaders and Hamas to end a week of violence thatexploded a week ago when Israel assassinated a top Hamas
5、military commander following renewedrocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip, rekindling one of the regions oldest conflicts. Some 140 people have been killed in the conflict, according to Palestinian accounts. Hopes that a cease-fire would be announced Tuesday faltered, however, over outstandin
6、g demands on both sides, including Israeli insistence that any truce be enforceable over a prolonged period.这一地区多国领导人一直在努力说服以色列领导人和哈马斯结束长达一周的暴力行动。一周前，哈马斯再次从加沙地带向以色列发起火箭弹袭击，此后以色列在袭击中打死了哈马斯一位高级军事指挥官，重新点燃了双方长期存在的冲突。据巴勒斯坦方面描述，约140 人在冲突中丧生。但由于双方提出的要求还有很多未被满足（其中包括以色列坚持所达成的任何停火协议应该在长期被强制执行） ，周二达成停火协议的希望破灭。
7、Israeli naval vessels unleashed their most ferocious artillery barrage yet. Palestinian militants, meanwhile, fired off 150 rockets, striking near Jerusalem and Tel Avivfarther than in previousGaza upheavalsand killing two Israelis, including the first Israeli soldier to die in the conflict.以色列海军舰艇发
8、射了迄今为止最猛烈的炮火袭击。与此同时，巴勒斯坦武装分子发射了150枚火箭弹，袭击了耶路撒冷和特拉维夫附近地区（这一射程比此前加沙地带冲突中发射的炮弹都要远） ，并打死两名以色列人，其中包括在冲突中死亡的首位以色列士兵。Mrs. Clinton announced her trip Tuesday and arrived later in the day in Jerusalem, straight from asummit in Cambodia she attended with President Barack Obama. The U.S. has supported Israelsr
9、ight to defend itself, and Mrs. Clinton reiterated Washingtons rock solid security commitment toIsrael.克林顿周二宣布了她的行程，并在当天晚些时候抵达耶路撒冷。此前她刚刚结束与美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)一同在柬埔寨出席的东亚峰会。美国称支持以色列自卫的权利，克林顿重申了华盛顿对以色列做出的“坚如磐石 ”的安全承诺Compared with some past occupants of Japans prime ministerialresidence, Yoshihiko No
10、da is a lucky man. One previousincumbent was shot dead there by ultranationalist officers in 1932. Another had to hide from attackers in a servants closet.与在日本首相府住过的一些前任相比，野田佳彦(YoshihikoNoda)是幸运的。1932年，一位在任首相在首相府被极端民族主义官员枪杀，还有一位首相曾被迫躲到一个仆人的橱柜里，逃避攻击者。Nobody expects another rightist storming of the el
11、egant art deco building, even though in aFinancial Times interview there on Sunday, Mr Noda expressed concern at an emerging air ofexcessive nationalism amid a flaring territorial dispute with China.这栋优雅的艺术装饰建筑应该不会再有右翼分子袭击，尽管周日在首相府接受英国金融时报采访时，野田佳彦表示他还是担忧，在与中国激烈的领土争端中，可能会突然爆发极端民族主义情绪。But Mr Noda is c
12、ertainly under political attack. Analysts are unanimous in predicting his rulingDemocratic party will be ousted in an election set for December 16.但毫无疑问的是，野田面临着政治攻击。分析师普遍预期，野田领导的执政党民主党将会在12月16日的选举中被驱逐。Defeat would make Mr Noda the seventh man to turn in the keys to the prime ministers residencein ju
13、st over six years. Which raises two questions: why does Japan burn through leaders sorapidly? And should the world care who sits in the political hothouse?如果在选举中失败，野田将会成为短短六年时间中第七位交出首相府钥匙的人。这也就提出了两个问题：为什么日本领导人更换如此频繁？世界是否应该在意日本首相府到底住着谁？Asked about the spinning prime ministerial carousel, Mr Noda note
14、s that the recent string of briefincumbents began with Shinzo Abe, leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic party and the manwho, opinion polls suggest, will next month become Japans first two-time premier in decades.在被问及日本首相的频繁更换时，野田表示，此轮“短命” 首相的轮回从反对党自民党党魁安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)开始。而民调显示，安倍有可能会在下个月成为日本
15、几十年来首位第二次担任首相的人。In his first tilt at the job, Mr Abe lasted just a year, stepping down in September 2007 almostbroken by scandals and electoral setbacks.安倍的首次任期只维持了一年，2007年9 月下台，丑闻和竞选受挫几乎将他摧毁Mr Noda is not very forthcoming on why such short prime ministerial careers have become thenorm, saying only
16、that unlike US presidents, Japans leaders do not enjoy a fixed term关于为什么日本“短命” 首相已成为一种常态，野田没有直接回答，他只是说日本首相并不像美国总统那样有固定的任期。Yet his experience in office is revealing, marked by the struggle to maintain the unit of a fractiousruling party while also pushing legislation past an opposition-dominated Diet
17、upper house. This challenge has been the norm in Japan in recent years, since frequent upperhouse elections are used by voters to punish the party in power a big cause of Mr Abes fall in 2007.然而，野田在任的经历也是颇有启发性的，期间他努力维护一个分裂的执政党的统一性，同时也谋求在反对党主导的议会上院推动立法。近些年，这一挑战在日本政坛已经司空见惯，选民利用频繁的上院选举来惩罚执政党，这也是2007年安倍
18、下台的一个重要原因。Japanese parties are also much less disciplined than counterparts in other parliamentarydemocracies, such as the UK. The ruling Democratic party and the LDP, for example, containlegislators fiercely against trade liberalisation and others who think it vital.日本党派也要比英国等其他议会民主制国家的党派缺乏纪律。比如说，自
19、民党和执政党民主党内部，都既有强烈反对贸易自由化的议员，也有认为贸易自由化非常重要的议员。The DPJs first prime minister after its 2009 victory, Yukio Hatoyama, could not fashion suchdivergent views into coherent policy and resigned after less than nine months. His successor, NaotoKan, lasted more than a year but spent much of his later months
20、in office fending off internalrebellion.民主党首位首相鸠山由纪夫(Yukio Hatoyama)2009年当选之后，无法在分裂的观点中形成统一的政策，不到9个月就辞职。他的继任者菅直人(Naoto Kan)的任期虽然超过了一年，但其任期后半段主要的时间都用于应付内部叛乱。Mr Noda, who took over in August 2011, was able to last as long as he has only by using cabinetpositions as political balm for internal party st
21、rains. But repeated reshuffles made a mockery ofDPJ hopes to establish effective “political leadership” over Japans powerful bureaucrats, with manyministers lasting only a few months.2011年8月上台的野田佳彦，也只是利用他在内阁中的地位作为应对党内紧张关系的政治缓冲剂，来维持其任期。然而，内阁的频繁重组，使得民主党希望为日本强大的官僚机构建立有效的“政治领导力”成为一个笑柄，很多部长的任期都只有几个月。Yet
22、Mr Nodas record also offers an argument for why it matters who leads Japans government and suggests even shortlived incumbents can make a mark in office. A relative fiscal hawk, hisdetermined focus on seeking to narrow a yawning government deficit resulted in the passage oflegislation paving the way
23、 for a doubling of the 5 per cent consumption tax by 2015.但野田的经历也让人们有理由认为，谁来领导日本政府还是比较关键的，表明即使是“短命”首相也可以在任期中做出贡献。作为一个相对的财政鹰派人物，他决定将重心放在降低政府不断扩大的赤字上，并通过了一项立法，为2015年之前将5%的消费税翻番奠定了基础。He also secured opposition backing for a national council on social security reform that shouldsurvive his administratio
24、n.同时，他还获得了反对党的支持，建立社保改革全国委员会，并在他卸任后继续发挥作用。Such moves took courage, not least because the tax rise plan helped shatter the DPJs remainingunity. After winning more than 300 seats in the Diets 480-seat lower house in 2009, a stream ofdefections mean it does not even command a majority.这些举措需要勇气，尤其是增税计划让
25、民主党仅有的团结再遭重创。2009年民主党在议会下院480个议席中赢得超过300个议席之后，出现了大量退党行为，致使民主党不再掌握多数。“ I think it would be difficult in any country to ask the public to shoulder a new burden just ahead ofan election,” notes Mr Noda drily.野田不动声色地说：“我认为不管在哪个国家，在选举之前，让民众来挑起一个新的负担都是比较困难的。 ”Mr Nodas manner in the face of what appears to
26、 be certain electoral defeat also demands a certainrespect.在面对一场看来注定要失败的选举时，野田的表现值得敬佩。Stung by accusations he was betraying an August pledge to step down “soon” and unwilling torisk being toppled by DPJ rebels, the prime minister dramatically declared his willingness to go tothe polls in a nationall
27、y televised Diet debate. In his FT interview, he appeared as calm and assuredas during a previous encounter during the early days of his administration.有人指责他背叛了8月份关于“不久” 将离任的承诺，并且不愿意冒被民主党反叛者驱逐的风险，受此刺激，野田在全国转播的议会辩论中出人意料地宣布：他愿意举行大选。在接受英国金融时报的采访时，他表现得与刚刚上任时的一次采访中一样镇定而自信。Though derided by some for his “political suicide”, one grudging admirer from a Japanese businessgroup likens Mr Noda to a warrior committing hara-kiri ritual suicide rather than be taken by hisenemies. “Thats the samurai way,” he says.尽管有人嘲笑他这是“政治自杀” ，日本一个商业组织中的一名不情愿的赞慕者还是将野田的行为比作武士的剖腹自杀一种仪式自杀，而不是死于敌人之手。他说：“这就是日本武士精神。 ”
