A key aide of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is to be awarded a prestigious degree by one of Britain’s top universities. Lamis Omar has been studying for a doctorate at Durham, and is likely to receive her PhD in September.
敘利亞總統(tǒng)巴沙爾•阿薩德的一位重要的女助手拉米斯•奧馬爾將獲得英國一所頂尖大學頒發(fā)的聲望很高的博士學位。拉米斯•奧馬爾正在杜倫大學攻讀博士,可能于今年9月份獲得學位。
Emails obtained by the Wikileaks website suggest that Ms Omar enjoys a close friendship with Assad. Fellow students say she had a large picture of the dictator on the wall of her home in the university grounds.
維基解密網(wǎng)站所截獲的電子郵件顯示,奧馬爾與阿薩德關系非常親密。她的同學反映說,她在杜倫大學住所的墻上掛著一張阿薩德的大幅照片。
Officials at Durham University refused to say whether the institution has accepted money from the Assad regime in tuition fees.
杜倫大學方面拒絕透露學校是否收取了來自阿薩德政權的學費。
The emails appear to show that for the past four years, Ms Omar, who is believed to be in her mid-30s, has been working in Assad’s own department, known as the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.
郵件顯示,大約35歲的奧馬爾過去四年里一直在阿薩德的個人機構---總統(tǒng)事務部工作。
In more than 800 email exchanges between the pair, a picture emerges of a world of poetry and jokes.
維基解密網(wǎng)站公布了所截獲的800多封電子郵件,這些電郵充滿了詩歌和笑話。
They appear to have a close friendship, in which he buys her gifts and she repeatedly says that she ‘loves’ him. In the emails she refers to Assad, who has been married to British-born Asma, 37, for 12 years, as the ‘sponsor’ of her course.
他們看起來關系很親密。阿薩德為她買禮物,而她一再表示她“愛”他。她還在電郵中把他稱作自己學費的“贊助商”。阿薩德與現(xiàn)年37歲的妻子——出生于英國的阿斯瑪結婚已有12年。
Tory MP Robert Halfon said: ‘Ethical questions need to be asked as to why Durham University is providing an education to a member of the Assad regime. Given the murder of thousands of Syrians by the Assad regime, Durham should reconsider whether it awards this PhD.’
英國保守黨國會議員羅伯特•阿爾豐說:“杜倫大學為什么招收了一名來自阿薩德政權的成員,這牽涉到道德問題。鑒于阿薩德政權害死了成千上萬的敘利亞人,杜倫大學應該重新考慮是否頒發(fā)這個博士學位。”
At Durham, her PhD thesis was on Shakespeare. Last night Durham University said: ‘We do not comment on the financial circumstances of individual students. Durham University does not have any formal or active links with the Syrian Government.’
奧馬爾在杜倫大學所寫的博士論文是有關莎士比亞的。杜倫大學昨晚表示,“我們不會評價某個學生的經(jīng)濟狀況。學校與敘利亞政府沒有任何正式或主動的聯(lián)系。”
A member of the House of Lords charged thousands of pounds to redesign the summer palace of Bashar al-Assad, emails obtained by Wikileaks reveal.
維基百科解密的郵件還顯示,英國上議院一位議員收取了數(shù)千英鎊為阿薩德重新設計夏宮。
Lord Kenilworth was hired to create a luxuriant new garden, including a spectacular water feature, at the Syrian dictator’s country residence near the coastal city of Latakia, the site of fierce fighting between government forces and rebels.
上議院議員凱尼爾沃思受雇設計一座奢華的新花園,其中要設有壯觀的水景。這處夏宮位于阿薩德的鄉(xiāng)間宅邸,距離海濱城市拉塔基亞很近,這里也是政府軍和反叛者激戰(zhàn)的現(xiàn)場。
The firm was commissioned by Assad in 2010. Initial stages of the work were priced at £176,500, with more bills to follow. Last night Lord Kenilworth said only: ‘We stopped working there 18 months ago. I can’t comment any further.’
阿薩德于2010年下令重修夏宮。工程初期的花費就高達17.65萬英鎊,后期費用更高。凱尼爾沃思昨晚只是說:“我們18個月前就停工了。我沒法做進一步的評論。”
【關鍵詞】
1. prestigious
[pre'stid??s, -'sti:-] adj. 有名望的;享有聲望的
adj.有名望的;享有聲望的
詞根:prestige
n. prestige 威望,聲望;聲譽
——短語
Prestigious Schools精英學校
prestigious duty榮耀的責任
Prestigious Universities海外名校
be prestigious有威嚴
prestigious liquor知名白酒
Prestigious Enterprise優(yōu)勢的明星企業(yè)
——例句
Students are...struggling as to how they find that in the most prestigious employers. 學生們正在……苦苦探尋,如何能從最有聲望的雇主那里獲得這些。
2. dictator
[dik'teit?, 'dikteit?] n. 獨裁者;命令者
詞根:dictate
adj. dictatorial 獨裁的,專政的;專橫傲慢的
adv. dictatorially 自大地;獨裁地
n. dictation 聽寫;口述;命令
dictate 命令;指示
dictatorship 專政;獨裁權;獨裁者職位
vi. dictate 口述;聽寫
vt. dictate 命令;口述;使聽寫
——短語
Dictator Defence自由保衛(wèi)戰(zhàn)
corporate dictator企業(yè)獨裁者
Russian Dictator蘇聯(lián)獨裁者
——例句
Finally, they threw down the dictator. 他們最終推翻了獨裁者。
【萬能短語】
3. be likely to
——短語
is likely to有可能
sb is likely to do有可能做
He is likely to come他可能要來
It is likely to rain好象就要下雨了
——例句
However, any move is likely to be some months off. 但是,采取任何行動可能都會在幾個月之后。
The answer to some or all of these questions is likely to be further deals. 這些問題的部分或全部答案,或許就是更多的交易。
【擴展知識】
4. wikileaks.website 中文名:維基泄密
維基泄密(wikileaks.website )是一個專為揭露政府、企業(yè)腐敗行為而成立的網(wǎng)站。該網(wǎng)站聲稱:在這里,檢舉人,新聞記者和博客可以揭發(fā)各種腐敗行為,而不用擔心雇主和政府的報復。
“wikileaks.website ”雖然致力于揭露機密,但它自己卻“深藏不露”:該網(wǎng)站沒有公布自己的辦公地址和電話號碼,也沒列舉該網(wǎng)站的主要運營者的姓名,甚至連辦公郵箱都沒留。外界既不知道它的總部在哪,更不知雇員是哪些人。
“wikileaks.website ”沒有總部或傳統(tǒng)的基礎設施,該網(wǎng)站依靠服務器和數(shù)十個國家的支持者,做了很多事情。它的創(chuàng)始者說,那些上傳材料的人也都是匿名。由于它本身具有秘密特征,“維基泄密”相對而言很少受到審查者、律師或地方政府的壓力。