英式新闻英语第 101 课：NATO's Presence in Afghanistan 北约在阿富汗的存在力量-1

The General leaned forward and peered out of the cockpit of his Hercules, his gaze resting on the endless, rolling ridges of dun-coloured hills. He looked at this apparently desolate landscape and I wondered what thoughts were going through his mind. 将军身体前倾着，从他“大力神”运输机的座舱向外凝视着，视线落在绵延无尽的暗褐色山脊上。他在观看着这片显然毫无人烟的地形，而我则在好奇他的脑子里究竟在想着什么。

For Gerhard Back, former fighter pilot and head of the German airforce, is the man with operational control of NATO's presence in Afghanistan. That presence, limited to a few thousand troops in a handful of locations, is now expanding. 吉哈尔德·巴克将军以前是名战斗机飞行员，曾任德国空军司令，目前负责北约在阿富汗存在力量的作战控制。这种存在力量以前只局限于由数千名人员组成的部队，他们分散在几个据点。现在这种存在力量正在扩大中，

And with expansion comes responsibility -- and danger. It was a big step for NATO to come here at all. But the coming months will test the resolve of an organisation that has a hard time living up to its own expectations. 而随之而来的就是责任和危险，毕竟北约来到这已经是迈出了很大的一步。但是未来的几个月将会对该组织的决定进行考验，北约要想实现自己的期望值还需经历一段艰难的时间。

After visiting Kabul, where NATO first got its boots on the ground, and Herat, in the west, where Italian and Spanish troops are only just settling in, our journey took us to Kandahar, close to the front line in Washington's so-called war on terror. 我们一行参观了北约首次落脚的喀布尔以及印度和西班牙军队刚刚驻扎进来的西部城市赫拉特，之后我们到了坎大哈，这距离华盛顿称之为反恐战争前线很近。

It's a huge, dusty base which sprawls across the southern plain, a short helicopter ride away from the caves that perforate the mountains along the Pakistani border. 它是一个巨大的多尘基地，蔓延在南部的平原之上，距离与巴基斯坦交界的山中洞穴很近，乘坐直升机一会儿就能到。

It's from here that America supports its combat troops in their forward operating bases. And while the world doesn't seem to hear so much about this war any more, let me tell you: the skies above Kandahar are alive with men and machines, attempting to finish what they came here to do. 美国正是从这向其前沿作战基地的战斗部队提供支援的。世界似乎再也听不到关于这场战争的消息了，就让我告诉你们吧：人员和机器在坎大哈上方的天空来往繁忙，试图完成他们来到这所要完成的目的。

Great lumbering C-17 transport planes fly in direct from Germany, carrying all manner of equipment. The air reverberates to the sound of helicopters. And everywhere, soldiers and civilian contractors tramp about in wrap around shades, getting on with their business. Which is, in short, to destroy what's left of the Taliban. 笨重的大型C-17型运输机直接从德国飞来，运载着各式各样的设备。空气回响着直升机的声音。而在飞机四周的阴影下到处都是士兵和平民承包商，他们迈着沉重的脚步四处走动着，各司其职。简而言之，这里所进行的一切都是为了摧毁塔利班的残余力量。

And they think they're winning. Since the end of a particularly harsh winter, the Americans have been going after their opponents with renewed vigour, hoping to finish them off once and for all. They're showing their teeth and we're showing ours, an attack pilot, Alexander Swyryn, told me. 他们认为自己将要取得胜利了。自上个特别冷冽的寒冬结束后，美国军队就重新打起精神追逐着他们的敌人，希望将他们彻底消灭掉。一位攻击机飞行员亚历山大·斯温赖恩告诉我说敌人做出了发怒姿态，我们也回之以颜色。

And the result? By the end of the summer, he said, almost diffidently, most of them would be either killed or captured. It's easy to talk, of course, but all over the base, I sensed that the Americans really believe they're reaching the end. 而结果呢？他略微缺乏底气地说到今年夏天结束的时候大部分敌人将会遭到歼灭或捕获。当然说起来容易，但是我在整个基地都能感到美国人确实相信他们快要达到目的了。

As we toured the facilities, General Back's eye was caught by the strange spectacle of a fleet of ghostly unmanned planes known as Predators. Flimsy, improbable machines that can monitor the ground by day and night, eavesdrop on phonecalls, fire missiles and stay aloft for almost twenty four hours. A useful bit of kit if you're looking for an enemy in the remote, rocky mountains of Afghanistan. 正当我们巡视设施的时候，巴克将军的眼睛被一群像幽灵般飞逝而过的飞机所造成的奇异景象吸引住了，这些就是被称作“掠夺者”的无人驾驶机。这些奇异的轻薄飞机可以昼夜监控地面活动、窃听电话、发射导弹并可以待在高空大约二十四小时。如果你要在阿富汗边远多岩石的山区搜索敌人，它们会是非常有用的装备。