實用託福TOEFL詞彙

Hegemony to rule for evermore?

霸權主義要永遠統治下去嗎？

The US-led military campaigns in yugoslavia during the 1990s heralded the beginning of a new age of hegemony. Recent advances in military technology have served to heighten an already high degree of military superiority. The british empire, at long last, appears to have found a powerful heir; pax americana-peace imposed by US domination. No longer are america’s interests restricted to its own hemisphere. The seven seas are heaving with the weight of america’s dozen or so aircraft carrier battle groups.

It is probably no heresy to say, though, that this situation cannot be called exactly healthful, hardly a fitting heirship to three centuries of britannia’s pomp and glory. Heredity seems to count for little these days, for how else could this former british colony display such arrogance, apparently feeling no need to heed the advice of some of her best friends and allies? This is no mere hearsay, I have it on good authority that any dissenting opinions are brusquely pushed aside. Be that as it may, the current hectic pace of military engagements may ultimately prove to be the achilles’ heel of american power.

And yet, for the time being, there seems to be no place to escape from attack, as even the last solitary herder tending his flock or herd on a bleak hillside in afghanistan, quietly enjoying a juicy piece of ham or mending the hem of his frock-heedless of the dangers around him—has found out. Those lucky individuals who are merely taken prisoner are unceremoniously herded into holding camps, hemmed in by barbed wire for an indefinite duration.

20世紀90年代，美國指揮的在南斯拉夫的軍事行動預示着新霸權主義時代的開始。最近軍事技術上的進步又提高了業已強大的軍事優勢。不列顛帝國似乎終於找到了一個強大的繼承人。美國強權下的世界和平——美國控制下實施的和平。美國的利益不再侷限於它自己的半球。世界七大洋被美國海上作戰集團的十餘艘航空的母艦的沉重噸位直壓得波濤起伏，不得平靜。

不過，如果説這種局面不能被稱為真正健康的，更不具備對大不列顛三個世紀的壯麗與輝煌的適當的繼承權，恐怕不能算異端邪説。現在，遺傳似乎沒有多大用處，不然，除了明目張膽地對她一些最好朋友和盟國的'建議不予理睬之外，還有什麼其他方法能使這塊前英國殖民地展示她那目空一切的高傲態度呢？這不是道聽途説，我可以為此提供可靠資料證明任何不同意見都被輕率地推到一邊。儘管如此，現在緊張的交戰節奏可能最終被證明是美國權力的弱點（阿基里斯的腳跟）。

但是，目前似乎沒有地方可以躲避戰火，如同最後一個孤獨的牧人在阿富汗一個荒涼的山坡上照管他的羊羣或牛羣，靜靜地享受一片多汁的火腿，或者修補外衣的邊緣時——沒有注意到周圍的危險——所發現的。那些只不過淪為俘虜的幸運的人被隨便地趕入有刺鐵絲網包圍的拘留營不定期地關押起來。