VOA慢速英语:How Do Islamic State Militants Finance Their Operations?

This week, the United States Congress approved part of President Barack Obama’s plan to defeat Islamic State militants. The Senate voted Thursday to equip and train moderate Syrian rebels to fight the militant group. The measure was tied to a bill that will guarantee money to pay for U.S. government operations into December.
本周，美国国会通过巴拉克•奥巴马总统意在击败“伊斯兰国”武装分子计划的一部分。参议院周四投票决定向叙利亚叛军提供装备和培训，帮助其对付该武装组织。这一举措与一项法案挂钩，该法案将确保美国政府在12月之前行动的资金。

The vote came a day after the House of Representatives agreed to help the Syrian rebels against the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS.
就在投票的一天前，众议院决定帮助叙利亚叛军对付“伊斯兰国”(ISIL/ISIS)。

The measure represents the only action U.S. lawmakers are likely to take before congressional elections in November. Florida Senator Bill Nelson is a member of Mr. Obama’s Democratic Party. He compared the effort against the militants to fighting a wild animal.
该措施代表了美国议员们可能在11月国会选举之前采取的唯一行动，佛罗里达州议员比尔•尼尔森是奥巴马民主党成员，他将针对这些武装分子的行动比作打击野兽。

“When it comes to Syria -- and that's where the head of the ISIS snake is -- if you're going to kill the snake, you have to go to where the head is and chop it off.”
“就叙利亚来说，这里就是ISIS这条蛇的蛇头，如果你想杀死一条蛇，你就必须去找它的头，然后将之砍掉。”

The Islamic State has seized parts of Syria and Iraq. The Wall Street Journal newspaper says more than eight million people live in areas under the group’s control.
“伊斯兰国”已经控制了叙利亚和伊拉克的部分地区，华尔街日报称有800多万人生活在该组织控制下的地区。

How do the Islamic State militants get money to support their operations? Observers say some money comes from kidnapping, human trafficking, and the secret movement of goods across borders. Other financing reportedly comes as a result of threats made to local officials and businesses.
“伊斯兰国”是如何获得资金来维持运作的呢？观察家称部分资金来自绑架、人口走私和秘密越境运输商品。据悉其他的资金渠道还包括对当地官员和企业的威胁。

But most of the money comes from sales of oil, often to secret buyers. U.S. intelligence officials and observers say the militant group earns at least one million dollars a day from such sales.
但大部分资金来自石油销售，通常是卖给秘密买家的。美国情报官员和观察家称该武装组织从此类销售中至少赚得100万美元。

Howard Shatz is with the RAND Corporation, a public policy group. He has studied the Islamic State. In his opinion, the group is “operating as a state, but it is a criminal state.”
霍华德•沙茨就职于公共政策组织兰德公司，他研究过“伊斯兰国”组织，在他看来，该组织“像个国家一样运转，但却是个犯罪的国家。”

Islamists set their sights on the area’s oil industry years ago. Mr. Shatz says they made threats to employees at the Beiji oil refinery in northern Iraq. They reportedly collected about two billion dollars from the employees between 2006 and 2009.
伊斯兰分子数年前就看上了该地区的石油产业，沙茨说他们威胁伊拉克北部的Beiji石油炼油厂。据悉2006到2009年间他们从这些雇员那里收了近20亿美元。

The Associated Press news agency estimates that Islamic State forces controlled 11 oil fields in Iraq and Syria, as of last weekend.
美联社估计，截止上周末为止，“伊斯兰国”武装控制了伊拉克和叙利亚的11个油田。

The United States is using air strikes and political pressure in hopes of stopping the oil sales. In Washington, a State Department official told reporters earlier this month that, “we believe that oil smuggled out by trucks through the Jordanian and Turkish borders is a serious problem." He added that “both those countries have pledged to do all they can to stop it.”
美国使用空袭和政治压力手段，希望能阻止石油销售。本月在华盛顿，国务院官员告诉BBC记者，“我们认为用卡车经过约旦和土耳其边界走私石油是个严重问题。”他说“两国都承诺尽一切努力来加以阻止。”

Observers say recent videos of the Islamic State executing hostages have more than propaganda value. They say the images also serve as ransom notes for other kidnap victims.
观察家称最近“伊斯兰国”处决人质的视频不仅有宣传意义，他们说这些图像还向其他被绑架者传达了赎金这一概念。

The United States and Britain have repeatedly said they do not make payments for the release of their citizens. But some countries do. Last month, CBS News reported that a European company “paid a $70,000 ransom for a kidnapped employee.”
美英多次表示没有就其公民获释提供任何赎金，但有的国家会这么做。上月，CBS新闻报道称一家欧洲公司“向一位被绑架员工支付7万美元的赎金。”