VOA慢速英语2009-IN THE NEWS - Leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan M

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

President Obama, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met Wednesday at the White House. Mister Obama described the day as "extraordinarily¹ productive." He said the three nations are joined by a common goal to "defeat al-Qaida and its extremist allies in Pakistan and Afghanistan."
　
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, left, and Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari with President Obama

BARACK OBAMA: "I am pleased that these two men, elected leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan, fully² appreciate the seriousness of the threat that we face and have reaffirmed their commitment to confronting it."

He also told President Karzai that the United States will make every effort to avoid harming civilians³ as it helps the Afghan government. But on Friday President Karzai, appearing on CNN television, demanded that American airstrikes end. He said an Afghan delegation⁴ had confirmed that more than one hundred civilians died earlier this week because of airstrikes in the western province of Farah.

American officials have expressed regret for the incident. But they say about fifty people were killed, many of them militants⁵. And they have suggested that Taliban fighters were responsible for killing⁶ some civilians. Mister Karzai disputed that.

The Afghan and Pakistani leaders brought big delegations⁷ to Washington for individual and joint⁸ meetings with American officials. President Karzai said he hopes to reduce years of tension with Pakistan. President Zardari said he shares a desire to support democracy and fight terrorism.

Taliban and al-Qaida forces have made recent gains in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

On Friday American Defense⁹ Secretary Robert Gates completed a visit to Afghanistan. The United States is preparing for an increase of more than twenty thousand troops there in the coming months. American officials say it will take at least two years for what one official called a meaningful measure of progress toward long-term stability.

Pakistan has battled Taliban militants in its northwest tribal¹⁰ areas for years. But the fighting is now moving closer to population centers. Government attempts to make peace deals with the militants have failed to stop the fighting.

The United Nations says hundreds of thousands of people are being displaced by the latest fighting in Swat and other parts of North West Frontier province. They join another half million displaced Pakistanis who have fled their homes since August. Aid groups are warning of a humanitarian¹¹ crisis.

In a speech on Thursday, Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani called on the nation to unite against the Taliban.

The Obama administration is seeking four hundred million dollars in immediate¹² assistance from Congress to help Pakistan fight the insurgency¹³ within its borders.

Earlier this week, two American senators proposed legislation for three times as much non-military aid as Pakistan now receives. The measure calls for one and a half billion dollars a year for five years. The money would be used to build schools, roads and medical clinics. President Obama supports the measure. The House of Representatives is considering its own version of the legislation.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Mario Ritter.

1 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

10 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网