2006年VOA标准英语-World Economic Forum Opens in Egypt

By Challiss McDonough
Sharm El-Sheikh
20 May 2006

A special meeting of the World Economic Forum¹ has started in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, but weeks of political unrest and the arrests of hundreds of reform activists² threatens to overshadow the event.

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Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak   
  

In his opening address, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak only vaguely³ touched on the political upheavals⁴ that have rocked his country over the last few weeks, portraying⁵ Egypt as a nation on the road to economic and political reform. He defended the slow pace of change.

He says his vision of reform is based on a gradual, prudent⁶ approach that ensures its sustainability rather than, in his words, unduly⁷ hastening its course, thus leading to chaos⁸ and the death of the process itself.

Egypt's hosting of the World Economic Forum has been partly overshadowed by a major crackdown on dissent⁹ that preceded it. Over the last month, police have repeatedly attacked and beaten peaceful demonstrators, who took to the streets to support two pro-reform judges. Hundreds of activists remain in prison.

The group Human Rights Watch has urged business leaders at the World Economic Forum to make it clear to Mr. Mubarak that suppression of dissent will alienate¹⁰ investors¹¹ as well as activists.

In one of the working sessions, the president's son, Gamal Mubarak, denied that the arrests and the recent renewal¹² of a controversial emergency law represent a backslide on political reforms.

"The notion that the political reform process in Egypt is either slowing down or backtracking, I think, is dead wrong.... I think, what is going on in Egypt today, the vibrancy¹³ of the political scene, the disagreements on certain important issues, is a very clear sign of things moving forward, and not things moving backwards¹⁴."

Gamal Mubarak is widely seen as a likely successor to his aging father. He has repeatedly denied that he has aspirations¹⁵ for the presidency¹⁶, but he has been assuming an increasingly prominent leadership role within the ruling party. /// END OPT¹⁷ ///

One aspect of the discussion at the meeting hinges on whether political reforms in the Middle East are keeping pace with economic ones - and how much economic development can happen in the absence of meaningful political change.

Former Jordanian planning minister Bassem Awadallah is now a senior advisor¹⁸ to King Abdullah of Jordan, and his assessment¹⁹ was blunt. "I think, we need to be very honest with ourselves, and say that there is a loss of confidence in the relationship between the governed and the governments across the Arab world. This is a serious issue. Governments are not credible²⁰."

But the bulk of the talk will be of economic growth and diversification²¹ of the regional economies.

Iraqi-born investment banker Nemir Kirdar, chief executive of Investcorp, is one of the meeting's co-chairs. "We have young people that need jobs, that we have got to expand our economies [for]. And, if we look at our economies in the last 50 years, it was government-driven. In the future, if we want to build greater economies to be able to absorb all these young people, we have got to have private sector²², to step up and do more."

Diplomacy²³ is happening on the sidelines. On Sunday morning, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas will meet for the first time with the new Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, and with Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres. It will be the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the election victory by Hamas earlier this year.

Mr. Abbas says, "I will reiterate²⁴ to them that the only term of reference for both us is the (international) Roadmap (for peace). I will reiterate again that our hands are extended for peace."

Security is tight for the World Economic Forum special meeting, with traffic around the conference center restricted and a three-day ban on watersports in force off the coast of the resort town, which was the site of one of a series of terrorist attacks along Egypt's coast over the past couple of years.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

4 upheavals   

突然的巨变( upheaval的名词复数 )； 大动荡； 大变动； 胀起

参考例句：

• the latest upheavals in the education system 最近教育制度上的种种变更
• These political upheavals might well destroy the whole framework of society. 这些政治动乱很可能会破坏整个社会结构。

5 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

6 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

7 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

10 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

13 vibrancy   

n.活跃；震动

参考例句：

• I like the vibrancy of her character.我喜欢她的活泼性格。
• Tom felt himself being drawn towards her vibrant personality. 汤姆感觉自己被她充满朝气的个性所吸引。

14 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

15 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

16 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

17 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

18 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

19 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

20 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

21 diversification   

n.变化，多样化；多种经营

参考例句：

• The seminar was to discuss diversification of agriculture. 该研讨会讨论的是农业多种经营。 来自辞典例句
• Firm diversification is increasingly achieved by the means of takeover and merger. 通过接管和兼并，厂商经营范围日益多样化。 来自辞典例句

22 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

23 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

24 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。