2006年VOA标准英语-Rice Meets With Palestinian President, Emphasiz

By Sonja Pace
Jerusalem
25 July 2006

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a joint¹ press conference in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Tuesday, July 25, 2006   
  
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice emphasized the need for a sustainable cease-fire in Lebanon during a brief meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.  The secretary also spoke² of the need for a renewed focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, still raging in Gaza.

-------

Speaking to reporters in Ramallah, Secretary Rice said there is great concern for innocent civilians³, be they in Lebanon, in Israel or in Gaza. 

She said while a cease-fire in Lebanon is urgently needed, it must be enduring.  That, she said is also the basis for any long-term peace in the region.

"We need to get a sustainable peace in this region," Rice says. "That is really the problem.  There must be a way for the people to reconcile their differences and move forward toward peace."

President Abbas agreed, saying the violence is the result of the absence of peace.

Mr. Abbas also called for an immediate⁴ cease-fire in Lebanon to stop the suffering of the Lebanese people.  But, he also said his government is doing all it can to obtain a truce⁵ in Gaza, where more than 100 people have died in an Israeli offensive during the past month.

Rice's visit in Ramallah briefly⁶ turned attention back to the violence in Gaza and the ongoing⁷ stalemate in dealing⁸ with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Rice said that issue must not be forgotten.

"We must remain focused on what is happening here in the Palestinian territories - our desire to get back on a course that will lead ultimately to President Bush's vision and the vision of President Abbas of two states living side by side in peace," Rice says.

As Rice met with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the fighting continued in Gaza and in Lebanon.

Israeli warplanes continued air strikes into Lebanon, including into southern Beirut.  Fighting also continued in the south, just inside the Lebanese border, where Israeli forces are trying to push back Hezbollah guerrillas and establish control over that area.  Hezbollah militants⁹ again sent dozens of rockets into northern Israel, including into the port city of Haifa.

In Gaza, Palestinian militants fired homemade Qassam rockets into Israel and Israeli artillery¹⁰ struck northern and southern Gaza.  

1 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。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

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 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。

5 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 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。

10 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。