VOA常速英语2008年-German Chancellor Confronts Holocaust on Visit

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
16 March 2008

The leader of Germany and several members of her cabinet are in Israel on a highly symbolic¹ visit that comes against the background of their nation's Nazi² past. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Israel rolled out the red carpet.

German Chancellor³ Angela Merkel arrived in Israel to express her country's strong support for the Jewish state and to confront the Holocaust⁴.

Speaking at the airport, she acknowledged Germany's "historical responsibility" to Israel, a reference to the killing⁵ of six million Jews by the Nazis⁶ during World War II.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was at her side.

He praised Merkel for her "unflinching support" for Israel and described her as a "strategic ally."

During the three-day visit, she and seven members of her cabinet will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. Merkel also pledged to work for Mideast peace, calling for a two-state solution: one for the Jews and the other for the Palestinians. However, she will not be going to the Palestinian territories because the visit is geared specifically toward Israel's 60th anniversary.

Merkel will address the Israeli parliament on Tuesday, reflecting the warm ties that have developed between the two countries over the past 60 years. But at least one Israeli parliamentarian will boycott⁷ the speech, saying he cannot bear to hear the German language in that setting.

Israeli President Shimon Peres disagrees.

"We cannot forget the Holocaust," Peres said. "But we need to remember that there is a new generation in Germany."

1 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

2 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

5 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。

6 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。