VOA标准英语2008年-US Expels Venezuelan Ambassador

The United States has told Venezuela that its ambassador to Washington will be expelled in the latest chapter of a growing diplomatic dispute. The U.S. also slapped sanctions on Venezuelan officials for allegedly supplying arms and helping¹ drug traffickers in South America. VOA correspondent Meredith Buel reports from Washington.
　
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack

The U.S. State Department announced the expulsion of the Venezuelan ambassador one day after ordering Bolivia's ambassador to leave the country.

The actions came after Bolivian President Evo Morales ordered U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg to leave, accusing him of contributing to divisions within the country.

On Thursday Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered the U.S. ambassador in Caracas to leave, a move he said was designed to show solidarity² with Bolivia.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called the decisions by the two Latin American governments regrettable. "This reflects the weakness and desperation of these leaders as they face internal challenges and an inability to communicate effectively internationally in order to build international support. The charges leveled against our fine ambassadors by the leaders of Bolivia and Venezuela are false and the leaders of those countries know it," he said.

McCormack says the actions taken by Venezuela and Bolivia are hurting their people and isolating³ them from the rest of the world. "No country has ever improved the well-being⁴ of its citizens by antagonizing neighbors and refraining from fruitful integration⁵ with the world's democracies. Those who shout the loudest are not making the real news in the Americas," he said.

The latest diplomatic dispute came on the same day the U.S. accused two senior Venezuelan government officials and a former official of aiding Colombian rebels.

The Treasury⁶ Department accused the officials of supplying weapons and protecting drug shipments for members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC.

The U.S. froze assets of the three and prohibited Americans from conducting business transactions involving those assets.

The United States has designated the FARC as a terrorist group.

 

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

3 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

4 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

5 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。