VOA标准英语2009年-Hillary Clinton Begins First Foray Into Israel-

Hillary Clinton has arrived in Israel, beginning her first foray into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the new U.S. secretary of state. The top U.S. diplomat¹ landed in Tel Aviv late Monday from Egypt, where she attended a donors³' conference that raised more than $5 billion in pledges to rebuild the war-torn Gaza Strip. Pressure is rising for a political breakthrough in the Middle East peace process.
　
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to reporters at end of Gaza conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, 2 March 2009

During her stop at the donors' conference in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheik, Secretary Clinton said no one can afford any more setbacks or delays in forging peace in the Middle East.

She said the United States hopes that by providing aid to help the Gaza Strip rebuild, it can foster conditions for a peaceful and responsible Palestinian state.

"Our [U.S.] pledge of over $900 million designed in coordination⁴ with the Palestinian Authority and to be submitted to the United States Congress will deliver assistance to the people of Gaza and the West Bank," she said. "All of us recognize that human progress depends on the human spirit, that a child growing up in Gaza without shelter, healthcare or an education has the same right to go to school, see a doctor and live with a roof over her head, as a child growing up in your country or mine."
　
Palestinian boy plays soccer between destroyed tents collapsed⁵ during heavy winds and rains; tents housed people who had lost their homes in Israel's latest incursion into Gaza, in area east of Jebaliya in northern of Gaza Strip, 2 March 2009

Conditions in Gaza remain dire⁶ after Israel's 22-day campaign on militants⁷ destroyed thousands of homes. Journalist Mohammed Dawwas in Gaza, reporting for VOA, says heavy rain in the last few days has created even more misery⁸ for those living in tents.

"All of these tents were damaged and people had just to get out of [them] and escape and go somewhere to be sheltered because it was all ruined," he said. "It was mud everywhere. I mean, you just can [not] believe what was going on there. It was like another invasion, but by water."

Pledges at the donor² conference in Egypt far exceeded the amount that Palestinian officials had hoped to raise for reconstruction⁹ efforts. The challenge now is putting the money to work to rebuild Gaza.

Israel controls all border crossings into Gaza and does not allow construction materials such as concrete or steel to enter the Strip. The Israelis fear that Hamas may use the materials to build military facilities and step up attacks on the Jewish state.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told VOA his government wants assurances that the funds will not be misused¹⁰.

"With supplies like concrete, with steel, unfortunately you could have a situation where that is diverted by Hamas, and instead of helping¹¹ people to rebuild houses, they'll be building underground bunkers for their own military machine," he said. "So I think we in the international community have to find mechanisms¹² to make sure that aid for the people of Gaza is precisely¹³ that."

Secretary Clinton's schedule on Tuesday includes meetings with Israeli leaders. She is due to travel to the West Bank on Wednesday for meetings with top Palestinian officials. Her aim is to see how best to revive the stalled peace process.

Both sides are eager to know the details of how the new Obama administration will pursue peace in the region. Both have a long list of expectations.

Politics professor Ali Jarbawi at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank says many Palestinians believe that years of negotiations¹⁴ have yielded them nothing. He says they hope the Obama administration will use the U.S. influence on Israel to give the peace process a push.

"We want this administration to exert its pressure to finally find out whether Israel is serious about reaching a settlement with the Palestinians or wants only to impose a settlement on the Palestinians," he said.

Israel expects the same level of support that it has historically received from Washington, and Israeli leaders seek cooperation from the Obama administration to keep up the pressure on terrorists, as well as on Iran and its nuclear ambitions.
　
Benjamin Netanyahu, 20 Feb 2009

It is uncertain how much progress Secretary Clinton could make on this trip. Israel is the midst of a political storm, following inconclusive general elections last month in which hawkish¹⁵ parties made a strong showing.

A new Israeli government will likely be led by rightist Benjamin Netanyahu, who says he wants peace with the Palestinians but is unwilling¹⁶ to negotiate on key issues and has refused to declare his support for the two-state solution favored by the United States.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

3 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

5 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

6 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

7 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。

8 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

9 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

10 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

14 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

15 hawkish   

adj. 鹰派的, 强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

16 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。