VOA标准英语2009年-UN: Situation in Gaza One of 'Impasse and

The United Nations top political official says that in the two months since unilateral cease-fires ended a 22-day Israeli offensive against Hamas militants¹ in the Gaza Strip, the situation remains² fraught³ with "impasse⁴ and uncertainty⁵."
　
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B Lynn Pascoe (File)

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that little progress has been made on key issues between the Palestinians and Israelis, including on establishing a proper cease-fire, free access for humanitarian⁶ aid, opening crossing points, prevention of arms smuggling⁷ and intra-Palestinian reconciliation⁸.

Pascoe told the Security Council that the situation at the crossing points into Gaza is "intolerable." He said it remains the key obstacle to bringing help and hope to people there.

He said that between February 15 and March 21, more than 3,600 truckloads of supplies entered Gaza. But while there has been an increase in the amount of goods getting in, Pascoe said the quantity and quality are insufficient⁹ compared to what is needed.

"Roughly 85 percent of all imports consisted of foodstuffs¹⁰ and medical supplies, whereas construction materials, spare parts and other industrial goods remain almost totally banned," he said.

Pascoe said there also continue to be severe shortages of industrial and cooking fuel, as well as cash.

He urged Israel to abide¹¹ by its obligations under international humanitarian law and open the crossings for emergency supplies and reconstruction¹² materials, saying that without those supplies there would be no way to rebuild Gaza.

In his monthly briefing to the Security Council, Pascoe also expressed concern about the lack of a proper cease-fire regime and noted¹³ that without it, violence has continued. During the month-long period in February and March that his report covered, Pascoe said there were more than 100 rockets and mortars¹⁴ fired into Israel. From the Israeli side, he said there were a dozen air strikes on Gaza that killed five Palestinians and injured 30 more.

Pascoe urged the international community to help stabilize¹⁵ Gaza and reinvigorate the peace process. He said both parties need to be committed to a two-state solution, the continuation of negotiations¹⁶, implementation¹⁷ of commitments on the ground and a strategy for de-escalating tensions.

1 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。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

4 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

9 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

10 foodstuffs   

食物，食品( foodstuff的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Imports of foodstuffs accounted for a small proportion of total imports. 食物进口仅占总进口额的一小部份。
• Many basic foodstuffs, such as bread and milk, are tax-free. 许多基本食物如牛奶和面包是免税的。

11 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

12 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。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 mortars   

n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵

参考例句：

• They could not move their heavy mortars over the swampy ground. 他们无法把重型迫击炮移过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Where the hell are his mortars? 他有迫击炮吗？ 来自教父部分

15 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

16 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。

17 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。