2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Offers Iran Earthquake Assistance

By Scott Stearns
White House
31 March 2006
 
President Bush is offering to help Iran after three earthquakes there killed at least 66 people. 

George Bush   
  
President Bush expressed his condolences for the loss of life and said his thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones. He offered humanitarian¹ assistance for those affected² by the earthquakes in Iran despite his opposition³ to what he says is Tehran's goal of developing a nuclear weapon.

"We obviously have our differences with the Iranian government but we do care about the suffering of the Iranian people," he said.
 
 
Iranian men search rubble⁴ after earthquake devastated⁵ village of Khalegh Ali, Friday 
  
Three earthquakes struck western Iran overnight Thursday, flattening⁶ homes, destroying villages and injuring more than a thousand people. The official news agency says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered all available resources to the stricken region.

Speaking at the close of a two-day summit with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts, President Bush repeated his opposition to Iran enriching uranium, pointing to a statement this week by the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council as a sign of international unity⁷.

"There is common agreement that the Iranians should not have a nuclear weapon, the capacity to make a nuclear weapon, or the knowledge to make a nuclear weapon," he said. "And the reason there is common agreement is because the Iranian government with such a weapon as it is now constituted would pose a serious threat to world security."

China and Russia agreed to the statement criticizing Iran's nuclear program and calling on the International Atomic Energy Agency to report back within 30 days on whether Tehran is curtailing⁸ that work.

But Beijing and Moscow are less enthusiastic about Washington's plans for economic sanctions if Iran does not comply.

President Bush says the international community agrees on the goal of stopping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. He says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now working with Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany on how best to achieve that goal.

Iran says it has the right to a nuclear program that it says is solely⁹ for the peaceful civilian¹⁰ purpose of generating electricity.

1 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。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

5 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

6 flattening   

n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词

参考例句：

• Flattening of the right atrial border is also seen in constrictive pericarditis. 右心房缘变平亦见于缩窄性心包炎。
• He busied his fingers with flattening the leaves of the book. 他手指忙着抚平书页。

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

9 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。