2007年VOA标准英语-North American Leaders Wrap Up Summit

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
21 August 2007

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, center, stands with President Bush, left, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon

The leaders of the United States, Mexico and Canada have wrapped up a two-day summit at a Canadian resort. VOA White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson reports the talks on economic and security matters were overshadowed by a hurricane along Mexico's Caribbean coast.

Hurricane Dean struck the Yucatan region of Mexico in the midst of the summit. The meeting ended with statements of concern and promises of aid.

President Bush said the United States would do all it can to help in relief and recovery. "I want you to know that U.S. agencies are in close touch with the proper Mexican authorities and if you so desire help, we stand ready to help," he said.

The summit schedule was rearranged to get Mexican President Felipe Calderon home as quickly as possible. He told a joint¹ news conference at the end of the talks that the storm spared tourist areas, but resulted in severe damage in poor neighborhoods with few resources to rebuild.

"It went over the poorer Mayan areas, and I have a great deal of concern for the housing and the lack of services in that general area for the indigenous² people there. And that will be the main area of concern for us and activity," he said.

The three-way summit was held under the auspices³ of the Security and Prosperity Partnership⁴, an initiative launched in 2005 to find ways to facilitate the flow of goods and services across safe and secure borders.

As the three leaders prepared to meet at a luxury resort in Quebec province, opponents took to the Internet and broadcast airways⁵ warning of a conspiracy⁶ to boost big business and create a European Union-type super-government of North America.

President Bush responded to the critics, saying they are using scare tactics. "You know, there are some who would like to frighten our fellow citizens into believing that relations between us are harmful for our respective peoples. I just believe they are wrong," he said.

Bilateral⁷ meetings were also held at the Montebello resort, giving the leaders a chance to discuss matters that might not be on the full summit agenda.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper brought up the fate of his forces in Afghanistan during his one-on-one meeting with President Bush. He later told reporters the Canadian parliament will decide if their mission should be extended beyond February 2009. "I think we all can be very proud of the work Canadian troops are doing in Afghanistan. Parliament will make its decision in due course whether it wants to prolong the mission," he said.

A session between President Bush and President Calderon focused largely on combating the drug trade and related violence along the U.S.-Mexican border. Mr. Bush said work is proceeding⁸ on a common strategy. He said the United States is committed to the effort, but stressed it will be very different from the American program to fight drug trafficking in Colombia.

"This is different from Plan Colombia. This is a plan that says we have got an issue on our own border. We share a border and therefore it is a joint program. That won't mean a U.S. armed presence in your country. Mexico is plenty capable of handling the problem," he said.

The next North American summit will take place in the United States in 2008.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

4 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

5 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

6 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

7 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

8 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。