VOA标准英语2008年-Bush to Urge US Mideast Allies to Israeli-Pales

By Scott Stearns
White House
05 January 2008

President Bush travels to the Middle East in the coming week in hopes of urging U.S. allies in the region to support Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

The president's first stop is Israel where he says he will encourage Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to move forward with peace talks they began in November in the United States.

"This is difficult work. It will require tough decisions on complex questions. But I am optimistic about the prospects¹. And I will make clear that America is deeply committed to helping² both parties realize the historic vision we share: two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," said Mr. Bush.

After Israel, the president visits Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. In his weekly radio address, he says he will urge regional leaders to support Israeli-Palestinian talks and will consult with them on the war against extremists.

The president says America will stay engaged in the region because societies growing in tolerance⁴ and hope are less likely to become sources of radicalism⁵ and violence.

"We will support democrats⁶ and reformers from Beirut and Baghdad to Damascus and Tehran," said Mr. Bush. "We will stand with all those working to build a future of liberty and justice and peace."

Analysts⁷ and activists⁸ in some Middle Eastern countries allied⁹ with the United States say 2007 was marked by governments backtracking from steps toward democracy.

During his trip, President Bush will meet with U.S. officials from Iraq for an update on the fighting there.

Public opinion polls say a majority of Americans believe the president's decision to invade Iraq was a mistake. And the deployment¹⁰ of more than 100,000 U.S. troops there is a major issue in this year's presidential campaign.

In the Democratic radio address, party chairman Howard Dean urged American voters to put an end to seven years of Republican rule.

"The Republican candidates stand for the past. They support the president's war in Iraq, the president's veto of children's health care, and they support an endless charge-card mentality¹¹, which our children and grandchildren will pay the bill for. The Democrats stand for the future of our country, and the message this November will be clear. If you want to get out of Iraq and refocus America's priority to really fight terrorism, vote for a Democrat³ for president," said Dean.

In this week's first presidential caucus¹², more than twice as many Democrats turned out as Republicans. Dean says that shows Americans do not want another Bush term. That cannot happen anyway as the constitution prevents the president from seeking a third term.

1 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

2 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。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

5 radicalism   

n. 急进主义, 根本的改革主义

参考例句：

• His radicalism and refusal to compromise isolated him. 他的激进主义与拒绝妥协使他受到孤立。
• Education produced intellectual ferment and the temptations of radicalism. 教育带来知识界的骚动，促使激进主义具有了吸引力。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

10 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

11 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

12 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。