VOA常速英语2008年-Bush Urges NATO Enlargement, More Troops for Af

By Paula Wolfson
Bucharest, Romania
02 April 2008

As NATO leaders gathered in Romania for summit talks, U.S. President George W. Bush urged the alliance to continue to expand eastward¹ and to increase its presence in Afghanistan. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports in a speech in Bucharest, Mr. Bush laid out his NATO policy.

As he prepared to attend his final NATO summit, President Bush outlined his goals for the alliance.

In a speech to a group of security experts, broadcast live on Romanian television, he touched on familiar themes: the benefits of NATO expansion, the terrorist threat and the importance of the NATO military operation in Afghanistan.

Mr. Bush noted² that during his time in office NATO has expanded to include new members from the Baltics to the Black Sea. He said Ukraine and Georgia should be given a chance.

"Here in Bucharest, we must make clear that NATO welcomes the aspirations³ of Georgia and Ukraine for their membership in NATO and offers them a clear path forward to meet that goal," he said.

But Russia is vehemently⁴ opposed. And France and Germany suggest now may not be the time to start the process of bringing the two former Soviet⁵ republics into the alliance.

Differences may also be looming⁶ at the summit over NATO troop levels in Afghanistan. In his speech, President Bush said more forces are needed.

"Afghanistan needs security, and that is what NATO is helping⁷ to provide," he said.

Later, Mr. Bush met with Romanian President Traian Basescu at his presidential retreat on the Black Sea.

At a joint⁸ news conference, he cited Romania's commitment to Afghanistan and again urged the alliance to bolster⁹ the current 47,000-troop level.

"We expect our NATO allies to shoulder the burden necessary to succeed," he said.

President Basescu picked up the theme.

"Any lack of success of NATO in Afghanistan will diminish dramatically the credibility of our organization," he said.

The two returned to Bucharest shortly before the summit began. Mr. Bush conferred privately¹⁰ with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop¹¹ Scheffer before joining other alliance leaders for an official working dinner.

Both the president and the secretary-general predicted positive summit outcomes on Afghanistan and plans to put a missile defense¹² system in Europe.

"I am, like you, optimistic that this is going to be a very successful summit," he said.

At the end of the week, Russian President Vladimir Putin will join the NATO summit for a discussion of issues of keen interest to Moscow, most notably¹³ missile defense.

President Bush will also meet privately with Mr. Putin on Sunday at his home in Sochi - a Russian resort town on the Black Sea, just across from Romania. Mr. Bush says he expects it will be a frank discussion, noting they will be meeting for the last time before Vladimir Putin leaves office in May.

1 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

2 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。

3 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

4 vehemently   

adv. 热烈地

参考例句：

• He argued with his wife so vehemently that he talked himself hoarse. 他和妻子争论得很激烈，以致讲话的声音都嘶哑了。
• Both women vehemently deny the charges against them. 两名妇女都激烈地否认了对她们的指控。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

7 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。

8 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。

9 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

10 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

11 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。