VOA标准英语2008年-Bush Begins Mideast Trip

By Michael Bowman
White House
13 May 2008

President Bush has departed on a five-day trip to the Middle East, his second visit to the region this year, with stops in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. VOA's Michael Bowman reports form the White House, where aides say the trip will be both ceremonial and substantive¹.

Hours before the president and Mrs. Bush were to fly to Tel Aviv, White House officials were cautioning against any expectations for major breakthroughs in the quest for peace in the Middle East.

Spokeswoman Dana Perino said the Israelis and Palestinians have complex issues to resolve, adding that if agreements were easily reached, the situation would have been solved long ago. She said President Bush cannot do the two parties' work for them, but noted² that negotiations³ have yielded what she termed "halting" progress.

In an interview with CBS Radio, Mr. Bush said he does not expect to encounter "a perfect political environment", but said he hopes to see Israelis and Palestinians make progress on defining a Palestinian state.

"It is the vision that is going to make it clear for the Palestinians to see a way forward," said President Bush. "I would not assume that, if this vision gets defined, that people in the Gaza will not say, 'We are sick of the life we have now.' And that is why it is going to be so important to convince the Palestinians and the Israelis to define that state."

Shortly after arrival, Mr. Bush is to meet with his Israeli counterpart as well as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem. Thursday, the president addresses the Israeli Knesset, followed by a reception in honor of Israel's 60-year anniversary.

Friday, Mr. Bush travels to Saudi Arabia, where the president says a tightening⁴ of the world's oil supply is sure to arise in talks with King Abdullah.

"When you analyze⁵ the capacity for countries to put oil on the market, it is just not like it used to be," Mr. Bush said. "The demand for oil is so high relative to supply these days that there just is not a lot of excess [production] capacity."

The final stop will be Egypt, where Mr. Bush will meet with President Hosni Mubarak, as well as the leaders of Afghanistan and the Palestinian Authority. White House officials say they would like to include Lebanon's prime minister in the discussions in Egypt, but that nothing has been finalized⁶.

President Bush is not the first U.S. leader to devote significant efforts to Middle East peace initiatives in the latter years of his administration. His predecessor⁷, Bill Clinton, brought Israeli and Palestinian officials together in Maryland in 1998 to negotiate an agreement implementing⁸ a previous accord on the future of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Mr. Bush's efforts have taken various forms, beginning with the "road map" for peace crafted in 2002, which aimed to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and lay the groundwork for an eventual⁹ Palestinian state.

1 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

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 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。

4 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

5 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

6 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

8 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

9 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。