VOA标准英语2008年-Egyptian, Israeli Leaders Meet to Discuss Priso

Egyptian and Israeli leaders met to discuss a proposed prisoner swap¹ between Israel and Hamas, as well as the security situation in the Gaza Strip following a truce² between Israel and Palestinian militants³. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, Palestinian militants fired at least three rockets at southern Israel on Tuesday in violation⁴ of the truce.
　
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, right shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during their meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, 24 June 2008

Nearly a week after an Egyptian-mediated truce went into effect between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. They discussed the next step in the process; a prisoner exchange that would likely see Palestinian militants released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was seized two years ago by Palestinian militants from his post along the Gaza border.

Speaking as the meeting got underway in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Mr. Olmert said Egypt is playing a key role in calming the situation in Gaza. The Israeli prime minister thanked Egypt for its continuing efforts to get Shalit released, and he says the recent truce in Gaza was in large part due to Egyptian efforts.

Israeli officials traveling with the prime minister said Egypt had pledged not to reopen the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza until Shalit is released. Mr. Mubarak would not comment except to say Egypt is making an effort to get the Israeli soldier freed.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities confirmed they had killed two Palestinians, including a senior Islamic Jihad commander in the West Bank city of Nablus in the first such operation since the Gaza truce went into effect last week.

Later in the day in apparent retaliation⁵, Islamic Jihad militants fired at least three rockets from Gaza - striking the southern Israeli city of Sderot. A statement from Hamas militants said they remained committed to the truce.

The Israeli operation was condemned⁶ by Palestinian officials attending a 40-nation conference in Berlin that pledged $242 million in donor⁷ aid to build up a judicial⁸ infrastructure⁹, and boost the security forces of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

Mideast envoy¹⁰ Tony Blair told the conference Palestinians need a build a judicial system in order to fulfill¹¹ their aspirations¹² for a state.

"This is just not about forces with guns, it is about a properly functioning criminal justice system, it is about courts and a prosecution¹³ service, a prison service," he said. "It is about a full infrastructure that goes to make up a criminal justice system of a state.
　
French President Nicolas Sarkozy speaks to the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 Jun 2008

In the West Bank city of Bethlehem, French President Nicolas Sarkozy held talks Tuesday with moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Mr. Sarkozy, who wrapped up a three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, said Israel's security is non-negotiable for France, but that Israel should freeze settlement activity in the West Bank. The French president also strongly condemned Hamas militants, saying peace cannot be created through terrorism.

Mr. Sarkozy's departure from Israel was marred¹⁴ when an Israeli border policeman committed suicide about 100 meters from where the departure ceremony was taking place. As a gunshot rang out security officials quickly moved Mr. Sarkozy and his wife to their plane cutting short the ceremony.

1 swap   

n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易

参考例句：

• I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
• This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。

2 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

8 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

11 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

12 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。

13 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

14 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。