VOA标准英语2009年-Bush Speaks Out on Gaza Crisis

For the first time since the start of the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, U.S. President George Bush has gone before television cameras to talk about the Mideast crisis.
　

President George W. Bush reflects on the crisis in Gaza in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, 05 Jan 2009

The president stayed quiet during the first week of the Israeli military operation.

He was on a holiday break at his Texas ranch¹, and let his spokesman speak on his behalf.

His voice was first heard addressing the situation in Gaza last Friday in his weekly radio address. On Monday, he went a step further - making brief comments to reporters called into his office to witness the final moments of a meeting with First Vice³ President Salva Kiir of Sudan.

He said Israel was justified⁴ in taking action against Hamas militants⁶ in Gaza.

"I understand Israel's desire to protect itself, and that the situation now taking place in Gaza was caused by Hamas," said Mr. Bush.

The United States considers Hamas to be a terrorist organization. And while he has urged Israel to do all it can to limit civilian⁷ casualties, President Bush has not called for a complete end to the assault. In his comments at the White House he made clear once again that he believes Hamas is using the people of Gaza to achieve militant⁵ ends.

"Instead of caring about the people of Gaza, Hamas decided⁸ to use Gaza to launch rockets to kill innocent Israelis. And Israel has obviously decided to protect herself and her people," he said.

He spoke² as the Israeli military continued its assault on Gaza for a tenth straight day, and Hamas fired more rockets into southern Israel.

The death toll⁹ in Gaza now tops more than 540. The president said he remains¹⁰ concerned about the humanitarian¹¹ crisis unfolding there.

"We care about the people of Gaza, and, therefore, have provided millions of dollars of fresh aid to the United Nations to help," said Mr. Bush.

President Bush stressed once again that while he would like to see the violence end, any cease-fire must be durable¹² and respected by all.

He noted¹³ that calls for Israel to end the assault are coming from many quarters - both inside and outside the Arab world. He said those urging an immediate¹⁴ end to the fighting have noble ambitions. But he said any cease-fire must include conditions so Hamas can not use Gaza as a launch pad for rocket attacks on Israel.

1 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

5 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

6 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。

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

13 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。

14 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。