VOA标准英语2009年-US, Israeli Officials Make Progress in Dis

U.S. Middle East Special Envoy¹ George Mitchell and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say they have made progress in their dispute over Jewish settlements. Mitchell has left Israel after a visit aimed at getting Israelis and Palestinians to restart negotiations².
　
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, right, meets US Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell in Jerusalem, 28 Jul 2009

There was no sign of a breakthrough after a meeting in Jerusalem between U.S. envoy George Mitchell and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Both said they had made some progress on the thorniest³ of the issues: Israel's insistence⁴ on allowing the expansion of Jewish settlements that are built on land claimed by the Palestinians.

The Obama administration says freezing settlements will help peace prospects⁵. The Palestinians say they will not return to negotiations until Israel freezes its settlements.

Mitchell gave no details of what he discussed with Mr. Netanyahu. He indicated the United States will continue its efforts for peace.

"President Obama's vision is of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East which includes peace between Israel and Palestinians, between Syria and Israel and between Israel and Lebanon, and also the full normalization⁶ of relations between Israel and all of its neighbors in the region," he said.

Mr. Netanyahu said his government will keep working to reach common ground with the U.S. administration.

"We are making progress towards achieving an understanding that would enable us to continue and in fact complete a peace process that would be established between us and our Palestinian neighbors and ultimately the entire region," he said.

The U.S. opposition⁷ to settlement expansion has put it at odds⁸ with Israel. Mr. Netanyahu says construction in the settlements - home to about 300,000 Israelis - should continue to allow for natural growth.

Mitchell sought to reassure⁹ Israeli officials, saying the United States and Israel, despite their differences, remain friends and allies.

Hebrew University politics professor Abraham Diskin says the Obama administration's determination to put the peace process back on track is clear. But he says it remains¹⁰ to be seen how effective the effort will be.

"I think that the Americans are really doing their utmost," said Diskin. "They could not have done more than they do. The visits of so many top people in the administration since the beginning of the year proves that. The chances are not very high, so it really does not depend on the Americans. It really depends on the Arab side, also on the Israeli side. I do not know that it is failing, but the chances are not very high."

Other U.S. officials visiting Israel this week include Defense¹¹ Secretary Robert Gates who met Monday with Israeli leaders, U.S. National Security Adviser¹² Jim Jones who is to meet Wednesday with Israeli and Palestinian officials, and Obama advisor¹³ Dennis Ross.

1 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。

2 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。

3 thorniest   

adj.多刺的( thorny的最高级 )；有刺的；棘手的；多障碍的

参考例句：

• Paradoxically, the thorniest outstanding issue involves Bolivia. 而荒谬可笑的是，最棘手的国家要事却牵涉到了玻利维亚。 来自互联网

4 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

5 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。

6 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

9 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

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 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。

12 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

13 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。