VOA标准英语2010年-US, Afghanistan, Reaffirm Partnership

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai speaks to the public about US/Afghanistan relations at the State Department in Washington, 11 May 2010

Senior U.S. and Afghan officials have reaffirmed ties of partnership¹ in a Washington dialogue aimed at repairing a strained relationship. Afghan President Hamid Karzai meets President Barack Obama at the White House Wednesday.

President Mr. Karzai received a warm welcome at the State Department.

U.S.-Afghan relations have been strained recently over U.S. criticism of alleged² high-level corruption³ in the Afghan government and fraud charges that marred⁴ Mr. Karzai's re-election last year.

Meanwhile, Afghan officials have complained about civilian⁵ casualties from U.S.-led military operations against the Taliban. And they have expressed concern that the pullout of U.S. troops beginning in July of next year might mean the abandonment of the Kabul government.

 But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. commitment to Afghanistan will endure, and she praised the wartime sacrifices of Afghanistan's people and government. 

"I believe strongly that the story of what has happened in Afghanistan in the last several years is such a positive one," said Clinton.  "The people of Afghanistan have endured conditions that over decades seemed almost insurmountable. And we know that there must be a concerted commitment that we are willing to undertake - patience, persistence⁶, partnership."

For his part, President Karzai stressed his country's gratitude⁷ for U.S. military and financial support.  That was underlined by his visit to Washington's Walter Reed Army Hospital to see wounded American soldiers.  He said the experience left him at a loss for words.

"[Seeing the wounded soldiers] was a moment of immense thinking for me as a person," Karzai explained.  "And I did not know at the moment how to describe my feelings in the appropriate words - of gratitude, of recognition, and of appreciation⁸.  And indeed of what it takes to succeed against an enemy that is not only the enemy of soldiers, but of our children, our teachers and society as a whole."

Mr. Karzai said the U.S.-Afghan relationship is at times "difficult and quarrelsome," but also steady and strong.

Clinton said the two sides are working on plans to finalize⁹ a "strategic partnership declaration" later this year that will put U.S. relations with Afghanistan on the same footing with other key allies.
 

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 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。

5 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。

6 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

7 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

8 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

9 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。