VOA标准英语2011--UN Envoy Upbeat About Cyprus Peace

UN Envoy¹ Upbeat About Cyprus Peace

The U.N. envoy overseeing the Cyprus peace negotiations² said he believes there is a chance of breaking the deadlock³ in peace talks between the rival Greek and Turkish communities on the Mediterranean⁴ island.
Attempts to reunite Cyprus have been ongoing⁵ for more than 30 years, with the latest round of talks launched in 2008. Despite intensive sessions, however, they have failed to gain momentum⁶.
Some observers say the negotiations between President Demetris Christofias, who heads the internationally recognized Greek-Cypriot government and Turkish-Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu are moving too slowly, and are in jeopardy⁷ of collapse⁸.
But U.N.-appointed Cyprus mediator⁹ and a former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer told VOA he continues to remain upbeat about prospects¹⁰ for a breakthrough.
"The differences between them [the Greek and Turkish Cypriots] are not beyond resolution. Now, that is not to say it is not proving to be incredibly difficult to get agreement across all of the chapters, but certainly I still believe that it is possible to conclude an agreement here, but that requires a lot of political courage. Nobody can want this agreement more than the Cypriots themselves," Downer said.
Cyprus was split in a 1974 Turkish invasion triggered by a Greek-inspired coup¹¹, since then Turkish Cypriots live in its north and Greek Cypriots in the south. The division left nearly 200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees isolated¹² from their homes by the Turkish control of the northern sector¹³ of the island.
The property abandoned by displaced Greek Cypriots has been occupied by settlers from mainland Turkey; it's this problem that is causing the biggest headache for the United Nations.
Downer said significant progress has been made in other areas, though, such as about how the two communities will share power. He admits that much work remains¹⁴ on issues, including the territorial¹⁵ boundaries, especially in the event that oil or gas is discovered offshore¹⁶.
"Remember what is being looked at here - what's being negotiated is a federation¹⁷, so obviously in that sense the coastline is split between two states - two state government jurisdictions¹⁸, but of course it is within the federation itself. So I suspect if Cyprus were to re-unite then the bounty¹⁹ that would come from any offshore resource development would be shared throughout the island," said Downer.
The internally recognized Republic of Cyprus will begin exploratory drilling for gas in six months and hopes to have an estimate of its natural-gas fields by next year. It is a decision that has irked the Turkish-Cypriot community.
"I think this is a different question if Cyprus does not reunite, I suspect in those circumstances the Turkish Cypriots will say they should be included in this bounty and the Greek Cypriots may have another view, may, that is not to say they would," said Downer.
The island joined the European Union in 2004, but only the south has membership benefits. A breakthrough in Cyprus is important for Turkey, because the divided island has become one of the main obstacles in its efforts to push its bid to join the European Union.

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 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

4 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

7 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

8 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

9 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

10 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。

11 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

12 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

14 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。

15 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

16 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

17 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

18 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

19 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。