VOA标准英语2013--Islamic Summit Leaders Urge Action on Mali, Syria

 

Islamic Summit Leaders Urge Action on Mali, Syria

 

Leaders from across the Muslim world gathered for the two-day summit in Cairo, with the conflicts in Syria and Mali taking center stage.

Egypt has taken over the rotating chairmanship of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Islamist President Mohamed Morsi laid out the group's challenges - including what he called Islamophobia and extremism, even as he is under attack by opponents at home.

Summit participants called for a negotiated solution to the conflict in Syria. The OIC suspended Syria's government last year. 

Iran's foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, downplayed Tehran's position as one of the Assad government's few backers.

"I'm optimistic that a solution to the crisis can be found, a Syrian-Syrian solution, a peaceful solution due to the initiative of his Excellency President Morsi," he said.

France's military operation against Islamist militants¹ in Mali was a source of division too. The effort was praised by Senegal. But Morsi has condemned² it.

Amid protests in Tunis after the murder of an opposition³ leader there, Tunisia's president cancelled plans to attend the conference, a reminder⁴ of the instability across the region.

The conference is giving Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a chance to build ties between his Shi'ite-led nation and Sunni-majority Egypt.He's the first leader of the Islamic Republic to visit Egypt. The countries broke relations in 1980 over Iran's revolution, and Egypt's recognition of Israel. 

But while Ahmadinejad stressed the importance of an Egyptian-Iranian alliance, sectarian differences were on display during his visit to Al Azhar, a seat of Sunni learning. Clerics there accused Iran of interference by spreading Shi'ite belief. 

Political analyst⁵ Said Sadek says Iran feels on the defensive⁶.

"I think one of the things they understand that the West wants is that the Arab Spring turns into a sea of Sunni regimes against Iran. So, they want to get from Egypt any symbolic⁷ blessing⁸ or cooling down of attacks against Shi'a, but this is very difficult," he said. 

Underscoring the tensions, on the first day of Ahmadinejad's trip, a protester tried to hit him with a shoe. 

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

7 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

8 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。