奥巴马调解洪都拉斯政治危机

The Obama administration had preferred to let the Organization of American States and its designated mediator¹, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias², take the lead role in Honduran diplomacy³.

But it is now stepping up U.S. involvement with settlement talks stalled and a planned presidential election in Honduras looming⁴ in little more than a month.

State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said a team headed by Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon and White House staff director for Latin America Dan Restrepo will urge both sides to show flexibility⁶ and redouble efforts to bring the crisis to an end.

Interim⁷ President Roberto Micheletti, who has headed the government since Mr. Zelaya was detained by soldiers and deported（驱逐出境） in late June, has refused to accept the return to office of the deposed⁸ leader as demanded by all other OAS member states.

Micheletti contends Mr. Zelaya's ouster was not a coup⁹, and that the troops who put him on a plane to Costa Rica acted legally after he had unconstitutionally sought to extend his term in office through a plebiscite.

State Department Spokesman Kelly, who said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke⁵ to both principals in the crisis Friday, said the crisis needs to be resolved quickly in line with OAS settlement guidelines if the Honduran election planned for November is to have any legitimacy¹⁰.

"I think it's getting quite urgent（紧迫）. What we want is to see an election, which is coming in about exactly a month, to enjoy the kind of international legitimacy that the people of Honduras deserve," he said. "We have said all along that we've made this a priority and wanted to be as helpful as we could to try to bring this to a successful resolution. Talks on Friday seemed to break down and it was at that point that the Secretary decided¹¹ to get involved directly."

The U.S. team, expected to be in Tegicigalpa through the end of this week, will meet with both Micheletti and Mr. Zelaya, who has been sheltered at the Brazilian embassy in the capital since slipping back into the country five weeks ago.

A senior State Department official said the sides are in agreement on all terms proposed（建议） by OAS mediator Arias except for critical language providing for Mr. Zelaya to return to office and complete his term, which ends in January.

The deposed leader has said he would renounce¹² any ambition to hold on to power beyond January despite his previous backing for a referendum that would have allowed him to run again in next month's election.

State Department Spokesman Kelly also expressed sadness Tuesday over the death of Enzo Micheletti, a nephew of the interim president, who had gone missing several days ago and whose body was discovered Sunday in a northern Honduran town.

Kelly, who extended condolences to the family, said he had no information on the motive¹³ in the killing¹⁴ of the Micheletti nephew, who was found shot to death along with another man.

Honduran officials have said they are treating the death as a local criminal case and that it does not appear to be related to the political crisis. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 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。

2 arias   

n.咏叹调( aria的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you pick out the operatic arias quoted in this orchestral passage? 你能听出这段管弦乐曲里有歌剧式的咏叹调吗？ 来自辞典例句
• The actions are large and colour, there are arias and recitatives. 动作夸张而华美，有唱段也有宣叙部。 来自辞典例句

3 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

4 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

5 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。

6 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

7 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

8 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

11 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。

12 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

13 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

14 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。