美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden to continue another day of meetings in Israel

Biden to continue another day of meetings in Israel

Transcript¹

President Joe Biden is holding a second day of meetings with Israeli leaders, working to chart the future of relations between the two countries.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Biden is in Jerusalem meeting with Israeli leaders today, where they have reiterated² their vows³ to stop Iran from ever making a nuclear weapon. The president also answered questions about why he's going from Israel to Saudi Arabia tomorrow, despite his past criticism of the kingdom's human rights abuses and their war in Yemen. Here's part of that.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I want to make clear that we can continue to lead in the region and not create a vacuum, a vacuum that is filled by China and/or Russia.

MARTIN: NPR's Daniel Estrin joins us now from Jerusalem, where he is following all of this. Hey, Daniel.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁴: Hi, Rachel.

MARTIN: So let's start with the president's trip to Saudi Arabia. He's getting a lot of questions about that. I mean, the president's on the record calling Saudi Arabia a pariah⁵ when he was a candidate for president. How did he explain his relationship, his trip today?

ESTRIN: You know, he really struck a defensive⁶ tone. He said his views on Khashoggi have been made absolutely, positively⁷ clear. The Biden administration, of course, released an intelligence report saying the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin⁸ Salman, approved of the operation that ended up killing⁹ Khashoggi, the Saudi dissident.

MARTIN: We should just say, Jamal Khashoggi - yes, Saudi dissident, also an opinion writer for The Washington Post.

ESTRIN: That's right. And Biden is going to be meeting the crown prince in Saudi Arabia tomorrow, but he didn't make clear whether he would raise the issue of Jamal Khashoggi with the crown prince. Here's what he did say.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BIDEN: I always bring up human rights, but my position on Khashoggi has been so clear. If anyone doesn't understand it, in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else, then they haven't been around for a while.

ESTRIN: He said he's going to Saudi Arabia to promote broader U.S. interests. He is pushing the Saudis to help with oil production to bring down gas prices. He wants Saudi Arabia also to pressure Russia to help end the war in Ukraine.

MARTIN: So we heard in that clip earlier that the president believes that if there's a vacuum in geopolitics, China and Russia are going to fill it, so thus reaching out with other allies. Let's talk about what the Israelis and President Biden have agreed to when it comes to Iran.

ESTRIN: Right. Well, they're making an attempt to get on the same page. They signed a statement where the U.S. is, quote, "prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon." You have to listen to the nuances, though, to hear how Israel and the U.S. are emphasizing this because Biden says he prefers diplomacy¹¹. He did tell an Israeli reporter in an interview that the U.S. would use force as a last resort. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid emphasized force. Here's what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRIME MINISTER YAIR LAPID: If they continue to develop their nuclear program, the free world will use force. The only way to stop them is to put a credible¹² military threat on the table.

ESTRIN: So you hear that nuance¹⁰ in the positions. Now, the Biden administration is still working on reviving the Iran nuclear deal to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran limiting its nuclear program. Iran, of course, says it's not trying to build a weapon. Israel says they are.

ESTRIN: Did they talk about the Israeli occupation and the conflict with the Palestinians?

ESTRIN: Yes. Well, first, Biden opened his remarks, mentioning that he was in Israel's capital, Jerusalem. And that is him endorsing¹³ former President Trump's policy change, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, even though Palestinians also have ties there. Both Biden and Lapid mentioned Palestinians, but again with different emphasis. Biden said he believes in creating a Palestinian state in some of the territories Israel controls now so that Israel stays a Jewish and democratic state. Lapid said that's his personal position, as well. But he's a caretaker prime minister. This is not a consensus¹⁴ position in Israel.

MARTIN: NPR's Daniel Estrin reporting from Jerusalem. Daniel, thank you. We appreciate it.

ESTRIN: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

3 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 pariah   

n.被社会抛弃者

参考例句：

• Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.不一会儿，汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿。
• His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal,a pariah.房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。

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 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 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。

10 nuance   

n.(意义、意见、颜色)细微差别

参考例句：

• These users will easily learn each nuance of the applications they use.这些用户会很快了解他们所使用程序的每一细微差别。
• I wish I hadn't become so conscious of every little nuance.我希望我不要变得这样去思索一切琐碎之事。

11 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。

12 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

13 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

14 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？